Online human rights resource centres (OHRRCs) serve a variety of information and communication needs for grassroots activists, policy formulators, researchers, advocates and others within the human rights and development movements. However, there are no effective models with which to evaluate the impact of these systems, or to determine how they support their 'business' objective which is the promotion and protection of human rights. Drawing on three areas of literature, namely information systems evaluation (ISE), evaluation of information and communications technologies in non-profit organisations and human rights impact assessment (HRIA), this paper proposes a framework to address the problem. The model focuses on the need for stakeholder participation, and for ongoing evaluation triggered at key points in an iterative development life cycle.