This report is designed to provide guidance on the design of impact evaluations of
school-based management (SBM) initiatives in developing countries. SBM is a reform
movement that consists in allowing schools more autonomy in decisions about their
management; that is, in the use of their human, material, and financial resources. Also
referred to as school based governance, school self management, or school site
management, this trend has become very popular over the past decade (Caldwell 2005).
Today, countries as diverse as New Zealand, United States, the United Kingdom, El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands, Hong Kong (SAR),
Thailand, and Israel have instituted SBM programs.