International Development Evaluation: Foundations and Practices

Date: 5 – 9 July 2010 (5 full days)
Venue: King’s College London

Course Director: Robert Picciotto, Visiting Professor, King’s College London

International development evaluation is increasingly called upon to support evidence based policy making in the management of development programmes. Growing public pressure to secure better results from poverty reduction initiatives have generated a high demand for quality and independent assessments aimed at improved decision making in different countries, contexts and cultures. Consequently, expectations regarding evaluators’ capabilities are rising.

This summer institute course explores core concepts and emerging issues within the rapidly expanding field of development evaluation. It aims at laying solid foundations for the professional growth of development evaluators, managers and commissioners. It addresses:
– The conceptual foundations and basic principles of development evaluation; its purposes, products and uses
– The analytical and policy implications of development trends for evaluation policies, programmes and projects
– The available tool kits of evaluation methods and techniques
– The emerging guidelines and standards for shaping development evaluation policies and practice
– The governance and management arrangements for development evaluation and their implications

By the end of the seminar you will:
– Have gained a thorough understanding of the contemporary economic, social, political and cultural context of development and the consequences for evaluation
– Be able to explore the potential and limitations of performance measurement systems
– Identify good practices in planning, design, implementation, and utilisation of evaluations in international development
– Have an overview of the diverse approaches and methods of international development evaluation.

The Course Director: Robert Picciotto: Visiting Professor at King’s College, London, Robert Picciotto is former Vice President, Corporate Planning and Budgeting, and former Director General, Evaluation, at the World Bank. He is a member of the Independent Advisory Committee for Development Impact (reporting to the UK Secretary of International Development) and sits on the boards of the European Evaluation Society and the UK Evaluation Society.

He has advised numerous international organisations including the Council of Europe Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the International Fund for Agriculture Development, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Course Faculty: The programme is taught by Robert Picciotto and a team of leading researchers:

Saville Kushner: Professor Saville Kushner teaches evaluation at the University of the West of England, Bristol. He is President-Elect of the UK Evaluation Society.
Georgie Parry-Crooke: Associate Director of the Centre for Social and Evaluation Research at London Metropolitan University, Georgie Parry-Crooke is responsible for its postgraduate Diploma and Masters Degree in Evaluation and Social Research.
Murray Saunders: A former President of the UK Evaluation Society and of the European Evaluation Society, Murray Saunders is Director, Centre for the Study of Education and Training at Lancaster University.
Elliot Stern: Professor of Evaluation Research at Lancaster University, edits the journal Evaluation. He is a past President of the UK and European Evaluation Societies.
Helen Simons: Helen Simons, former President of the UK Evaluation Society, is Professor of Education and Evaluation at the University of Southampton and Honorary Visiting Professor at London Metropolitan University.

Is this course for me? This course is designed for evaluation practitioners, development evaluators, managers and commissioners from all sectors, in particular government institutions and international organisations. A limited amount of places are available to PhD-students and young professionals.

Fees: Course fees: £700  Participants who register before 31 March 2010 will be entitled to a 10% discount. A discount of 10% is also available for multiple bookings from the same institution or organisation. For more details, please contact Dr Cordula Janowski (Set hyperlink) Programme Manager Executive Education.

PhD-students and King’s College London Alumni receive a discount of 15%.

Course fees include all course materials, drinks and snacks on each course day and one course dinner. In addition, participants receive a free copy of three books: ‘Bridging the Gap’ and ‘Country-led monitoring and evaluation systems’ (both edited by Marco Segone, UNICEF), and ‘The Road to Results: Designing and Conducting Effective Development Evaluation’ (Linda G. Morra Imas, Ray C. Rist, World Bank, Washington).

Upon completion of the short course participants will be awarded a King’s College London Certificate of Attendance.

Accommodation: King’s College London cooperates with 3- 5-star hotels close to the Campus, which offer special rates to participants. In addition, we are happy to recommend a number of hostels/youth hotels in Central London.

For details, please contact: Eleanor Salt or phone 0044 (0)20 7848 8183.

How to Apply: To apply please complete the online form

Contact: To learn more please contact:Dr Cordula Janowski, Programme Manager Executive Education, Cordula.janowski@kcl.ac.uk 0044 (0)20 7848 6814 And visit the website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/business-old/commercial/cpd/evaluation.html

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