Activity Appraisal
What is Activity Appraisal
Appraisal is the overall assessment of the relevance, feasibility and potential sustainability of a development Activity. This usually takes place prior to a decision on funding and/or implementation. It is required at the completion of each stage of the Activity cycle. See NZAID Activity Cycle Management Guideline. Appraisal often involves a systematic review of the documentation presented by a partner seeking support or funding for a particular Activity.
The processes and people involved in an appraisal will vary from Activity to Activity depending on the stage and scale of the proposal and the degree of risk. At the identification stage and for the majority of smaller (less than $250,000) proposals the appraisal will generally be the responsibility of the DPM or the NZAID staff at Post. For larger and more complex Activities the appraisal is likely to involve DPMs, team leaders and specialist advisers. Certain Activities (e.g. where a consultant has been contracted to produce a design document) may be subject to a joint appraisal process.
This guideline includes a set of basic questions to help NZAID staff reach decisions about the quality of concept notes and proposals at both the identification and design stages. In practice appraisal is often an iterative process: keeping these questions in mind will help NZAID staff and our partners ensure that cross-cutting and other important issues are addressed early in the Activity design process.
NZAID staff signing off an Activity design and approving funding for its implementation should be satisfied that it meets the appraisal criteria set out in this guideline.