Humanitarian and development needs arising from conflict, disaster, and the climate crisis are high, while financial resources to meet those needs are limited.

Value for Money (VfM) is about maximizing the impact of each unit of spending to improve people’s lives. Under resource-strapped conditions, this means ensuring that programs can deliver meaningful impact for high numbers of people in need within frontline communities to achieve long- term, transformational change within those communities.

The IRC and partners are committed to designing and implementing evidence-based program interventions that produce the most impact for the most people in need. Understanding how resources are spent to achieve impact and reach can help inform program decisions for learning, adaptation, and improvement.

This guidance note outlines the best practices on how to measure, monitor, and report on Value for Money (VfM). Each project varies in context, size, and scope, therefore please adapt the guidance accordingly. For any questions or support on interpreting and applying lessons from VfM, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].

Available documents & links