Impact evaluation and IFLA

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolving IFLA approach to impact evaluation through three of its international programmes: Freedom of Access to Information, Building Strong Library Associations (BSLA) and the International Advocacy Programme (IAP). This review positions these three programmes within the wider discourse of the international evaluation community. Design/methodology/approach Each of the three programmes is considered in turn to show what they were trying to achieve and how thinking about impact evaluation at IFLA is evolving. Findings This paper reports key evaluation findings for relevant phases of the BSLA and IAP programmes in general terms. Research limitations/implications The views presented are those of the evaluation consultants who advised each of these programmes (and in the cases of BSLA and the IAP conducted the programme evaluations). Practical implications The processes described and the conclusions drawn should be of interest to anyone involved in international or national library evaluation, especially of public libraries, library associations and national libraries. Social implications The paper suggests that more systematic impact evaluation of public libraries, library associations and national libraries is necessary to ensure their future survival. Originality/value The authors were uniquely placed to see and participate in IFLA impact evaluation discussions over the past decade.