BEHIND THE GLOSSY COVER: Six reflections on communicating evaluations Alexander Voccia, PhD, Coordinator, Evaluation Communication Unit, Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD [First published on EvalForward...org]
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ave you ever noticed that beneficiaries always tend to be smiling on the front cover of development reports? I sometimes wonder how realistic this is. From a communications perspective, it certainly paints a nice picture. Is it the right one, though? I guess the answer depends largely on the report’s target audience – or, otherwise stated, on its intended purpose. The intended purpose of an evaluation report is usually very clear, insofar as it stems from the principles that guide the organization’s evaluation processes. In the case of IFAD, for instance, the guiding principles of the Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE) are “accountability, learning, independence and partnership”. Yes, that’s right, “accountability and independence”: two words that raise alarm bells and normally drive people into hiding. So where exactly does this leave communications? In a bit of a conundrum, to be quite honest. When compared to the commonplace tools used to promote most development reports, the communication approaches necessary to enhance visibility, reach and consumption of evaluation findings present a somewhat distinctive set of opportunities and challenges. It’s a whole different ball game. The unfortunate misconception of evaluators being a quasi-police service, who descend upon recalcitrant project staff from the safe haven of their ivory towers, where they spend most of their time blissfully unaware of the hardship of field operations, does not bode terribly well for the acceptance of their work – let alone for its visibility. And it gets worse. The need for evaluation offices to hold their organizations accountable, risks placing corporate and evaluation communication teams at loggerheads. I must admit that this is a somewhat gloomy scenario. Is it exaggerated? Maybe. Is it inevitable? Certainly not. I recently carried out an in-depth assessment of IOE’s communication endeavours. The exercise draws inspiration from the best practices of the world’s leading multilateral development financial institutions, and builds on the generous insights of communications and knowledge management specialists from evaluation offices of international development banks, United Nations programmes and funds, and academia. After spending a decent amount of time dissecting findings, triangulating data and analysing trends, I decided to take a step back, and reflect on the underlying essence of what I had captured. What emerged were the following six reflections on how to address the recurring challenges inherent in communicating evaluations. 1. Foster engagement – Maximize opportunities for stakeholders to interact with evaluation offices in a proactive way: stakeholder dialogue does not end with an evaluation report. The first thing I noticed is that communication products should show how offices reach out to their stakeholders in an open and welcoming fashion, and make them feel empowered by seeking their inputs even after an evaluation is completed. This means that communication products need to open the door for an on-going, open and engaged discourse with stakeholders to ensure that they continue to feel connected 30