The Child Rights in Practice: Measuring our Impact conference

Date: Date: October 25th – 30th 2009
Venue: Whistler British Columbia.

We are pleased to announce the new dates for Child Rights in Practice Conference: Measuring our Impact. The conference will be held from October 25th – 30th in beautiful Whistler, British Columbia.

This conference promises to be an exciting, interactive journey to discover how we can be more accountable to children. It will explore the current methods of monitoring and evaluation and also introduce new ways to incorporate this practice into our daily work. Continue reading “The Child Rights in Practice: Measuring our Impact conference”

Training in the Most Significant Change Evaluation Technique (Cardiff, UK)

Date: 15th to 17th December 2009
Venue: Cardiff, UK

There are many different ways to collect and analyse data as part of an evaluation. Each has their merits, and each has their weaknesses. Recently there has been an increased recognition that quantitative analysis (using numbers) may not always be appropriate, or give us the full picture. As Einstein said “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted”. The importance of stakeholder participation in evaluation has also gained prominence. A new suite of qualitative evaluation tools have emerged in response to this, the Most Significant Change (MSC) story approach possibly having the greatest prominence.
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Measuring Change II: Expanding Knowledge on Monitoring and Evaluation in Media Development

Date: Monday, 12 October, 2:30pm – Wednesday, 14 October, 2:30pm
Venue: Bad Honnef (near Bonn), GermanVenue: y

Deadline for registration is August 15, 2009

Conference Aim

  • To share latest trends, tools, and learning regarding:
  • Assessing media landscapes and training initiatives
  • Evaluating how media development cooperation may affect media’s potential to change societies
  • Approaches to M&E from project implementer and donor perspectives

Continue reading “Measuring Change II: Expanding Knowledge on Monitoring and Evaluation in Media Development”

American Evaluation Association (AEA) Annual Conference

Date: November 11 – 14, 2009
Venue: Orlando, Florida

The American Evaluation Association (AEA) invites evaluators from around the world to attend its annual conference to be held Wednesday, November 11, through Saturday, November 14, 2009 in Orlando, Florida. We are fortunate to be at the world-class Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, providing us with a beautiful venue and context for learning from one another as well as building in some time for relaxation and fun.

AEA’s annual meeting is expected to bring together approximately 2500 evaluation practitioners, academics, and students, and represents a unique opportunity to gather with professional colleagues in a supportive, invigorating, atmosphere.

The conference is broken down into 41 Topical Strands, which includes 655 sessions over the course of 3.5 days. These sessions examine the field from the vantage point of a particular methodology, context, or issue of interest to the field as well as the Presidential Strand highlighting this year’s Presidential Theme of Context and Evaluation. Presentations may explore the conference theme or any aspect of the full breadth and depth of evaluation theory and practice.

To register for the Evaluation 2009 Conference, please visit our Eval 2009 page (eval.org/eval2009/). However, for additional information about the Conference or AEA in general, please contact Membership Director Heidi Nye via email at info@eval.org or telephone at (888) 232.2275 or (508) 748.3326. Act quickly, as the discounted early registration rates expire September 26!

International Course on Participatory Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation – Navigating and Managing for Impact

Date: 1 Mar 2010 – 19 Mar 2010
Venue: Wageningen, Netherlands

Dear colleagues,

I would like to refer you to the succesful course that we are running since 2002 and which this year had 3 parallel courses due to the high number of applications!

This course is organised by Wageningen International, part of Wageningen University and Research Centre. This course focuses on how to manage for impact by integrating strategic guidance, operational management, monitoring and evaluation in a learning environment, whilst navigating the external and internal context. Particular attention is given to designing and institutionalising participatory planning and M&E systems in development initiatives and organisations for continuous learning and enhancing performance. Attention also is paid to the relationship between management information needs and responsibilities and the planning and M&E functions. For more info please visit our website: http://www.cdic.wur.nl/UK/newsagenda/agenda/Participatory_planning_monitoring_and_evaluation.htm or contact us: training.wi@wur.nl or cecile.kusters@wur.nl

If your are interested to receive scholarship – the deadline is 1st September so please be fast!

Kind regards / Hartelijke groeten,

Cecile Kusters
Participatory Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation
Multi-Stakeholder Processes and Social Learning
Wageningen UR, Wageningen International
P.O.Box 88, 6700 AB Wageningen, the Netherlands
Visiting address: Lawickse Allee 11,Building 425, 6701 AN Wageningen, The Netherlands
Tel.  +31 (0)317- 481407
Fax. +31 (0)317- 486801

e-mail:  cecile.kusters@wur.nl
Website: www.cdic.wur.nl/UK
PPME resource portal: http://portals.wi.wur.nl/ppme/
MSP resource portal: http://portals.wi.wur.nl/msp/
www.disclaimer-uk.wur.nl

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

Pan African Monitoring and Evaluation Conference

Date: 27 – 31 July 2009
Venue: Premier Hotel, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

The leaders of Africa continue to grapple with service delivery and are looking for ways to improve their capabilities and help them to achieve tangible and sustainable results.

“Now, more than ever, governments are being held accountable to their constituents for their expenditure,” explains Hennie Oosthuizen, CEO of the African Information Institute. “It is prudent for Africa’s leaders to embrace monitoring and evaluation in order for them to accurately assess the quality and impact of their work against their strategic plan.”

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is a public management tool used to improve the way that government and other organizations achieve results. South African President, Jacob Zuma, has prioritised M&E through the establishment of an evaluation, monitoring and planning commission within the presidency, as well as in all government departments from national down to local level.
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BOND Quality Group – Debate on logframes

Date: 2-5.30pm 11th June 2009
Venue: NCVO offices, N1 9RL, London

For more information contact: Alex Jacobs <alex@keystoneaccountability.org>

Motion: this meeting believes that the logframe is the right tool for managing most NGO work

Logframes (Logical Framework Analysis) are very widely used in NGOs. But they split opinion sharply throughout the sector: some people love them, some hate them.

To their supporters, logframes provide a simple short way of summarising a project’s aims and activities. They force staff to map out the intermediary steps that link activities and overall goals. They can be applied at any level, from an entire organisation to one specific project. They help managers and donors alike by providing a guide to action and a set of indicators to monitor progress, which be can conveniently communicated to other people. Many different approaches can be used to create logframes, including participatory methods.

To their detractors, logframes force staff to think in an inappropriate way. They assume that complex social systems can be predicted in advance and that social problems reduced to a single problem statement. They do not take account of different people’s views and priorities (e.g. within communities), and they are based on an inappropriate linear logic (if A happens, then B will happen, then C). In practice, they are inflexible, creating a strait-jacket for relationships with partners and communities, which undermines outsiders’ ability to respond effectively to changing realities on the ground. They create bureaucratic paperwork, and are most useful for donors and senior managers.

What are the arguments and evidence for each side of the debate? Come along, listen to some expert opinion, debate the issues with your peers.

Speakers:

  • Proposing: Peter Kerby (DFID) & Claire Thomas (Minority Rights International)
  • Opposing: Robert Chambers (IDS) & Rick Davies (independent)

Presentations made by:

Voting Results (before and after debate)

Table 1: Votes before the debate
For Against Abstain Total
Women 9 14 1 24
38% 58% 4%
Men 3 5 1 9
33% 56% 11%
Total 12 19 2 33
36% 58% 6%
For Against Abstain Total
Large org 6 4 10
60% 40%
Small org 1 13 14
7% 93%
Total 7 17 24
29% 71%
Table 2: Votes after the debate
For Against Abstain Total
Women 6 13 1 20
30% 65% 5%
Men 2 4 1 7
29% 57% 14%
Total 8 17 2 27
30% 63% 7%
For Against Abstain Total
Large org 2 5 7
29% 71% 0%
Small org 2 11 13
15% 85% 0%
Total 4 16 0 20
20% 80% 0%

See also the summary of the BOND logframe debate, available at the BOND website

Impact Evaluation of Population, Health and Nutrition Programs

Date: October 5 – 16, 2009
Venue:  Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India

USAID’s MEASURE Evaluation Project is pleased to announce the regional workshop on “Impact Evaluation of Population, Health and Nutrition Programs,” for English speaking professionals. The workshop is sponsored by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), New Delhi, India in collaboration with MEASURE Evaluation. The two-week course will be held October 5 – 16, 2009 in New Delhi, India.
Continue reading “Impact Evaluation of Population, Health and Nutrition Programs”

A Regional Workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation of HIV/AIDS Programs

Date: August 3-14, 2009
Venue: Pretoria, South Africa

USAID’s MEASURE Evaluation Project is pleased to announce a training opportunity for the Anglophone Africa region. The School of Health Systems and Public Health at University of Pretoria in Pretoria, South Africa is offering a regional workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation of HIV/AIDS Programs. This two-week course will take place August 3 – 14, 2009, and will be taught in English.
Continue reading “A Regional Workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation of HIV/AIDS Programs”

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