CSES has undertaken several impact assessment/evaluation studies and monitoring of programmes in sectors such as livelihood, service delivery, health care, education, sanitation, drinking water supply and rural development. CSES is a National Level Monitor of the Ministry of Rural Development and was also empanelled by the Planning Commission of India for conducting evaluation studies. The Centre is also empanelled/accredited for undertaking evaluation studies by the Kerala State Planning Board and for conducting Social Impact Assessment Studies by the Revenue Department. CSES conducted the economic impact assessment of two major livelihood programmes of Leonard Cheshire, South Asia- Access to Livelihoods for Persons with Disabilities funded by Accenture Foundation and Increasing Equitable Access to Livelihoods and Employment for Persons with Disabilities in India supported by the Delegation of European Union. A related study, completed in 2019, assessed the Initiatives of the Kerala Government to Protect the Rights and Welfare of Persons with Disabilities for the Government of Kerala. A major evaluation study of CSES in the areas of governance and service delivery is the endline evaluation of the World Bank funded Kerala Local Government Service Delivery Project (KLGSDP). The project aimed to improve service delivery of rural and urban local bodies in Kerala, a state known to be a front runner in the decentralisation of governance and administration in India. Another evaluation study in the area of service delivery is the endline evaluation of the Service Delivery Project under the Modernising Government Programmeof the Government of Kerala, a programme funded by Asian Development Bank. The project, aimed at improving the quality of services of 21 types of government institutions, including schools, healthcare institutions, anganwadis, care homes, and government offices with citizen interface. The study produced 21 standalone. In both projects, CSES did the baseline study also. In the water sector, CSES conducted the Sustainability Evaluation of Small Water Supply Projects commissioned under Jalanidhi-Phase II, a project funded by the World Bank. As part of the study (2019), the sustainability of 900 community managed small water supply schemes was assessed on four aspects- technical, institutional, financial and user satisfaction. The information required for the study was collected through mixed methods; a survey of beneficiary groups, a survey of beneficiaries (in 5,000 households), transect walk and Focus Group Discussions. Another study in the sector is the Social and Technical Audits for the Impact Evaluation of the Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project Phase I for the World Bank Impact Evaluation Unit, Washington DC (jointly with ICSD). Being a national level monitoring organisation, CSES has been monitoring the implementation of the programmes of the Ministries of the Rural Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India since 2012-13. Till date, CSES has monitored such programmes in 18 districts of Tamil Nadu, 20 districts of Karnataka, 4 districts of Andhra Pradesh/Telangana and 2 districts of Maharashtra. CSES researchers formed the Indian team for the study titled “Comparative Study of the Impact of Donor Initiated Programmes on Research Capacity in the South” sponsored by the Directorate General for International Cooperation, Netherlands. The study included a comparative assessment of three major research programmes funded by external agencies in India. The study was part of the Multi-Annual Multi-Disciplinary Research Programme covering three Asian (Bangladesh, Vietnam and India), two African (Tanzania, Uganda) and two Latin American (Bolivia and Nicaragua) countries. Other important evaluation studies undertaken by CSES include:
a. End line evaluation of UKAID supported project Buniyaad in the state of Bihar was conducted (jointly with ICSD) for Aga Khan Foundation. The project aimed at improving exclusive breastfeeding and supplementary feeding practices among poor women.
b. Concurrent evaluation of National Rural Health Mission in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep for the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
c. Evaluation of Alternative Schooling System under the District Primary Education programme (DPEP) in Kerala: The study evaluated DPEP’s efforts to provide education to dropouts and unenrolled children, mostly belonging to the tribal and fishing community.
d. Evaluation of the Capability Building of the Research Community under Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development (KRPLLD), a programme sponsored by the Directorate General for International Co-operation, Netherlands.
e. Study on the Impact of Thelima- Health and Sanitation Programme in Schools conducted for SarvaShikshaAbhiyan.
f. Evaluation of the Total Sanitation Campaign in Alappuzha and Ernakulam Districts of Kerala conducted for the Government of Kerala.