Results, risk assessment and management in development cooperation – Towards a Common Approach

Date: 25 – 26 November 2010
Venue: Nordatlantens Brygge, Strandgade 91, Copenhagen

(From ODI website)

The conference is organised by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and co-hosted by The Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute and the OECD/DAC International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF).

Development cooperation is political in nature. This is particularly true in high-risk environments, where engagement impacts the behaviours, priorities, influence and power of different groups. High-risk environments could provide tremendous opportunities to deliver positive results, as long as international actors are prepared to take informed political and programmatic risks to facilitate the necessary change. However, current approaches are not always appropriate given the nature of the contexts concerned. There is also a difference between situations of fragility, humanitarian crises, or in other development contexts. Hence, risk analysis needs to take into account the specificities of each situation.

The international community lacks a concerted and agreed upon way to manage and mitigate risks. This conference will take stock on where we are now and what could be the path forward, and come up with a set of practical recommendations.

At the conference, key note speakers representing prominent international actors will discuss how they deal with risk and results management and participants will be provided with an opportunity to discuss lessons learnt from different country contexts in a set of work-shops and, looking ahead, suggest practical recommendations for follow up.

For further information regarding the conference, please click here.

To register please send your contact details to: riskconf@um.dk.  Please indicate which of the three working groups you would like to participate in. Deadline for registration is November 5, 2010.”

Stories from Aidland: Dancing to the Tune

(From The Broker)

Dancing to the tune, by Nancy Okail, July 2010

This story chronicles my involvement in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) monitoring survey on aid effectiveness in a North African country in 2006. The OECD monitoring survey was a tool designed to assess how aid was spent in this recipient country and measure progress in relation to the five dimensions of the Paris Declaration: ownership, alignment, harmonization, results and mutual accountability. I was a participant observer at one of the offices in the country’s Ministry of International Cooperation entrusted to conduct the survey.

Workshop: Designing and Building a Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation System

Date: Sunday   23-May-10   09:00 AM   till: Thursday   27-May-10   05:00 PM
Venue: Amman, Jordan

Join us in Amman, Jordan for a 5-days training workshop in designing and building a results-based M&E system.  The course is organized by the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI) and will heavily depend on the material developed in conjunction with International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) and the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank.

Combining both attention to M&E theory and practical applications of the theory, the 40-45 participants completing the course will gain knowledge and experience on how to design a results-based M&E system, understand the M&E tools, techniques, and resources needed for planning, organizing, and/or managing programs and projects.  The course provides an overview of the theoretical foundations of M&E methods, as well as ample opportunities for practical application of these methods through case studies, course exercises, and group projects.  The discussions will be practical and hands on. Participants will work in teams, discuss problem scenarios, share experiences, and develop M&E tools that they can apply in their own jobs following the course.

FOR MORE DETAILS

Visit http://www.jei.org.jo/#/18

CONTACT DETAILS:

Email: JEI@JEI.ORG.JO

Tel: +962 6 5502360 Fax: +962 6 5502370

New Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results

We are pleased to inform you that the new Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results was launched by the Administrator on September 15th, 2009. The Evaluation Office, the Operations Support Group, and the Capacity Development Group of the Bureau for Development Policy collaborated in revising the publication. Please click here to view the video clip of the launch, which was followed by a conversation between the Administrator and Mr. Bruno Pouezat, Resident Representative in Azerbaijan, on the importance of managing for development results in UNDP.
This Handbook is different from previous versions.  Recognizing the importance of integrating results-based management at the design stage, this version includes a section on planning. As the Administrator emphasizes in her letter, working consciously towards results requires systematic planning, monitoring and evaluation. The Handbook is also intended to help you support national capacities in these areas in close collaboration with national counterparts and institutions.

You will soon receive printed copies of the Handbook in English, Spanish and/or French. You can also access the online version of the Handbook at www.undp.org/eo/handbook.

We hope that UNDP will find this publication useful in its effort to be a more effective partner for development.

Best regards,

Saraswathi Menon, Director, Office of Evaluation |Judith Karl, Director, Operations Support Group, Executive Office |Kanni  Wignaraja, Director, Capacity Development Group, Bureau for Development Policy |

Evaluation of Conflict Sensibility, Conflict Prevention and Peace Building Programmes

Date: 5-8 October 2009
Venue: Belgium

This annual course is an intermediate- to advanced level course based on the newest guidelines established by the OECD-DAC. It provides methodologies for carrying out assessments of conflict sensibility, conflict situations and, subsequently, evaluating the performance of peace-building and conflict prevention activities in a seminar format with focus on methods and challenges. The course is intended for those with experience in evaluations, and an interest in, and general experience of, conflict situations.

Based on Channel Research’s experience of running training programmes on evaluation, the participants in previous years have come from aid agencies (headquarters and field personnel), donor governments, consultancies and academia. This 4 days (5 nights) course is facilitated by Emery Brusset, Director of Channel Research, Tony Vaux, an expert on conflicts and Koenraad Denayer, expert in conflict sensibility and will take place at Orshof (www.orshof.be) near Brussels.

Please find attached the course outline and application form or on the link: http://www.channelresearch.com/peace-building/evaluation-of-peace-building. For any further information, please contact Maria Bak on bak@channelresearch.com.

You can find more information about Channel Research and our trainings on: www.channelresearch.com

Training: Monitoring and Evaluation for Results

Date: July 6-17, 2009
Venue: The World Bank Headquarters
1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433

SPONSORS
World Bank Institute Evaluation Group (WBIEG)

TOPICS
Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation
Logic Models and Evaluation Questions
Indicators and Measurement
Research Designs
Data Collection
Reconstructing Baseline Data
Sampling
Data Analysis
The Practice of Impact Evaluation
Reporting Results and Utilization of Evaluations
Managing Monitoring and Evaluation Functions
Continue reading “Training: Monitoring and Evaluation for Results”

Training: Monitoring and Evaluation for Results

Date: May 11-15, 2009
Venue: Hotel Africa in Tunis, Tunisia

SPONSORS
World Bank Institute Evaluation Group (WBIEG) and Joint Africa Institute (JAI)

TOPICS
Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation
Logic Models and Evaluation Questions
Indicators and Measurement
Research Designs
Data Collection
Reconstructing Baseline Data
Sampling
Data Analysis
The Practice of Impact Evaluation
Reporting Results and Utilization of Evaluations
Managing Monitoring and Evaluation Functions
Continue reading “Training: Monitoring and Evaluation for Results”

Training in Evaluation of Humanitarian Action

Date: 21st-24th June 2009
Venue: Belgium

Channel Research and the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance (ALNAP) are inviting participants for Training in Evaluation of Humanitarian Action, Belgium, 21st-24th June 2009 (actual training dates 22nd-24th June 2009).

This course is an introductory-to-intermediate level course and has the overall aim of assisting participants in the design of monitoring systems, and to be able to commission, manage, carry out and use small scale evaluations in humanitarian action. This 3-day training course will use the OECD-DAC evaluation criteria but also introduces new evaluation material specifically on joint evaluations and innovative learning processes as part of an evaluation process.

Continue reading “Training in Evaluation of Humanitarian Action”

Review of results-based management at the United Nations

A >Report< of the Office of Internal Oversight Services.  September 2008

“Results-based management at the United Nations has been an administrative chore of little value to accountability and decision-making”

Summary

Results-based management involves focusing on what occurs beyond the process of translating inputs into outputs, namely outcomes (or “expected accomplishments”) to which it seeks to bring accountability. An inherent constraint of results-based management is that a formalistic approach to codifying how to achieve outcomes can stifle the innovation and flexibility required to achieve those outcomes.

The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) finds that the introduction of results-based management in the Secretariat has been dealt with as an addition to the myriad rules and procedural requirements that govern inputs, activities, monitoring and reporting. It has not been accompanied by any relaxation of the volume, scope or detail of regulatory frameworks pertaining to financial, programmatic and human resource management. For each of these, there are separate and incompatible systems, rules and regulations. Continue reading “Review of results-based management at the United Nations”

Results of the CONFERENCE ON IMPACT EVALUATION HELD IN CAIRO 29 MARCH – 2 APRIL

Further contributions  to this list are welcome (linked documents, or the documents themselves). Please use the Comment facility below, or email rick at mande.co.uk

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