Evaluar para mejorar: el caso del programa Hogares Comunitarios de Bienestar del ICBF

the purpose of this paper is to show how policy evaluations, especially impact evaluations, can influence the policymaking process and improve public interventions. the discussion focuses on the results and recommendations arising from the impact evaluation made to the program "hogares comunitarios de bienestar (hcb)" of "instituto colombiano de bienestar familiar (icbf)" in 2007 and 2008. the rapidness and efficiency in the icbf response to create new interventions and redesign the program is a remarkable experience in colombia. it shows how evaluations contributed to improve the programs design and policy formulation. these new interventions and the evaluation processes to which they were later subjected, meant an improvement in children's welfare of poor and vulnerable communities in the country.