A 2010 study on TORs and RFPs issued by international development organizations found that rigid evaluation terms of reference (TORs) or requests for proposals (RFP) limit evaluators’ ability to determine (i) the best approach and methodology for given evaluation problem and (ii) the most feasible procedures for implementing the evaluation under given (and often unknown) timelines and budgets. On the other extreme, TORs are often vague and provide no budgetary guidelines leaving evaluators guessing as to what evaluation commissioners require. This paper presents real world strategies for international development commissioners to improve the quality of their TORs and RFPs by overcoming common mistakes such as short turnaround time for proposals, rushed start dates, short evaluation timeline, strict familiarity/experience requirements, and rigid guidelines for evaluation conduct. Session participants will be encouraged to share their suggestions for successful evaluation TORs and RFPs.#2011Conference #DiversityandInclusion #developmentevaluation #rfp #internationaldevelopmentevaluation #internationaldevelopment #InternationalandCross-CulturalEval #Tor