The paper presents a discussion over various evaluation approaches and criteria in the field of Development Co-operation by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by International Organizations such as FAO, IFAD and the European Commission (Europeaid). At the beginning the analysis considers the evolution of planning models based on resources supply (human, financial and material), and successively the paper focuses on models much more concerning the sustainable achievement of objectives and results, by means of participative approaches. Specific problems on the evaluation of development cooperation initiatives are presented; conclusions assess the necessities of a systematic utilization of the methods for the economic evaluation of investments which, at present, seem to be underemployed, especially by the Italian Development Co-operation.
Keywords: Evaluation, development co-operation initiatives, international organizations
Jel Code: H43, O22