Real-time evaluation (RTE) has been practised and documented over the past 20 years, initially in humanitarian projects. There is now increasing interest in learning from this experience to inform evaluations in other areas, especially in development. There remains considerable variation in how
real-time evaluation is understood and implemented. The situations in which RTE is appropriate, and what is needed to make it work, depend on the
way in which it is being defined, and the intended benefits from doing it.
This paper outlines the different ways in which RTE has been defined and is understood to work. It analyses how RTE is similar to and different from other approaches to supporting evidence-informed action. It discusses when it is appropriate to use RTE and what is needed to make it work well.