Independent Magazine - Issue 7, 2023

Independent

Learning. Transparency. Accountability.

Issue n.7

2023

MAGAZINE

IFAD-CHINA PARTNERSHIP

INTEVAL LEGACY

IFAD-ETHIOPIA PARTNERSHIP

Focus on smallholders, youth and women

38 years in the making

Moving from practice to policy

1

In my ow n wo rds

Profile

Dr Indran A. Naidoo Director Independent Office of Evaluation

I

t gives me great pleasure to introduce the seventh edition of Independent Magazine. The feedback throughout the globe continues to be encouraging and stimulates our own refection, as we gather insights into emerging evaluation issues across sectors and countries.

Thought leadership is at the centre of this edition, which focuses on the work of the International Research Group for Policy and Program Evaluation (INTEVAL). IOE was privileged to host the 38th annual INTEVAL meeting at its premises in Rome. Since 1986, INTEVAL’s esteemed group of authors have contributed to the thinking and professional growth of the evaluation function, consolidating their knowledge into the most cited and referred series of books on the subject matter. In 2023, with quicker and easier access to treasures like the INTEVAL series, we can ensure that many perspectives that have informed the journey to the present thinking are not lost. What remains enduring is the need to use evaluation for the public good.

We are also pleased to offer our readers with links that provide open access to the most recent addition to the INTEVAL series of books, titled ‘Policy Evaluation in the Era of COVID-19’.

2

We share evaluation action on the ground, this time in the form of two country strategy and programme evaluations (CSPEs) covering an estimated total cost of US$ 3,591 billion in China and Ethiopia. IFAD is an evidenced-based organization, and CSPEs are important to inform new rounds of programming. From the learning events in China and Ethiopia, it is clear that interest and commitment to optimising resources comes from all actors, including governments, donors, stakeholders and civil society. It is commendable that there is much respect and demand for accountability products like the CSPEs, especially insofar as these focus on marginalized and challenged communities.

In this edition, we continue to reiterate that evaluators need to be actively conscious about how they communicate. For this reason, we have consolidated our work on the linkages between brain science and evaluation into a new module of the Evaluation Manual. We believe the module to be an essential resource for evaluators, allowing them to improve their capacity as they engage at the coal-face with evaluands, where tensions may arise.

I trust you will find all other articles interesting, and thank you for your attention.

Dr Indran A. Naidoo

Director Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD

@pixabay/antonytrivet 3

Editorial Board

E D I T O R

Profile Writing Graphic design Publishing

D r Alexander Voccia Profile

C O P Y E D I T O R T E A M

Laure Vidaud Profile Proofreading Revisioning Shaun Ryan Profile

Nene Etim

Independent Magazine brings to the forefront of the global development dialogue the major efforts undertaken by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD, while seeking to advance the organization’s vision of vibrant, inclusive and sustainable rural economies, where people live free from poverty and hunger. To present the richness of rural life, and detail facets of local community lifestyle, Independent Magazine also zooms in on cultural activities and landmark occurrences in countries featured by IOE’s evaluations.

@Unsplash/stephan louis 4

CO N T E N T S 06

Focus on smallholders, youth and women in China

41

Project cluster evaluations discussed at gLOCAL 2023

10

Speaking truth to power: the raison d’être of evaluation

42

Sequencing essential for credit-supported market projects

14

Moving from practice to policy in Ethiopia

44

Enrich evaluation approaches to assess transformational change

18

Packaging neuroscience into one simple resource

capacity is key to 4 6 Stakeholder rural entrepreneurship support

20

38th INTEVAL annual meeting elevates wisdom on evaluation

trends in evaluation 4 8 Emerging reflect main development issues

24

INTEVAL: a legacy, 38 years in the making

tailored to 5 0 Conservation agro-ecological conditions

32

Evaluations to green development policies and practices

52

IOE joins GEI members to charter the way forward

builds on its comparative 3 4 IFAD advantages

53

Exciting prospects for joint evaluative work emerge

a generation of future 3 6 Inspiring evaluators in South Africa

the retreats, double the 5 4 Double fun

to credit leads to higher 3 8 Access agriculture yields 5

FOCUS ON SMALLHOLDE RELEVANT FOR RURAL POV

“T

he Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation (CSPE) highlights the pivotal role of the Government’s leadership and the substantive support that it has made to the IFAD country programme. This has enabled the IFAD-supported projects to make an effective contribution to the reduction of rural poverty at local levels”, stated Dr Indran A. Naidoo, Director of the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), in his opening statement during the People’s Republic of China CSPE final workshop, on 28 June 2023.

The Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China and IOE hosted the event jointly, supported by the IFAD Country Office in Beijing.

The workshop was held in-person, in China, and brought together high-level attendants from the Ministry of Finance, namely Mr Lu Jin and Ms Liu Fang, Deputy Director Generals of the De6

partment of International Economic and Financial Cooperation, in the. Over sixty participants joined the workshop, including representatives from fourteen provinces: Shanxi province, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia and Zhejiang provinces. Central Government Institutions represented at the workshop also included the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the National Development and Reform Commission. IFAD Senior Management was represented by the Director of the IFAD Asia and the Pacific Division. IFAD partners also attended, including the College of International Development and Global Agriculture of the China Agricultural University, represented by Ms Xu Jin, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean.

ERS, YOUTH AND WOMEN VERTY REDUCTION IN CHINA

During the workshop, participants discussed the main findings, recommendations and issues emerging from the CSPE. The meeting also provided an opportunity to focus on the opportunities and challenges of the partnership between IFAD and the Government in the near future, and discuss strategic priorities for IFAD’s upcoming programme.

“IFAD’s support to China’s efforts on poverty reduction was relevant, and has yielded positive results. The programme has been in line with the programmatic priorities of government policies and plans, with a focus on improving the position of the rural poor in value chains”, explained Dr Johanna Pennarz, IOE Lead Evaluation Officer, and lead author of the CSPE. The CSPE is the second country-level evaluation conducted in China. It covers the period from

2014, when IOE conducted its first country programme evaluation, until 2021. The portfolio for the CSPE period includes 14 projects of which four are still ongoing. The reviewed portfolio of loans is worth US$ 1.786 billion, which includes US$ 674 million of IFAD financing. The evaluation assessed the overall strategy pursued, implicit and explicit, and explored the synergies and interlinkages between different elements of the country strategy and programme, the extent to which the lending and non-lending portfolio contributed to the achievement of the strategy, and the role played by the Government and IFAD. Initial deliberations touched upon on the main challenges for the transition to value-chain approaches and for cooperative development, and how they could be overcome. In this regard, participants recognized that inclusive val7

Profile

Mr. Lu Jin , DDG, Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation, China

Dr Johanna Pennarz, Lead Evaluation Officer, IOE, Lead author: China CSPE report

ue chains are an important theme for China and IFAD, and some promising approaches have been introduced at local level already. Projects have piloted practices to ensure that smallholder farmers, women and youth can benefit from cooperative membership and participate in profitable agricultural value chains. Participants also recognised that the introduction of value-chain approaches was challenging and has slowed down project performance.

tural practices.

Participants also focused on how IFAD should respond to the changing context of rural development in China. These include outmigration of rural youth, the increasing impact of climate change and the need to ensure national food security .

The event offered an opportunity to delve into select issues emerging from the CSPE that could influence IFAD’s next country strategic opportunities programme (COSOP), which will begin in 2024. In the context of natural resource management and climate change, participants looked at the Government’s related priorities that IFAD should consider for the support of resilient rural livelihoods. In the past, IFAD has made successful contributions to sustainable resource management, as confirmed by an earlier IOE evaluation in Qinghai province. The ongoing projects already include approximately US$ 60 million of climate finance. In the future, these types of investments would need to make a visible contribution to sustainable land and water management and climate-smart agricul8

In the context of strategic partnerships to enhance innovation, scaling up and South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC), participants focused upon the government strategies and practices on innovations for inclusive rural development, how IFAD could scale up innovative practices at provincial and national levels, and what it should do in order to become a more effective partner for SSTC in China. Introducing new concepts and approaches required strong support for learning and capacity build-

Mr Cheng Zhijun, DG, Ministry of Finance, China Dr Indran A. Naidoo, Director, IOE, IFAD

Profile

Ms Liu Fang, DDG, Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation, China ing, which was not always given. The evaluation found that the country programme would have required more strategic partnerships for scaling up experiences. In particular, given the country’s growing interest and role in international development, IFAD could have defined the strategic dimension of SSTC for the evolving partnership with China more clearly.

In preparation for the 2025 COSOP, the CSPE recommends to position the China programme for strategic support to inclusive value chains.

The new COSOP should clearly establish the

Dr Indran A. Naidoo, Director, IOE, IFAD Fund’s comparative advantage on environmental sustainability and climate change resilience, with focus on marginal areas and smallholders.

Other recommendations include the need for IFAD to expand the pool of strategic partners, with focus on innovation, scaling up and knowledge sharing in clearly identified thematic areas. The Fund should also clarify its role in China on SSTC. China has been one of the largest recipients of IFAD assistance. Since 1981 when operations started in China, IFAD has provided lending for a total of 33 projects for more than US$ 1 billion.

China is also a major contributor to IFAD’s replenishment with US$ 85 million pledged under IFAD12.

Dr Indran A. Naidoo: introductory statement

Nii Quaye-Kumah Country Director & Hub Head, Asia Pacific, IFAD

Dr Johanna Pennarz Presentation 9

SPEAKING TRUTH TO P THE RAISON D’ÊTR

“E

valuation works well when it has the ability to talk truth to power – uncensored”, affirmed Dr Indran A. Naidoo, Director of the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), in his keynote address during the 5th Evaluation Symposium organized by the Independent Evaluation Department of the Islamic Development Bank (IEvD). “Evaluation creates a demand for candid reflection and honest reports, which must tackle the root causes of inequality and address all facets of sustainable development”, the IOE Director emphasized. “Let us move away from the notion that development is some-

10

thing that’s a preserve of one part of the world, and that everyone else needs to follow suit”.

Held in Jeddah, on 2-3 October 2023, the IsDB symposium was titled ‘The future of Evaluation: Adapting to a Changing Landscape’. The event mobilized world-renowned development experts, who shared their knowledge and insights. Representatives of multilateral development banks, international organizations, and evaluation networks joined Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) senior managers and Saudi-based partners in a joint effort to enhance the learning culture within

POWER, UNCENSORED: RE OF EVALUATION

the evaluation community.

The symposium discussed future innovations in development evaluation that will likely contribute to accelerating development effectiveness within institutions and at country level. The event also enabled the dissemination of evidence-based best practices that should promote development effectiveness and assimilation of innovations in key functions. These include data analytics, corporate performance, country strategy, operations efficiency, and results management.

Dr Naidoo delivered the keynote address during the sixth session of the symposium. In his opening remarks, the IOE Director highlighted the challenges for evaluation in the coming decade, and spoke about the pathways to tackle them.

Paramount among these is the need to embrace an independent evaluation culture.

“Transparency and accountability must be built.

Doing so can take decades”, noted Dr Naidoo, explaining what it takes to establish an independent evaluation function.

11

One of the pitfalls inherent in the independence construct is isolation. This hurdle must be overcome, given that evaluation is increasingly called upon to influence decision makers and to measure whether development interventions are transformative.

“How do we measure whether interventions are really transformative in changing the overall quality of life? – Dr Nadioo asked – Firstly, methodological sound practice remains, but we must ensure that complexity and scale are integrated. Secondly, there must be engagement with all stakeholders.

Every voice matters. If you don’t bring people on board, at the beginning, through the process and in the end, you are likely to become almost isolated. You’re independent but isolated and hence you can have no influence. That is, of course, a challenge which you need to deal with”, the IOE Director underscored.

The keynote address was followed by an insightful panel discussion and a lively question and answer session, during which participants learned about what multilateral development banks (MDBs) and development organizations can do to make evaluation more innovative in order to face the most pressing challenges in the coming

12

decade. Panelists included Dr Jos Vaessen (Deputy Head, Global Evaluation Initiative), Dr Emmanuel Jimenez (Director General, Independent Evaluation, Asian Development Bank), Dr. Mohammed Alyami (Director, Development Effectiveness Department, Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector), Ibrahima Dit Thierno Lo (Principal Executive Assistant, Executive Office of the President, IsDB), Hamdi Ahmedou (Senior Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation), and Dr. Abdel Hameed Bashir (Evaluation Advisor, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa).

Dr Naidoo also contributed to other sessions of the symposium. On the first day of the event, the IOE Director chaired the session titled ‘Country-Level Development Solutions’, in which IEvD presented a thought-provoking summary of its recent evaluations of country programming and strategies. Dr Naidoo also participated as a panellist in session one, titled ‘Future Solutions of Development Operations Efficiency’, in which IEvD presented its recent evaluations of operations efficiency; and session four, titled ‘Looking Forward- Future Frontiers of Development Evaluation in MDBs’. The latter focused upon how the

independent evaluation functions of MDBs may confront the development challenges that they will face over the coming decade.

“Evaluation criteria must not be looked at in isolation. Pursuing efficiency may impact adversely on effectiveness, most certainly on sustainability and on impact”, warned Dr Naidoo, in his panel

Aboubacrine Ahmed Ag Manager | Corporate, Country & Thematic Evaluation, IsDD

intervention during session one.

The mission of IEvD is to support IsDB to become a knowledge-based organization that continuously improves its operations, drawing lessons from the evaluations to enhance the development effectiveness of its interventions in Member Countries and in favor of Muslim communities in non-Member Countries. IEvD collaborates closely with peer institutions and engages in outreach activities with various stakeholders in order to strengthen the evaluation practice and to promote evaluative thinking through evaluation capacity development, knowledge sharing, and leveraging its networks.

Dr Indran A. Naidoo: keynote address

Dr Indran A. Naidoo: keynote presentation 13

Moving from practice to policy in Ethiopia

I

FAD’s Country Strategic Opportunities Programme in Ethiopia has contributed to numerous institutional and policy changes, due to the direct use of project results and expertise by government actors. The effective commitment and ownership of the Government of Ethiopia towards the IFAD-supported programme was highlighted during the national workshop organized to present the third country strategy and programme evaluation (CSPE) on Ethiopia, on 6 June 2023.

“The country strategy and programme was successful in contributing to achieving government’s strategic priorities, by addressing the causes of fragility in rural areas.

Through effective commitment

14

and ownership by the Government, the programme enabled enhancing the resilience of ecosystems and livelihoods in remote vulnerable areas of Ethiopia”, stated Dr Indran A.

Naidoo, Director of the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), in his opening statement.

Co-organized by IOE, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of Ethiopia and IFAD’s East and Southern Africa Division, the CSPE learning event took place in Addis Ababa.

This was the first CSPE workshop to be organized by IOE in-person, since the COVID-19 pandemic. The event brought together a wealth of high-level attendants, including Prof.

Eyasu Elias, State Minister, Ministry of Agriculture. Over 70 participants joined the event representing the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands, the Development Bank of Ethiopia, the Association of Ethio-

pian Microfinance Institutions, civil society and non-governmental organizations, the Irrigation Water Users Association, as well as representatives of international partners (FAO, World Bank, WFP and CGIAR

2015-2022, and focused on an IFAD portfolio of nine projects, five of which have been completed. The evaluated portfolio amounted to US$1.8 billion, with an IFAD financing of US$ 654.1 million. The World Bank,

In the course of the workshop, participants discussed the main findings, recommendations and issues emerging from the CSPE. The meeting also provided an opportunity to focus on the opportunities and challenges of the partnership between IFAD and the Government in the near future, and to discuss strategic priorities for IFAD’s upcoming programme.

“Overall, positive results were reported for land rehabilitation, access to finance and social services, and increased crop yields mainly due to improved access to irrigation water”, noted Prof. Eyasu Elias.

centres) and others. Ms Sara Mbago-Bhunu, Regional Director, East and Southern Africa Division, also attended the event.

The CSPE covered the period

the European Investment Bank, and the African Development Bank provided co-financing. During the evaluated period the country has faced challenges of droughts and conflicts in several regions.

Important policy-related results achieved included the institutionalization of irrigation water user associations with the related Proclamation; the revised Proclamation on banking supervision for enabling better inclusive finance, including the governance framework; and the development of various cooperative directives for different types

Dr Kouessi Maximin Kodjo, Lead Evaluation Officer, IOE; Dr Indran A. Naidoo, Director, IOE; Prof. Eyasu Elias, State Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopia; Ms Sara Mbago-Bhunu, Regional Director, East and Southern Africa IFAD; Dejene Abesha Rural Economy Development & Food Security Secretariat (REDFS) Coordinator 15

of cooperatives including savings and credit, production, marketing, consumer, and multipurpose cooperatives.

Presenting the findings of the CSPE at the workshop, Dr. Kouessi Maximin Kodjo, Lead Evaluation Officer at IOE, underscored that the IFAD programme promoted various social, technological and financial innovations.

“Policy change results were achieved thanks to results of IFAD-supported projects, such

agricultural production due to irrigation schemes and improved practices of farming (crop and animal)”, affirmed Dr Kodjo.

In this regard, event participants noted that the programme also facilitated increased access to a range of financial services by poor rural households through microfinance institutions and rural savings and credit cooperative (RuSACCO). Moreover, the microfinance institutions more than doubled their cli-

agro-pastoral communities.

Examples of social investments include 1,481 water supply units, 2,236 schools, 897 health posts, and 1,394 kilometres of rural roads. The portfolio of projects also promoted the formation of various community-based groups and cooperatives, which play critical roles in resilience building strategies.

Event participants recognized that opportunities for improvement remain. The IFAD-supported programme did

Dr. Kouessi Maximin Kodjo Lead author, Ethiopia CSPE [access profile]

as the Proclamation of Irrigation Water Users Associations; the improvement of cooperatives directives and enhanced regulation and supervision procedures for microfinance institutions. Additional achievements were: increased access to financial services for rural people (especially women); improved access to social and economic infrastructure; improved ecosystem resilience due to the introduction of sustainable practices of watershed and rangelands management; and increased 16

ents, from 4.7 million in 2012 to 11.9 million in 2019. The credit line of the programme enabled microfinance institutions to adopt risk-based interest rates, and to diversify into agricultural loans, individual loans, salary-based loans for government employees, post-harvest loans, youth loans, and housing loans.

Other notable achievements include a significant contribution of supported operations to improving access to social infrastructure by pastoral and

not apply a full value-chain approach to support agricultural development. This led to insufficient post-production actions, including in relation to storage, processing and access to markets through partnerships with private actors.

Sustainability is also a matter of concern, as irrigation water user associations face challenges in ensuring technical maintenance of irrigation schemes, and sustaining the credit lines for microfinance institutions and RuSSACOs also remains a challenge.

“We must always strive to do better and the CSPE usefully highlights several areas for improvement, with the overarching goal for enhanced development effectiveness and sustainable rural development in the country”, stated Sara Mbago-Bhunu, speaking on behalf of Donal Brown, Associate Vice-President, Programme Management Department, IFAD. Access interview [here]

Interview with H.E. Dr Girma Amente, Minister of Agriculture of Ethiopia Other concerns included effectiveness gaps in rural finance and agricultural production systems. In particular, the CSPE found skewed access to credit lines in favour of big regional and governmental microfinance institutions compared to smaller ones and RuSACCOs. The report also uncovered the limited availability of Islamic-friendly financial products, weak cooperatives that are not capacitated to perform primary aggregation services for access to markets, and deficiencies

that prevent optimal exploitation of irrigation schemes.

Building on the successes and addressing the existing challenges, it is recommended that future programmes include strategic objectives related to pro-poor value chain development; to enhancing resilience building, especially in remote fragile rural areas; to consolidating and sustaining results achieved in relation to financial inclusion, to upscaling the implementation of the gender transformative approach to other projects; and to facilitate the sharing of lessons to enhancing the consolidation of results achieved within the programme and the national agriculture sector.

Since 1980, IFAD approved 21 loan-funded projects in Ethiopia with a total cost of US$2.33 billion, of which US$839.5 million (36%) was financed by IFAD. Ethiopia is categorized as a low-income country with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of US$936 in 2020. Food insecurity and malnutrition remain a major concern across the country, with an estimated 20.4 million people in need of assistance.

Dr Indran A. Naidoo: introductory statement

Dr Kouessi Maximin Kodjo: presentation

@ NBC news agency

Ethiopian prince’s artefacts returned after 155 years* A lock of hair from an Ethiopian prince who died in 1879 and artefacts taken by the British army during a 19th-century battle against Ethiopia’s Emperor Tewodros II have been returned to the East African country.

The items returned to the Ethiopian embassy in London at a ceremony, on 22 September 2023, included three silver cups and a shield. The items were pillaged during the battle of Magdala in 1868 when 13,000 British soldiers besieged Emperor Tewodros II’s fortress in what was then called Abyssinia. The emperor killed himself rather than surrender.

The lock of hair was from the emperor’s son, Prince Alemayehu. After the battle and death of his father, the seven-year-old Prince Alemayehu was taken to England. He spent the next decade in Britain but died in 1879 at the age of 18. At the reported request of Queen Victoria, he was buried in the catacombs of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. *source: https://www.aljazeera.com/

17

PACKAGING NEUROSCIENCE COMPL FOR EVAL

A

ll the intricacies involved in applying neuroscience-based principles to the field of evaluation have been brought together and explained in one easy-to-access resource. Why brain science matters for evaluators, how it can be applied throughout the investigative process, and what difference it can make to the outcome of the evaluative work in practical terms are just some of the questions that a new publication issued by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) addresses head on.

The intellectual footprints of IOE’s pioneering work on the synergies between brain science and evaluation have ricocheted across the evaluation world over the past twelve months. What started as a seminar presentation little over a Access annex [here]

18

year ago [here], has since escalated into a series of events [here], magazine articles [here], video series [here], brochures [here] and news items [here]. With the ‘familiar’ helping hand of world-renowned keynote speaker and Harvard trained psychiatrist, Dr Srini Pillay, IOE has now sought to bring together this remarkable constellation of resources, and package them into a succinct publication.

The result of this latest effort is an annex to the 2022 IFAD Evaluation Manual, titled ‘Communicating Evaluation Findings’.

LEXITY INTO ONE SIMPLE RESOURCE LUATORS Dialogue among evaluators and evaluands is of paramount importance throughout the lifecycle of the evaluative process. Traditionally, a common-sense approach to interaction has guided this engagement. However, the literature suggests that limitations inherent to this approach may inhibit the potential value of the evaluative process. Integrating neuroscience-based principles into the modus operandi of evaluators may help illuminate or overcome

these limitations. Drawing on these principles, the annex describes a series of practical actions geared toward increasing receptiveness to evaluation findings and uptake of evaluation recommendations, thus bolstering the transformative capacity of the evaluative process.

In just over ten pages, the publication successfully articulates the rationale for applying brain science to the field of evaluation. The main insights and perspectives of this complex subject matter are woven together through the use of simple language and intuitive arguments. With an eye on the practicality and applicability of the concepts discussed, the document offers concrete actions and implementation steps at the end of each short chapter.

Highlights of the publication include discussions on the impact of performance appraisal and feedback on the brain; on how stress inhibits change; what exactly it means to be compassionate from a ‘brain’ perspective; the many ways of delivering bad news; the importance of avoiding telling the evaluand what not to do; how to motivate the evaluand to act on findings; how to help the evaluand manage their sense of being overwhelmed by findings, and how to enhance evaluator leadership skills.

Access Pills [here]

19

38th INTEVAL ANNUAL MEETING ELEVATES WISDOM ON EVALUATION Authors enhance availability and access to knowledge IFAD cherishes the independence of the function which it holds sacred

A

vailability and access to scholarly and programmatic wisdom on evaluation made important strides forward between 29 and 31 May 2023, as the members of the International Research Group for Policy and Program Evaluation (INTEVAL) met for their 38th annual meeting. During the event, IFAD senior management reaffirmed the pivotal importance of evaluation, which it holds sacred, and underscored that it cherishes the independence of the function.

“Our commitment to growing the discipline of evaluation by advancing knowledge remains sounder than ever. We have produced a truly remarkable body of work over the years. Now, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that people around the world have access to our publications in an equitable manner”, underscored Ray Rist, INTEVAL Chair and former International

20

Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) Director.

The Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) hosted the 38th INTEVAL annual meeting, which took place at IFAD headquarters, in Rome. Over 50 members participated in the three-day hybrid gathering, with almost 40 attending in person. Dr Indran A. Naidoo and Fabrizio Felloni, respectively IOE Director and Deputy Director, participated in the event. Authors of recently published volumes presented their work to the meeting, during which proposals for future books were discussed. The event also featured a seminar titled ‘Reflections on evaluating complex organizations’. Recognizing the prestige of the occasion, IFAD senior management addressed the meeting, offering noteworthy inputs and providing important stimulus to the discussions.

“It’s an absolute honour and delight to have you here at IFAD, in Rome. IOE is very privileged to host this event. We are sure that you will have great deliberations”, affirmed Dr Naidoo in his opening remarks.

INTEVAL is a multidisciplinary constellation of world-renowned expert evaluation leaders and distinguished authors. The group’s members address the key strategic issues that define the evolution of the evaluation function, shape the international debate, and advance the discipline within the context of the everchanging global landscape. Every year, for the past 38 years, INTEVAL affiliates have met in different countries across the globe. The group’s first meeting took place in Brussels, back in 1986, while the most recent gathering unfolded against the prestigious backdrop of Wilton Park, in the United Kingdom. Over the years, renowned universities, research centres, national entities and international agencies have hosted the INTEVAL annual meetings, which have benefitted from the generous funding of multiple donor institutions.

“INTEVAL has become a very strong and dynamic group. Evaluation is critical because it helps us to hold a mirror to ourselves. One of the key things that IFAD benefits from is cherishing the overall independence of evaluation and ensuring that this function is held in a sacred way. For this reason, I see IOE as a very important ally and partner in the work that we do” – stated Jyotsna Puri, IFAD Associate Vice-President, speaking on behalf of the IFAD President, Alvaro Lario.

The starting point for the deliberations of this

year’s INTEVAL meeting was the recognition that more needs to be done to ensure greater reach of the books produced by the group. Authors discussed the implications and opportunities of open access publishing, alongside the untapped potential of a systematic approach to outreach. In this regard, Dr Alexander Voccia, Coordinator of IOE’s Evaluation Communication Unit, presented the Office’s experience in developing and implementing an impactful communication strategy. In his session, Dr Voccia explained the multi-pronged approach that has enabled the proliferation of a suite of innovative products over the past two years. Furthermore, in the context of innovation, Gladys Morales Guevara, Senior Officer in IFAD’s Change Delivery and Innovation Unit (CDI), illustrated the work being carried out by CDI. The presentation included the recent collaboration with IOE that resulted in the Innovation Talk on ‘evaluation through the lens of brain science’.

The core of the three-day event were the discussions on the recently published, forthcoming and proposed potential books. As co-editors of the most recent addition to INTEVAL’s landmark series, Dr Naidoo, Ray Rist and Pearl Eliadis, Associate Professor at McGill University, presented the book titled ‘Policy Evaluation in the Era of COVID-19’. The book presents a sophisticated synthesis of institutional, national and disciplinary perspectives to explore both the shortcomings of evaluation but also the innovations and successes.

The book presentation was followed by a touching moment, when Ray Rist announced the special issue of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation focusing on the contributions of John

21

Prof. Pearl Eliadis, Ray Rist (current INTEVAL Chair) and Ida Lindkvist (next INTEVAL co-Chair) and IOE team

Dr Indran A. Naidoo, Prof. Pearl Eliadis and Ray Rist

Gladys Morales Guevara

Ida Lindkvist, Prof. Pearl Eliadis, Dr Indran A. Naidoo and Ray Rist

tion on evaluating complex organizations’, presented by Frans Leeuw, Professor Emeritus at Maastricht University, and Per Bastøe, Evaluation Director of NORAD. Building on the INTEVAL book ‘Evaluating the complex’, published in 2011, the session focused on common approaches to designing evaluations of international public organizations. In this regard, the authors explained the importance of managing expectations, building credibility in the process by involving stakeholders in all phases of the process, embracing quality in all aspects of the work, being truthful to the evidence gathered, and finding the best way to pitch recommendations.

To date, the INTEVAL group has published 31 books on various evaluation themes, including through Routledge.

Dr Alexander Voccia

Mayne, a former INTEVAL member who recently passed away.

The event also featured a seminar titled ‘reflec22

INTEVAL: video of a 38year legacy Dr Alexander Voccia: presentation

Access Report [here]

FURTHER READING

Policy Evaluation in the Era of COVID-19

I

ndran A. Naidoo, IOE Director, recently co-edited a book titled ‘Policy Evaluation in the Era of COVID-19’, together with Pearl Eliadis and Ray Rist.

Did evaluation meet the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis? How were evaluation practices, architectures, and values affected? Policy Evaluation in the Era of COVID-19 is the first to offer a broad canvas that explores government responses and ideas to tackle the challenges that evaluation practice faces in preparing for the next global crisis. Practitioners and established academic experts in the field of policy evaluation present a sophisticated synthesis of institutional, national, and disciplinary perspectives, with insights drawn from developments in Australia, Canada and the UK, as well as the UN. Contributors examine the impacts of evaluation on socioeconomic recovery planning, government innovations in pivoting internal operations to address the crisis, and the role of parliamentary and audit institutions during the pandemic.

Chapters also examine the Sustainable Development Goals, and the inadequacy of human rights-based approaches in evaluation, while examining the imperative proposed by some authors that it is time that we take seriously the call for substantial transformation.

Written in a clear and accessible style, Policy Evaluation in the Era of COVID-19 offers a much-needed insight on the role evaluation played during this unique and critical juncture in history.

The volume is now available in Open Access.

Download open source book, here.

Purchase hard copy, here.

23

FEATURE STORY 24

INT

*A legacy, 38

* EVAL

8 years in the making 25

Thirty-eight years, and counting. It was 1986 when the International Research Group for Policy and Program Evaluation, known as INTEVAL, met for the first time in Brussels. Ever since then, the group has not skipped a single beat. More than a professional network, beyond a gathering of colleagues, INTEVAL has become a group of friends who respect and support each other, bound together by one common goal: elevating the scholarly thinking of the evaluation discipline.

Under the visionary and dedicated leadership of Ray Rist, former International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) Director, INTEVAL has flourished over the past decades. Prolific to say the least, to date, the group has published 31 books, which are cited and referenced in just about every piece of literature on evaluation. INTEVAL continues to grow from strength to strength, as new members join and ideas for salient topics are born. The 38th annual gathering followed in this tradition.

The IOE-hosted event bore witness to highly stimulating conversations on some of the core issues that will shape the evaluation world in the years to come. In the margins of this intellectually thriving gathering, Independent Magazine seized the opportunity to sit down with three esteemed INTEVAL members. Ray Rist, INTEVAL Chair and former IPDET Director, Ida Lindkvist, Senior Advisor in the Department for Evaluation of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and Pearl Eliadis, Associate Professor at McGill University, took time from the busy schedule to have a cordial chat with us. The insights provided were priceless, as expected.

Good afternoon, esteemed colleagues.

Good afternoon, Alexander What do you believe constitutes ‘success’ within the context of evaluation?

Pearl I would identify three factors: first, when the commissioner is fully prepared to listen, second, when there is the will to act on the results, and third, when evaluations take a people-first approach.

Only then we can talk about ‘success’.

Ray

A constrained understanding of ‘success’ might be that you are able to actually complete what you propose to do, if it is coherent and relevant.

Ida If I see high quality, credible and useful information, where evaluation findings and conclusions are taken up and used, and where we actually see changes on the ground, then I think “wow, this is a success”.

26

Ray C. Rist

What are the enabling and inhibiting factors that affect the potential for evaluation to trigger transformative change, especially within a developmental institution?

Pearl Embeddedness is an enabling factor. Evaluations must be fully integrated in the policy culture and political will of the place where it is happening. What we want to avoid is someone coming in, doing an evaluation, throwing in their report and leaving with little or no follow up.

Ray The questions need to have a high degree of relevance. If the questions are irrelevant, then the evaluation is just ignored. Embeddedness is one way to frame that. If you want utilization, you have to begin with coherent questions that are appropriate to that environment.

Ida You need to have questions that can be responded to, and you need to have expectation management so that everyone understands what can come out of the evaluation. Evaluations need to be appropriately resourced, conducted by qualified evaluators and the process needs to engage stakeholders. In addition, I think that you really do need some luckyou actually also need some luck. For example, sometimes something happens that makes the evaluation no longer relevant. You can plan and manage the process as well as you can, but you also need that component of good luck.

What have we learned from the way in which the evaluation community responded and adjusted to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how will this influence the future of the evaluation discipline?

Pearl As our book, Evaluation in the Era of Covid-19 shows, the evaluation community was hyper-focused on operational aspects, especially during the first eight to fifteen months of the pandemic. ‘How many missions have to be cancelled?’, ‘how long before field work can be carried out again?’, ‘how can we use remote investigation techniques to gain information?.’

These were the kind of questions that were being focused upon. There was very little in the way of a critical juncture analysis of fundamental change or of what it meant for evaluation.

Secondly, despite the impacts on marginalized and vulnerable groups, the research shows that evaluations failed to pivot around human rights principles and ethics. Evaluation conversations are still almost solely on effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, fit for purpose, and the like. The pandemic forced us to ask tough questions:

Prof. Pearl Eliadis

27

what do those terms mean? Fit for whose purpose? Relevance to whom? Efficiency for what and at what cost?

The third thing to point out is that in several countries, evaluators were not present during fundamental national conversations about Covid. In Australia, for example, the national committees saw the involvement of academics, think tanks and other experts, but not evaluators. This lack of involvement of evaluators resulted in a data vacuum, which other knowledge providers moved to fill in. Evaluators are now struggling to catch up.

Ray We haven’t learned a lot in the evaluation community. In part, this is due to the fact that the community did not take a proactive stance to the COVID-19 issues. There are still many fundamental questions about the pandemic that the evaluation community has not addressed. It’s unfortunate, because we are left guessing.

The community has not stepped up.

Evaluators have not been seated at the right tables. In the US and in the UK, for instance, nobody talked to evaluators. A lot of conversations took place with epidemiologists and medical people, but not with evaluators. As a result, certain questions never got asked.

What space does the notion of ethics have in evaluation and, more so, what role does evaluation have in helping to foster the ethical conduct of large bureaucracies?

Pearl As a lawyer, I find it shocking that legal norms are treated in the same way as soft standards like ‘efficiency’, for example, in many evaluation ethics standards. There rarely is any differentiation made between what we have to do, and what we should or could do.

Treating compliance with legal standards as if they were just one of many non-prioritized ethical issues is very problematic. Compliance with international human rights standards should be non-negotiable. Especially for UN agencies. I actually think that evaluation units within the UN should be audited by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on a systematic basis, and that there should be independent reports issued. This does not mean that other ethical standards are irrelevant but there is a massive difference between a legal standard that is binding in law and other things like relevance, efficiency and the like -- all these things are important, but they are not legally binding.

Ray This has a lot to do with standards, which are malleable, permeable and largely ill-defined in the 28

Ida Lindkvist

evaluation community. Different associations try to set standards, but these tend to be very vague and generalized in order to appease people who don’t like to be constrained. Consequently, the ethics issues are generally not well conceived or specified. In large organizations, there are gaps in the understanding of how the organization itself needs to behave. There is some specificity about how the evaluator should behave, but not a lot about how the organization should behave. As a result, the organization can just say “we are trying to be ethical”, but there are little or no criteria or standards to which they are accountable.

Ida I think there should be a strong notion of ethics in evaluation. For a start, the evaluation should be conducted in an ethical manner. This is more than just having anonymous participants. It means that you need to identify ethical risks and prepare ethical safeguards, because the evaluation should do no harm. It also implies understanding if someone is trying to capture the evaluation, and what effects and consequences the evaluation can have for different stakeholders.

Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest opportunities for evaluation to be a force for positive change vis-à-vis the developmental challenges that affect the world?

Pearl The first is that the pandemic has shown us that everything we do going forward must be based on fundamental values grounded in human rights and be capable of responding to the demands of climate change.

The second is about real independence: I was recently asked to review a paper for an evaluation journal.

The paper presented data showing that evaluators tend to experience pressure from commissioners, especially when evaluators are internal to an organization. The pressure focused on changing evaluation outcomes, suppressing certain parts of the evaluation, and highlighting certain parts of the evaluation over others. Independence is key to making a difference, and what you are doing here at IFAD offers an excellent role model to ensure that independence is front and centre across the board.

Ray One thing we could probably do is to try to focus more on really important issues. COVID-19 was one that we did not focus well on. Climate change is another that we have not adequately addressed. There are people trying to do things in these areas, but the questions of “so what?” and “what next?” are not being necessarily handled well. I think a lot of this has to do with funders, who are asking really narrow and repetitive questions. For a lot of evaluations, you need resources which are not there. Even if people were willing to address the important issues, you need to travel and get access to data. There is not a lot of willingness to ask the right questions, and even less willingness to pay for these questions to be answered.

This is because bureaucracies are inherently conservative, and are not likely to show their own laundry. In addition, many evaluators tend to censor themselves rather than risk being provocative in order to avoid losing funding.

Ida We should never stop trying to deliver high-quality, credible and useful evaluations. Sometimes we will deliver evaluations that really have an impact, other times not, but we must never stop trying.

Thank you, colleagues.

Thank you, Alexander 29

INTEVAL books to date [click on covers to download]

30

31

Evaluations to green development policies and practices must be promoted

T

he importance of promoting evaluations to green development policies and practices was the key message driven home by a panel of high-level experts working to strengthen national climate responses. Dr S. Nanthikesan, Lead Evaluation Officer at the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), moderated the discussions of this session in the 2023 Asian Evaluation Week (AEW) on 14 September 2023.

Now in its 8th year, and after 3 years of virtual events, the AEW took place in person. The event saw organizational participation from

32

the world of academia, bilateral donors, evaluation associations, national governments, multilateral development banks and international financial institutions, NGOs, civil society organizations, private sector and UN agencies. Regional representation stretched from Africa, to the Americas, including Latin America & the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, including Australia and Oceania, and Europe.

The session moderated by Dr Nanthikesan was organized by IOE, in collaboration with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the

Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the German Institute for Development Evaluation (Deval), government decision-makers and evaluators from a range of development banks and agencies joined the session. Panel members included Sven Harten, Deputy Director at DEval; Anupam Anand, Senior Evaluation Specialist at the GEF Independent Evaluation Office; Daisuke Horikoshi, Principal Evaluation Officer at the Independent Evaluation Unit of GCF; and Shimako Takahashi, Evaluation Specialist at the ADB’s Independent Evaluation Department.

the challenges and bottlenecks that hinder policies to promote climate responses identified by evaluations; (iii) the role of current and future evaluations to promote policies that effectively address climate change.

Fruitful coexistence between man and nature lies at the heart of the concept of green development, which is underpinned by the three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic, social and environmental. A good level of green development policy plays a very important role in promoting green development.

The session noted the limited availability of evaluative evidence on successful climate responses, particularly for climate adaptation. The challenges faced by most climate vulnerable countries in accessing climate funds were flagged. The panel reiterated the need for enhanced collective voice and reach of future evaluations through including the environmental consequence of development interventions, all agencies agreeing to pool climate-relevant evaluative evidence, and presenting concerted, coordinated evaluative evidence in international fora, such as the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP UNFCCC).

The parallel session took place in the context of the 2023 AEW sub-theme ‘sustainability and resilience’. The other two subthemes of this year’s Evaluation Week were ‘inclusive partnership’ and ‘innovations in evaluation’, which fell under the umbrella of the overarching theme: ‘Beyond Recovery: Evaluation for Development Effectiveness’.

Dr S. Nanthikesan

Conversations during the event focused on country-level perspectives, with participants sharing a range of experiences. To stimulate the conversations, Dr S. Nanthikesan posed three guiding questions to the panellists and to the audience: (i) Is there evaluative evidence to demonstrate successful policies to address climate responses; (ii), What are

Dr Nanthikesan: presentation 33

IFAD builds on its comparative advantage

E

ngagement in targeting poor rural people is IFAD’s most notable comparative advantage, which distinguishes the Fund from other international financial institutions. Governments and other development partners echo this value and request IFAD to work in poor, remote and fragile locations. The evaluation synthesis note on ‘Targeting in IFAD-supported projects’, recently published by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), presents this comparative advantage and discusses how IFAD may further build on it in the near future.

The new IOE publication is the first evaluation synthesis note prepared by the Office. The note consolidates evidence from IOE evaluations on IFAD’s achievements and challenges in targeting poor rural people, and offered timely inputs to the updating of IFAD’s 2008 Policy on Targeting. The Policy provided a definition of targeting and identifies the targeting principles and IFAD target group. The principles and target group were first updated in the 2019 Revised Guidelines on Targeting, which defined the target group as rural people who were poor and vulnerable and had the potential to take advantage of improved

34

Profile

ideas to advance targeting include combining social protection with agriculture, revisiting community-based targeting, moving from linear value chains to the use of a wider systems approach that increases opportunities for targeting and inclusion, phone-based targeting and a participatory geographical information system.

Jeanette Frances Cooke Lead author, Evaluation Synthesis Note

While the updated principles of targeting described in the 2019 Revised Guidelines on Targeting are in line with Agenda 2030 and its imperative to ‘leave no one behind’, IFAD has not capitalized on the demands of the 2030 Agenda to reflect critically with governments on how to improve targeting further.

The IOE Synthesis Note finds that guidance on how to target those left behind through core project interventions has been insufficient. There is also a notable gap between targeting theory and practice, as IFAD’s claim to undertake ‘people-centred development’ is not fully internalized. The quality of poverty and livelihoods analyses is weak and has worsened over time. Additionally, IFAD-advocated participatory approaches are rarely used to refine interventions to better meet people’s needs.

access to assets and opportunities for agricultural production and rural income-generating activities. At its 138th session, the IFAD Executive Board approved the Poverty Targeting Policy 2023.

In recent years, IFAD has piloted and increasingly adopted targeting innovations in and alongside its loan programmes. Notable examples include household-focused interventions, such as the Gender Action Learning System, household mentoring and personal financial mentoring. Building on these and other innovative ideas, IFAD seeks to further capitalize on its successes and comparative advantage. Promising

Evaluation Synethesis Note on targeting in IFAD-supporting projects [here]

Another issue of concern is that although most projects adhere to targeting guidelines by using national socio-economic databases – in a bid to enhance ownership, coherence and relevance for governments – there is no evidence to show that project designs use a critical eye to review the rigour or validity of government instruments.

While design is important, implementation is even more critical and it relies on governments and other national stakeholders. IFAD therefore needs to support them in understanding the targeting priority and by providing tools and capacity-building, but this is not done to a sufficient extent.

Against this backdrop, the Synthesis Note presents multiple learning opportunities.

By re-emphasizing that targeting rural poor people is at the heart of all IFAD support to governments, and using the imperative of leaving no one behind as leverage, the Fund can position itself as the financing institution best placed to achieve better targeting. Furthermore, a renewed focus on participatory development can help re-set mindsets about the centrality of targeting rural poor people and endorse IFAD’s position as a leader in empowering poor people and leaving no one behind.

Following approval of the Poverty Targeting Policy 2023 by the IFAD Executive Board, in May 2023, the Fund now has the opportunity to address the issues highlighted in the IOE Synthesis Note.

Access report [here]

@Pixabay/alkags

Access full database [here] @ioe.ifad.org

35

INSPIRING A GENERATION OF FUTURE EVALUATORS IN SOUTH AFRICA

“E

valuation methods are important, but the politics need negotiation.

Credibility involves a combination of strong institutions, strong policy, strong evaluators, and the will to ask the right questions”, explained Dr Indran A. Naidoo, Director of the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), during his lecture to postgraduate students of the University of Witwatersrand School of Governance, on 7 September 2023. The talk was the last in a series of three summer lectures that the IOE Director delivered in South Africa, aimed at inspiring a generation of future evaluators.

Held as part of the ‘Masters of Management in the field of Governance: Monitoring and evaluation’, the lecture followed those delivered to the students of the postgraduate diploma course in ‘Public and Development Sector Monitoring and Evaluation’ of the Wits School of Governance, on 11 August 2023, and to the students of the honours class of the postgraduate degree in Geography of the University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Education, on 14 August 2023.

During his lecture to the Wits Master class, Dr Naidoo provided insights into the evolution of evaluation over recent years. Touching upon a number of salient issues, the IOE Director noted that the hegemonic view of evaluation has become contested in recent times, including in light of the weak response of the evaluation community to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as of the insurgence of big data and the advent

36

of artificial intelligence. Multiple streams now feed the discourse relating to good governance, key being media and civil society. Nonetheless, the transparency and accountability mechanisms enshrined in evaluation remain of paramount importance for a culture of solid democratic governance. In this regard, the efforts being made by Wits University are very important.

“The investment by the University of Witwatersrand in evaluation training is commendable. Over the past decade, it has capacitated young and experienced evaluators in the latest cutting-edge methodology. IOE is very honoured to have contributed to the content of the course, and to have brought some of the latest thinking in development evaluation”, affirmed Dr Naidoo.

The Wits School of Governance has taken the initiative to build the capacity of local personnel in South Africa, and Africa at large, so that it can lead by example and create its own developmental solutions. The Master course builds qualitative and quantitative skills for, and capacity in formulating, managing, monitoring, and evaluating development interventions.

Dr Kambidima Wotela, Associate Professor in Public Policy and Governance, coordinated the event. Dr Wotela has pursued systems thinking, methodology, and analysis which he uses to understand development, public policy, leadership, governance, political economy, institution-

al and organizational arrangements, and monitoring and evaluation.

On 14 August 2023, Dr Naidoo delivered a lecture to the students of the postgraduate degree in Geography of the University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Education. In his talk, the IOE Director pinpointed the fundamental importance of independence for evaluation, the need for methodological pluralization, the significance of the psychological dimensions of evaluation, and the difference that an effective communication strategy can make.

During the lecture, as a case study, Dr Naidoo also shared some of the preliminary results of IOE’s recent Ethiopia Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation. Findings include the embedment of IFAD interventions within strong governmental institutions, community contributions in investment costs and matching funds, and evidence of women’s economic empowerment. Opportunities remain for stronger cross learning over the programme, and overall within the rural sector.

The talk well-reflected the vision of the School of Education, which aims to provide an education that is accessible and relevant to the full range of learners, appropriate to both national and global contexts, that is of high quality and that contributes to lifelong learning in a South Africa characterized by social justice and sustainable economic development.

Dr Sadhana Manik, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography Education, convened

the event. Dr Manik is the South African project leader for several internationalization of higher education institutional exchange and research projects. Her research interests include international teacher migration and xenophobia, environmental education, textbook research, access, success and support of students in higher education.

Dr Kambidima Wotela, Associate Professor in Public Policy and Governance Wits University

Dr Sadhana Manik, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography Education University of KwaZulu-Natal

Dr Indran A. Naidoo: presentation Wits University

Dr Indran A. Naidoo: presentation UKZN University

37

Availability of financial services increased in Kenya, Ethiopia and Zambia

I

FAD-supported projects in Kenya, Ethiopia and Zambia have increased the availability of financial services in rural areas. In Kenya and Ethiopia, where impact data is available, this has led to accumulation of assets, improved food security and reduced poverty for farmers. Greater farmer incomes as a result of higher agricultural yields, made possible by expanded access to credit, have resulted in an increase in asset ownership of 54% in Kenya and 56% in Ethiopia. In Kenya, 53% of households reported an average increase in agricultural

38

Profile

Mikal Khan Lead author, Project Cluster Evaluation

yields of 49%, while in Ethiopia increased yields resulted in an eightfold increase in household income on average. These are just some of the findings that emerge from the latest project cluster evaluation (PCE) report carried out by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE). Mikal Khan, IOE Evaluation Officer and lead author of the PCE, presented the report during a learning event on 19 July 2023.

“What we see is that increased access to finance, especially loans, are put to good use by smallholder farmers, who have

the capacity to increase their productivity and assets as well”, highlighted Mr Khan.

Organized by IOE, and physically hosted by the IFAD East and Southern Africa Division (ESA) office in Nairobi, the learning event took place in hybrid modality, with some participants attending in person and others joining on-line.

IFAD staff working on rural finance in ESA provided important contributions to the discussions throughout the webinar, alongside other project staff and practitioners working on the topic of rural finance. Sara Mbago-Bhunu, Regional Director of the IFAD ESA Division participated in the event, and delivered opening and closing remarks.

“In East and Southern Africa, we have a large number of inclusive finance operations which have lasted for a long period and have had signifi-

cant impacts as well as given us an opportunity to gain a lot of learning around the potential and catalytic effects of rural finance for smallholder farmers. This is extremely important as we now face rising food insecurity and we still see that many financial institutions are not crowding in the much-needed finance in the agricultural sector to bring about the transformation in terms of improved nutrition, incomes and jobs for small -cale farmers across the region”, explained Ms Mbago-Bhunu.

Sara Mbago-Bhunu, Regional Director, ESA, IFAD

The two-pronged objectives of the session were to share the main findings and lessons identified in the evaluation, and to facilitate discussion and reflection on how IFAD can improve its support to inclusive rural finance.

The PCE analysed three projects focused on rural finance in East and Southern Africa, namely the Programme for Rural Outreach of Financial Innovations and Technologies (PROFIT) in Kenya; the Rural Finance Expansion Programme (RUFEP) in Zambia; and the Rural Financial Intermediation Programme II (RUFIP II) in Ethiopia. These projects provided examples of interventions at institutional, infrastructure, and policy and regulatory levels of the financial sector. The projects also involved a wider variety of partners, ranging from village-based financial organizations to commercial banks.

@Pixabay/stevepn 39

During the learning event, Mr Khan moderated a panel discussion in which participants shared specific examples of activities and practices to illustrate how rural finance projects can balance complex designs with effective implementation, and what IFAD should do to enhance the performance of financial service providers on targeting and reporting. The panel comprised Francesco M. Rispoli, Head of the IFAD Southern Africa Multi-Country Office in Johannesburg, Sauli Hurri, IFAD’s senior regional technical specialist on rural finance, markets and value chains in ESA, and Jan Kerer, rural and agricultural finance specialist.

Successful experiences included in-country pre-design assessments of the rural finance landscape to determine the strengths and weaknesses of potential financial service providers (FSPs). This resulted in a relevant approach to engage them and build their capacity. These assessments included valuable analysis of the countries’ macroeconomic factors and regulatory environment, market structure and infrastructure, financial institutions, risk factors, technology and innovation. While these areas of analysis were important at the design phase, the most important aspect of the pre-design assessments was a review of FSP’s capacity to reach out to the intended target group, for example by looking at their product range, terms and conditions, branch network and outreach strategy.

40

Another positive finding is the engagement with communities, which has visibly increased a culture of savings, that is likely to continue benefiting households after the projects’ end.

Sustainability, nonetheless, remains a matter of concern.

Moreover, FSP reliance on subsidized finance, low capacities and widespread perception of high risks in serving smallholder farmers will limit the durability of project results. Other challenges observed across the projects are the absence of in-depth target group segmentation and the lack of clear targeting strategies. In addition, the report found monitoring agreements made with FSPs and capacity-building activities to be insufficient to ensure adequate reporting and utilization of financial services, especially loans.

“What is clear from our experiences is that rural finance in highly technical, so implementing these projects require a high level of capacity which often we do not find in programme management units at the country level”, noted Mr Rispoli.

Weak FSP institutional capacity remains a core challenge of the sector. The technical assistance was often delayed or of insufficient quality to substantially expand the capacities of FSPs in a sustainable way. As such, FSPs remain vulnerable to dependence on subsidized finance, external shocks and a potential mission drift as they may shift away from agriculture.

Building on these findings, the PCE recommends that mechanisms should be developed at the design stage to ensure that FSPs are required to provide tangible benefits to the projects for their privilege to access subsidized refinance.

Such benefits could be, for example, ensuring greater outreach efforts to serve remote or marginalized groups.

In addition, FSPs should provide more rural finance-specific data in their reports to IFAD. Such information is key to allowing rural finance experts to assess the status of projects and provide recommendations on how to further improve. Furthermore, it is advised that projects factor in the needs of young people to assess which FSPs are in the best position to serve this target group and what financial products and services are most needed.

This PCE is the second of its kind, and was introduced

by IOE as a new evaluation product with the aim of enhancing learning aspects of project-level evaluations through comparative analyses of a small number of projects sharing common features. The topic of rural finance is highly relevant in IFAD’s portfolio, considering that it has invested over US$3 billion in rural finance systems over the past four decades.

Mikal Khan: presentation

PROJECT CLUSTER EVALUATIONS DISCUSSED AT gLOCAL 2023

M

ultiple lessons can be drawn from the implementation of project cluster evaluations (PCE). These include the possibility to learn across projects – something very much appreciated by evaluation stakeholders. Mikal Khan, Evaluation Officer at the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), discussed this and other benefits of PCEs during a learning event organized under the auspices of the 2023 edition of the gLOCAL Evaluation Week, on 31 May 2023.

The Evaluation Week took place from 29 May to 2 June 2023, under the overarching theme: ‘The Future of M&E: Culture, Context, and Collaboration’. Titled ‘Project Cluster Evaluations – sharing lessons from AfDB, FAO, IFAD and UNODC’, the PCE learning event shared lessons on what defines a PCE in the evaluation offices of four multilateral organizations, and what lessons can be drawn so far from this type of product.

tion and evaluation syntheses. For example, reports include several tables comparing project aspects, such as their design and results while also assessing projects according to all evaluation criteria. PCEs go through the same quality assurance process as other IOE evaluations and are described in the IFAD Evaluation Manual.

PCEs also have their challenges, including those related to the synthesis and comparability of findings, and more complex logistical and administrative arrangements. gLOCAL supports the exchange of M&E knowledge and experiences to promote evaluation capacity development, support evidence-based decision making, and strengthen development outcomes at a local and global level.

Evaluation experts from the African Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) joined Mr Khan for the session, which was moderated by Renata Mirulla, facilitator of the EvalForward Community of Practice. Event participants addressed four main issues during the event, namely what defines a cluster evaluation, the methodologies that can be used for cluster evaluations, the lessons that can be drawn from PCEs, and the future of PCEs. Speaking at the event, Mr Khan explained that PCEs are an efficient way for IOE to increase evaluation coverage of IFAD projects, due to cost saving from covering multiple projects together.

From a methodological perspective, PCEs are a combination of methods from project evalua@www.globalevaluationinitiative.org

41

Sequencing of interventions essential for credit-supported market development projects in Egypt

C

redit-supported market development projects should ensure the right sequencing of capacity development, marketing support and finance components, starting with the first two interventions. This was among the main recommendations that emerged from the recently published project performance evaluation (PPE) of the Promotion of Rural Incomes through Market Enhancement Project (PRIME) in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The report was produced by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE).

The recommendation stems from the findings of the PPE, which highlight a disconnect and reversed sequencing between the two main components of PRIME, namely marketing support and rural finance. The two components often worked in different locations and were not well coordinated, causing a lack of synergy and limited access to loans for farmers and enterprises in the marketing support component.

PRIME was implemented between 2012 and 2022. The project was designed to reduce rural poverty and increase food security in the seven governorates of Qena, Sohag, Assiut, Menia and Beni Suef in Upper Egypt, and Beheira

Profile

Raymond S. Mubayiwa Lead author, Project Performance Evaluation

and Kafr-el-Sheikh in Lower Egypt. The main objective was to enhance the organizational capacities of smallholder farmers, link them to agricultural value chains of high-value commodities, and facilitate their access to financial services.

The project successfully supported market-oriented horticulture and livestock value chains on the production side.

Moreover, it helped re-orient agriculture institutions towards horticulture and livestock. Among key achievements, in terms of marketing, was the arrangement of 287 sales contracts between farmers and buyers; this generated new market opportunities.

The project was also wellaligned with national policies

and development strategies.

In particular, PRIME was in alignment with the Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy towards 2030, the Draft Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise and Entrepreneur National Strategy, and the National Strategy for Women’s Empowerment.

These efforts notwithstanding, the project did not effectively develop the business and marketing capacities of farmers. It also faced challenges such as weak organizational structure of farmers’ marketing associations, poor market knowledge and limited financial literacy training. The marketing initiatives, such as marketing outlets and marketing advisory councils, were not effective in providing benefits to the target farmers. In addition, revolving credit funds were not established as planned.

As a result, market support had limited success in developing well-capacitated, sustainable farmers’ marketing associations with clearly defined roles to achieve better marketing opportunities, linkages and prices for their members.

Furthermore, the project did not contribute to innovative or new approaches, and its impact on rural finance institutions and their practices was

42 PPE: Promotion of Rural Incomes through Market Enhancement Project [here]

limited. PRIME also did not have any effects on the capacities of implementing or participating rural finance institutions, or change their internal policies, regulations and loan conditions.

Building on these findings, the PPE report recommends that IFAD should support the expansion of national and subnational governorate technical capacities and strategic partnerships of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt. In addition, it is advised that IFAD and the Government address and adaptively manage design weaknesses and erroneous project assumptions as early as they arise during implementation, and consistently with project design objectives.

The Arab Republic of Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and North Africa region, with a population of 105 million as of February 2022. Agriculture remains a principal source of livelihood for 57 per cent of the population, employing close to 30 per cent of labour, and 55 per cent in Upper Egypt.

Access report [here]

Music school gives underprivileged youth in Cairo a chance to succeed*

In the Al-Darb Al-Ahmar district of Historic Cairo, the House of Art and Culture is surrounded by dozens of small workshops that are mainly dependent on child labour. Aiming to help the young in this unprivileged area to have a better future, the DAR opened the Darab Ahmar Art School (DAAS) in 2010, a non-profit project that requires neither fees, education qualifications, nor social prerequisites for boys and girls aged 12 to 18 to empower them to have alternative job opportunities other than manual labour.

Some 300 students have graduated since the inception of the DAAS, and a good number of them have joined music bands performing in hotels of resort cities or worked for famous singers.

Amira Elsebaai, executive manager of the DAR, revealed that it used to be difficult to convince parents to send their children to a music school. However, after being invited to the children’s performances, the parents changed their views.

Elsebaai explained that students can study for two years in the school based on their levels, majoring in one of the various musical instruments, including drums, brass instruments, oud, accordions and many others. *www.dailynewsegypt.com

Access full database [here] @ioe.ifad.org

43

Enriching traditional evaluation approaches to assess transformational change and complex interventions Profile

Fabrizio Felloni, Deputy Director, IOE

E

nriching traditional evaluation approaches would allow to better assess transformational change. In this context, applying systemic approaches to evaluate complex rural development interventions would help to address the complexity of change in evaluation. Mr Fabrizio Felloni and Dr Kouessi Maximin Kodjo, respectively Deputy Director and Lead Evaluation Officer at the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), raised these points during the 2023 edition of the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) Conference.

The Société québécoise d’évaluation de programme hosted the annual Confer-

44

ence of the CES, which took place in Quebec City from 19 to 21 June 2023. The conference was preceded by professional development workshops on 17 and 18 June, and followed by international sharing sessions on 22 June.

The event rallied renowned speakers, who came together to address the theme ‘Evaluation in a changing world’. The overarching objective of the conference was to provide an opportunity to reflect on the state of the evaluation practice by looking at where we are and what directions we should take in the future. At the centre of the discussion were questions focusing on how evaluation is evolving, how to manage the complexity of change, what change should occur in evaluation practice, and what are the challenges of professionalization.

Dr Kodjo attended the Conference in person, and presented recent experiences in evaluating complex rural development interventions.

Speaking at the event, on 21 June, IOE’s Lead Evaluation Officer explained that assessing IFAD-supported operations requires dealing with complex change, as in-

Profile

Dr. Kouessi Maximin Kodjo Lead Evaluation Officer, IOE

terventions often involve various strategic and operational dimensions, diverse institutional issues and stakeholders, and multiple themes. In this regard, examples of recent evaluations include the corporate-level evaluation of IFAD’s support to agricultural innovations for inclusive and sustainable smallholder agriculture, and the sub regional evaluation of IFAD’s support in six countries in fragility-affected contexts in the Sahel.

To deal with the complexity of these evaluations, it is necessary to apply both theory of change (ToC) models and conceptual systemic frameworks. The ToC helps understand the multiple dimensions of change, possible causal re-

lationships, key assumptions and other conditions. However, it appears insufficient to unpack complex change, when comprehensive themes or topics are involved. For this reason, a complimentary approach can help to identify project components where change can be obtained, to assess the types of changes possible and their interconnectedness, and to understand change rationale and process.

On 22 June, Mr Felloni acted as a panellist in the international sharing session titled ‘Evaluation for Transformational Change: Lessons and Way Forward’. In his intervention, IOE’s Deputy Director provided examples of evaluations that have assessed programmes seeking to generate transformative changes, such as a previous evaluation synthesis and an ongoing thematic evaluation on IFAD support to gender equality, and a corporate-level evaluation of IFAD’s support to pro-poor value chain development, completed in 2019. Given that transformative change is generally understood as a systemic change, Mr Felloni highlighted the importance of identifying and describing what system a programme or strategy is expected to change and what part of a system is going to be affected in particular. A system can be not only global, regional and national but also local, such as a traditional behavioural or normative system in a given district.

The Deputy Director also argued that traditional evalua-

tion approaches and methodologies, including the international standard evaluation criteria, need to be enriched and updated, but not necessarily abandoned.

Criteria such as relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability need some adaptation, but can be used to assess transformational changes.

Among other topics, the discussion highlighted the two editions of the award for Evaluation in support of transformation, which were held in 2019 and in 2022, and which were promoted by the International Development Evaluation Association, with support from IOE and the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank.

For over 40 years, the CES has helped evaluation professionals build and advance their careers, providing a wide range of professional development opportunities and expert resources. With a community of over 1,400 members across the country and abroad, the CES aims to continue providing a home for people working in the field of evaluation to connect and grow, so they can have a greater impact on everyone they serve.

Dr Kodjo: presentation

@Unsplash/Sam 45

Careful understanding of stakeholder capacity and motivation is key for support to rural entrepreneurship in Togo

A

n IFAD-supported project in Togo successfully trained 3,263 rural entrepreneurs in business creation and management and 1,116 in technical aspects, and helped to develop around 10,000 business plans. While these figures are high for a two-and-a-halfyear implementation period, they fell short to contribute to high-quality and sustainable outcomes. This is according to an evaluation of the National Rural Entrepreneurship Project (PNPER) carried out by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE).

Among other factors, the evaluation found these findings to be partially due to the fact that the project overestimated key stakeholders’ capacities and motivation, such as the readiness of microfinance institutions (MFIs) to participate in the project without a functional guarantee or risk-sharing scheme, or the ability of young entrepreneurs (men and women) to contribute up to 10 per cent of the total financing of the business plans. Moreover, none of the 500 established microenterprises and small businesses targeted by the project was effectively supported by the expected line

46

Profile

Dr Mònica Lomeña-Gelis Lead author, Project Performance Evaluation

of credit from MFIs and a government guarantee scheme.

Against this backdrop, sustainability prospects for the project’s outputs are low.

Firstly, the continued provision of non-financial services for microenterprises and small businesses and cooperatives is at risk, as the project did not manage to consolidate a truly organized network of consultants and mentors to provide local support, and there are no national institutions in place to continue facilitating access to these types of non-financial services. Secondly, the PNPER MFI’s portfolio’s mixed performance is unlikely to change the view of the existing micro-

finance institutions present in rural areas about the risk involved in financing microenterprises and small businesses and first-time entrepreneurs.

As a result, the economic sustainability of the supported microenterprises and small businesses will largely depend on developments in the local and national economic environment and the business climate.

To respond more effectively and sustainably to the challenges faced by poor rural microenterprises, small businesses and young project owners in Togo, the IOE evaluation recommends allocating sufficient time, resources and expertise to their targeting, and providing personalized and ongoing technical and economic assistance to support the creation of rural microenterprises and small businesses. The report also notes the importance of strengthening the model for promoting access to financial and non-financial services for microenterprises and small businesses.

The overall objective of the PNPER was to help reduce poverty and improve living conditions in rural areas,

PPE: National Rural Entrepreneurship Project [here]

and to develop rural entrepreneurship, particularly for young people and women.

The project was implemented between May 2014 and 31 December 2021, at a total estimated cost of US$39.57 million. The evaluation of PNPER involved comprehensive desk research and remote interviews, as well as two field surveys to gather the views of a sample of rural entrepreneurs, cooperative members and key local implementing partners.

Togo is a small coastal country in West Africa located between Ghana and Benin and stretching about 700 km from north to south with a width not exceeding 150km. Its population, predominantly rural and young, is estimated at 8.28 million people. The country recorded a steady GDP growth rate over the past decades, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country is classified in the “low human development” category, with relatively high levels of poverty and inequality. Female-headed households remain the poorest.

Access report [here]

Togolese entrepreneurs among laureates of “L’Afrik de Demain” awards* The “Océan’s News” magazine announced the winners of its third edition of the “L’Afrik de Demain” program. Eight young Togolese entrepreneurs stood out among the 20 laureates revealed on 14 September 2023.

The eight chosen, all under the age of 35, come from diverse sectors such as agro-industry, technology, fashion, and design. They were picked because their projects, according to the jury, met significant social challenges.

Under the program, the laureates will benefit from increased visibility, offered by “Océan’s News” and its media partners.

“This media exposure will assist the winners in establishing their online presence, thereby strengthening their credibility on the international stage,” said the organizers.

In addition to this visibility, the winners will have access to a comprehensive training program that will cover essential aspects of their businesses’ growth, including communication, digital marketing, financial management, and business management.

This year, 275 entrepreneurs from eight African countries applied. The countries are Togo, Cameroon, Benin, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Niger, Madagascar, and Cape Verde.

The “L’Afrik De Demain” program aims to boost the skills of young African entrepreneurs while improving their online presence and visibility, enabling them to grow their communities and solve crucial issues these communities face. *www.togofirst.com/

Access full database [here] @ioe.ifad.org

47

Emerging trends in evaluation reflect today’s main development issues Profile

Massiel Jiménez Evaluation Research Analyst, IOE

T

he emerging trends in evaluation topics are linked to the main development themes of our time.

These include issues related

48

to climate change, forced migration, humanitarian development nexus, conflict and availability of resources for production and food consumption. The latest session of the ‘Peer-to-Peer Career Advisory Sessions for Young and Emerging Evaluators’ (p2p) put these issues on the discussion table, as representatives of the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) offered career insights into the evaluation profession.

Held on 8 June 2023, the p2p session featured Mikal Khan and Massiel Jiménez, Evaluation Officer and Evaluation Research Analyst respectively, as

Profile

Mikal Khan Evaluation Officer IOE

guest speakers. Titled ‘Career spotlight on IFAD’, the learning event focused on what it means to work in an evalua-

tion office of an international multilateral organization. The discussions provided a safe space for young and emerging evaluation professionals to raise questions regarding career challenges and opportunities, and to help each other think through their career path.

In addition to the need to keep up-to-date with the emerging evaluation trends around climate and the humanitarian-development nexus, the IOE evaluators also underscored the importance of remaining abreast with the latest evaluation methods and tools. These include the use of new ICT resources, such as data analytics and geographic information systems (GIS), which are becoming increasingly available. However, these are not mainstream and traditional methods are still central.

To follow these and other evaluation-related developments, Mikal and Massiel under-

scored that it is useful to monitor the websites and social media outlets of leading evaluation offices, networks and communities of practice, such as the UN Evaluation Group, gLocal, EvalForward and EvalNet, among others, and to sign-up to their newsletters and announcements. These platforms can also be used to reach out to practitioners, and to learn more about and pursue job opportunities.

Answering questions from the floor, Mikal and Massiel also explained the role of evaluation within IFAD, which is to promote accountability through evidence-based assessments of IFAD’s interventions. Evaluation also contributes to enhanced learning and feedback mechanisms to improve future strategies, interventions and processes of IFAD. IOE is an independent body within IFAD, and conducts independent evaluations.

partnership between the European Evaluation Society Emerging Evaluators, IDEAS Emerging Evaluators, and EvalYouth. The sessions clarify doubts and answer specific questions posed by participants about their evaluation career, basic M&E concepts, or professionals challenges. It is a demand-driven event, not a training or a workshop.

NOTICE: Please note that the learning event is NOT connected or otherwise linked to any job opening in IOE or in IFAD.

The p2p advisory sessions initiative is the result of a

@Pexels/ Ahmed akacha49

Conservation agriculture must be tailored to agro-ecological conditions in Zambia

I

f conservation agriculture and other sustainable agricultural practices are tailored to local agro-ecological conditions, they can enhance net benefits and build resilience of production systems.

This was among the main findings of the recent evaluation report of the Smallholder Productivity Promotion Programme (S3P), in Zambia.

Published by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), the report found that the use of a ‘one size fits all’ approach in the promotion of conservation agriculture practices became one of the major shortcomings of the S3P, as the programme did not consider the different farm typologies, farmers’ production orientation, and availability of farm equipment.

The overall goal of the S3P programme was to sustainably increase income levels, as well as food and nutrition security of rural households. The development objective was to increase production, productivity and sales of smallholder farmers in the target communities. The programme was implemented for over eight years, between 2011 and 2019.

The project performance evaluation (PPE) covered all components of the S3P, during the entire implementation period of the programme.

50

Profile

Raymond S. Mubayiwa Lead author, Project Performance Evaluation

In terms of infrastructure, the PPE found that the 28-kilometre Luwingu-to-Chimpili road was the most successful activity constructed by S3P, resulting in improved access to markets for smallholder producers and traders. The permanent weirs show good construction quality and utilization, particularly during the off season.

Improved access to extension advisory services was another success that the programme achieved. This success, however, was short lived as the private service providers and Ministry of Agriculture have not sustained the same intensity of extension service provision as during programme implementation. While this

confirms that outreach was driven by programme financing, it also highlights that the familiar challenge of “projectization’’ of service delivery resulting in limited sustainability.

Another issue of concern is that, during the S3P lifespan, the promotion of conservation agriculture was not enhanced by the incorporation of labour-saving technologies, as support to adapted tools, equipment, transport and onfarm post-harvest technologies was inadequate. Furthermore, other PPE findings that require attention include the fact that the capacity development support of farmer organizations and their federations was not optimal and required further support, particularly on marketing. In addition, market access has remained a significant and ongoing concern given the supply-side focus of the programme and the gaps in functional synergies at the operational level with other IFAD-supported programmes to complement with marketing, value chain development and access to finance.

Seeking to build on the lessons emerging from the S3P, the PPE report recommends that future IFAD-funded operations should sufficiently integrate market orientation in production and productivity

PPE: Smallholder Productivity Promotion Programme [here]

enhancement programmes to ensure sustainable smallholder production and productivity growth. IFAD and the Government should also give greater attention to the localized, contextually specific application of different sustainable agricultural practices through the adoption of a systems agronomy approach. In terms of sustainability, IFAD and the Government should carefully consider the sequencing, timeliness and effective implementation of interventions in integrated programmes to facilitate the achievement of greater and more lasting results.

Zambia’s economic situation has improved in the last decade, driven by economic and public sector reforms initiated in the 1990s and propelled by rising copper prices. Economic growth was around 6 per cent annually between 2005 and 2010. However, poverty levels have remained high, especially in rural areas. More than 60 per cent of Zambians live below the poverty line. To foster more broad-based and inclusive economic growth, Zambia has sought ways to diversify its economy.

Access report [here]

@pixabay/ JacksonDavid

Africa’s biggest day of fashion* PR Girl Media hosted the 8th annual ‘Lusaka July’ in September under the theme “A Purple Empire of Royals” on Sunday 3 September 2023 at the Lusaka Polo Club in Lusaka’s showgrounds. The event has been popularly dubbed as “Zambia’s Met Gala”. It is undoubtedly Zambia’s leading fashion event stopping the nation every year with millions of viewers glued to their television screens and phones in discussions of who is best-dressed and who isn’t!

The 8th edition of the prestigious event was supported by Zambian Breweries, Big Tree Beverages under the Trade Kings Group, Manda Hill, Intercontinental Hotel and ZAMTEL. The corporate partners curated memorable brand experiences overlooking the majestic polo fields where guests witnessed a thrilling match between Cape Town’s Val de Vie Polo Club and our very own Lusaka Polo Club.

Attracting a continental audience of over 50 million people, the Lusaka July 2023 was well attended by influential personalities in fashion and lifestyle such as Namibian Luis Munana, Tanzanian Gigi Money, Congolese Majoos, the Ugandan ABRYANZ, South African darlings Cooking With Zanele and the Lazy Makoti, Rwandese Fashion Designer Moshions as well as the legendary Laduma of South African Maxhosa.

The Managing Partners of PR Girl Media, Monde and Chishimba Nyambe have confirmed that the 9th edition of the Lusaka July will be held in September 2024 and will aim to attract even more international visitors to the event which will continue to promote Zambia as a desired tourist location for leisure activities.

*www.lusakatimes.com/

Access full database [here] @ioe.ifad.org

51

IOE joins GEI members to charter the way forward

M

embers of the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI) discussed the Initiative’s annual work plan, provided inputs to its strategic guidance, and reviewed its key performance indicators during the 2023 Annual Partnership Council, on 24 May. As a key partner and founding member of the GEI, the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) was represented by its Deputy Director, Fabrizio Felloni.

Mr Felloni actively participated in the Council’s deliberations, as GEI members addressed the status of GEI’s implementation, with special emphasis on deliverables and planned activities for the next year. Participants endorsed the overall direction of GEI’s work and proposed evaluation methods, in addition to focusing on key operational matters for GEI’s future success.

Speaking at the event, Mr Felloni also presented the latest effort underway to enhance M&E capacity in Uzbekistan. The initiative is carried out by GEI in consultation with the EU Agriculture Support and Knowledge Facility Facility – an EU-funded technical assistance project to help Uzbekistan with the implementation of the Agrifood Development Strategy of Uzbekistan

52

for 2020-2030 – and with the Regional Division of IFAD for Near East, North Africa and central Asia. The initiative started after a country-level evaluation conducted by IOE in Uzbekistan.

GEI is an alliance of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, and centres for higher education and research. The Initiative supports developing countries in strengthening their monitoring and evaluation systems to help governments gather and use evidence that improves the lives of their citizens. The Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank leads the Initiative, in collaboration with the Independent Evaluation Office of the United Nations Development Programme.

GEI Annual Report 2021/2022

Signing of the GEI MoU in January 2020

Exciting prospects for joint evaluative work emerge

J

oint parallel evaluations, joint workshops, seminars and trainings, joint publications, joint trainings and staff exchanges are but some of the opportunities that a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) have opened. Signed on 6 June 2023, the MoU brings together the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) and the Department for Evaluation of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), for what promises to be an exciting collaboration.

that govern their offices. In this regard, in addition to joint evaluations, webinars, seminars and workshops, IOE and NORAD may collaborate on a range of evaluation-related activities, including sharing best practices on methodological and technical assistance matters. These may include the latest methods for data collection and analysis in evaluation; the development of policies, guidelines and manuals underpinning evaluation; and tools, approaches and channels for efficient communication.

Dr Indran A. Naidoo, IOE Director, and Helge Østtveiten, Director of Evaluation at Norad, underwrote the agreement that sets out the framework for the working relationship between the two offices. Having regard to their common interest to plan, implement and report evaluations, and wishing to co-ordinate their efforts within the scope of their respective mandates, the partner offices have agreed to collaborate in a number of areas.

The Department for Evaluation, located in Norad, is mandated to initiate and carry out independent evaluations of any activity financed by the Norwegian aid budget.

The evaluation function contributes in part to learning and gathering experience from Norwegian participation in international development cooperation, and in part to keeping the actors in Norwegian development policy accountable for its administration.

In particular, the MoU foresees that the partners will seek to provide one another access to information of relevance to their work, in conformity with the confidentiality and data protection rules and procedures

IOE Coffee Talk on ‘audit and evaluation working collaboratively’, featuring the Dr Naidoo and Mr Østtveiten

53

IOE FAMILY

CONTINUOUS ENGAGMENT

E

mbracing the added value that retreats bring to a team, IOE decided to double-up. The first retreat, which was open to all staff, consultants and interns, was held against the picturesque scenery offered by Lago Albano. The second retreat brought together the members of the Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation (CSPE) team, along with one staff member from each of the other IOE units, as well as the IOE Director and Deputy Director.

On 15 June 2023, the IOE team gathered outside IFAD premises to discuss a number of important issues for the Office. The morning began with a

54

series of interactive team presentations on the implementation of the 2023 work programme, which highlighted achievements, constraints and options to overcome them. These were followed by an update on the development of the work programme for 2024 and indicative plan for 2025-2026, presented by IOE’s Deputy Director, Fabrizio Felloni. In the afternoon, the Coordinator of IOE’s Evaluation Communication Unit, Dr Alexander Voccia, offered a quick excursion into the evolution and journey of IOE over the past two years. A (admittedly mindboggling) treasure hunt wrapped up the day’s outing, with puzzled faces trying to make sense of riddled instructions to collectan allusive treasure.

TO ENHANCE IOE RESULTS

The CSPE half-day retreat took place just a few days later, on 26 June 2023. Guided by Dr Kouessi Maximin Kodjo, IOE Lead Evaluation Officer, and co-organized by Jeanette Cooke, IOE Evaluation Officer, the event offered plenty of informal knowledge sharing, food for thought and insightful team building exercises. Discussion topics included: how to improve current arrangements for peer reviews of CSPEs; time management techniques; tips to better understand Management; personal lessons from involvement in thematic and corporate-level evaluation work; and dos and don’ts in independent evaluation.

55

Independent Office of Evaluation International Fund for Agricultural Development Via Paolo di Dono, 44 - 00142 Rome, Italy Tel: +39 06 54591 - Fax: +39 06 5043463 E-mail: evaluation@ifad.org www.ioe.ifad.org www.twitter.com/IFADeval www.youtube.com/IFADevaluation

56