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Real time evaluation (RTE) as a concept and practice took greater hold in the humanitarian sector. This was driven by a need to produce rapid assessments of interventions in emergency situations, where time is of the essence and failures are not opportunities for learning. Rather, programme failures in emergency contexts may lead to dramatic consequences. The focus is mostly on process. Additionally:

Unlike the majority of final ex-post evaluations, the process and products of an RTE are integrated within the programme cycle. Interaction with programme staff and managers during the course of implementation means that discussion, which may or may not be reflected in a final document, can help to bring about changes in the programme, rather than just reflecting on its quality after the event. (Herson and Mitchell 2005: 43)

More recently, Oxfam began trialling real time evaluations in its interventions in fragile and conflict-affected states and in crisis situations, i.e. in rapidly changing contexts that were unstructured and unpredictable, much as in emergency situations.

RTE embodies the rapid metamorphosis that evaluations go through notably in certain sectors like the humanitarian and international development ones. The latter are increasingly under pressure to demonstrate effectiveness and impact due to either the squeeze in countries’ Official Development Assistance (ODA) or change in the prioritisation of countries’ ODA allocations. However demonstrating effectiveness and impact in complex, rapidly changing contexts, where the availability of and access to data can be a challenge, has led to a proliferation of evaluation approaches that do not strictly conform to textbook instructions.