Evaluation Seminar

1
Evaluation Seminar

• Department of Sustainability and Environment
• 29th October 2008
• Byron Pakula
• Roberts Evaluation

2
The Project Life Cycle

• Monitor during the implementation
• Evaluate at stages of implementation / completion
• Learn Lessons! Improve next project.

3
What is Monitoring?

• Monitoring can be defined as A continuing
  function that uses systematic collection of data
  on specified indicators to provide management and
  the main stakeholders of an ongoing development
  intervention with indications of the extent of
  progress and achievement of objectives and
  progress in the use of allocated resources.
• World Bank, Independent Evaluation Group
  .

4
What is Evaluation?

• Evaluation is about the systematic collection and
  analysis of data about processes, outputs and
  outcomes to allow us to make statements,
  judgments, claims and conclusions which have the
  potential to impact on current and future
  decision-making.
• Patton M 1986, Utilisation-focused evaluation,
  3rd Edition, Sage Publications London

5
Types of Evaluations
6
Types of Evaluation

• Needs Assessments
• Beginning of project how to set up the project
• i.e. Stakeholder engagement / analysis, baseline
  surveys, social economic and environmental needs
  assessments
• Process Evaluation
• Judging activities or strategies
• What was done, who was reached, quality of
  activities
• i.e. Program logic, investment logic mapping,
  network analysis, etc
• Impact / Outcome Evaluation
• What effects or changes occurred
• Has it met the goals / objectives, do we
  continue, was it valuable
• i.e. Most significant change, performance story,
  comparative studies, practice change,
  learning-action models, etc

7
Why Evaluate

• For learning and development
• To learn about the activities, their
  effectiveness, etc, and using that to use
  learnings to improve the project / program /
  policy
• For accountability
• To show others that you are effective in an
  independent manner
• Use of Evaluations
• Instrumental Use
• Conceptual Use
• Symbolic or Legitamative Use
• Process Use

8
Getting the most from Evaluators

• Know your consultants
• Build partnerships
• Its a journey, be involved!
• Bring evaluators in earlier in the project cycle
• Timelines and budgets set to meet the needs of
  the evaluation / review, etc
• Build your own capacities

9
... and now for Max Coster