Evaluations are a key component of humanitarian aid delivery. Donors in particular – but also aid agencies, host governments, and aid recipient communities – want to know if projects are effective and efficient.

But across the globe, evaluations are difficult to implement. This is no different in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), where some unique circumstances further exacerbate challenges to evaluations.

In general, evaluation methods vary depending on context, target recipients, project type, and available resources. For example, a nutritional feeding program for children may use measurements like mid-upper arm circumference to compare data before and after the completion of