On-line training in Monitoring and Evaluation using Results Based Project Management

Date: 6th May up to 11th June, 2009
Venue: Online

Local Livelihoods will be putting on a live online Results Based Monitoring and Evaluation course to be run for 2 hours a week for six weeks.  Between each weekly session there will be exercises applying the course learning to your own project.  This will be supported by an interactive online database and project managements system that will enable participants to work simultaneously with the trainer with online mentoring.

The cost is £150.00 all you need is a PC with broadband connection.

The technology is extremely simple, just the same as opening websites, no more.

This first course is for participants in Africa and Europe.  There will be a later course for participants from Asia and the Pacific.

For further information please go to:  http://www.uk.locallivelihoods.com/Moduls/WebSite/Page/Default.aspx?Pag_Id=132

Regards
Freer Spreckley
online@locallivelihoods.com

Meeting: Complexity and evaluation

Date: 15th April 2009
Venue: Diana Memorial Fund offices on the South Bank, London

Dear All,

The next event in the ongoing series exploring how complexity is useful
in the aid and development sectors will focus on evaluation. The meeting will be hosted by Panos London on Wednesday April 15th (9am-5pm) at the Diana Memorial Fund offices on the South Bank.

Building on the previous sessions which have focused on the background and theoretical roots of complexity, we will have a brief introduction to some of the key issues and implications for evaluation approaches that attempt to address the complex nature of aid and development.
Continue reading “Meeting: Complexity and evaluation”

Summer School On Monitoring And Evaluation Of International Programmes And Public Policies

Date: June 8 to 13, 2009
Venue: CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Bologna

The 2009 Summer School On Monitoring And Evaluation Of International Programmes And Public Policies is part of the University of Bologna International Summer School Programme. It is organised by the Centre for International Development (www.cid-bo.org) in cooperation with the Faculty of Political Sciences, the Department of Economics, and the Department of Political Science of the University of Bologna and with the Office for International Programmes of the State University of New York at Albany. Continue reading “Summer School On Monitoring And Evaluation Of International Programmes And Public Policies”

Following the Money: Do Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys matter?

By Geir Sundet, Anti-Corruption Resource Centre , U4 ISSUE  2008:8  28 pages. PDF
The abstract of >this report< is reproduced below:

Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys, or PETS, are recognized as an effective tool to improve accountability in public finance and service delivery. A Ugandan success with PETS is one of the most cited anti-corruption success stories. Expenditure tracking has also become a popular activity among Civil Society Organizations engaged in accountability issues at the local level. This paper takes a closer look at the experience of expenditure tracking and argues that its successes may have been overstated. It suggests that an uncritical acceptance of the effectiveness of expenditure tracking has hindered the development of a more nuanced approach that is better suited to the particular circumstances of each case. The report proposes some principles of engagement on how to track expenditures more effectively.

Valuing impact: Building an Association of Nonprofit Analysts

Date: Tuesday 19 May, 2009
Venue: The King’s Fund, London

The is the first ever international gathering of its kind, and a groundbreaking event for anyone who is passionate about the performance of nonprofit organisations. Join us if you’d like to make contacts and see how we can work together more to share best practice, promote impact measurement, and take the first steps towards creating an Association of Nonprofit Analysts.

Click here to find out more and to secure your place.

Esther Paterson
Conference Organiser

epaterson@philanthropycapital.org

New Philanthropy Capital
3 Downstream, 1 London Bridge, London, SE1 9BG
t: +44 (0) 20 7785 6300 f: +44 (0) 20 7785 6301
www.philanthropycapital.org

2009 Measuring Effectiveness conference – Melbourne

Date: 17th – 18 September 2009
Venue: Anglis Conference centre, Melbourne

Preparations for the fourth annual Measuring Effectiveness conference are currently underway. The conference will again be held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Angliss Conference Centre, on Thursday 17th and Friday 18th September, 2009. This year the conference theme is ‘Community, Poverty and Business’. The conference will explore ways in which business principles and wealth creation have come together successfully with community development.

Our reason for writing to you is a dual one; we wish to invite you personally to consider attending the conference and consider submitting a presentation, poster, etc.

In addition we would ask you to disseminate this information amongst your networks, colleagues and fellow students. Submission deadline is Friday 29th May, 2008.

In the next few weeks conference information will appear on the World Vision website, and regular updates will also be posted there. The conference brochure will be available online in late June. The full conference program, with details on the speakers, presenters and sessions, will be available in late August. Online registrations will open in mid July.

For further information, refer to the website http://www.worldvision.com.au/learn/conferences/me/index.asp or contact us at measuringeffectiveness@worldvision.com.au

Regards,
Program Effectiveness | World Vision Australia
Email : measuringeffectiveness@worlddvision.com.au
Website : http://www.worldvision.com.au/learn/conferences/index.asp

Please distribute this information amongst your networks.

Dangerous Correlations: Aid’s Impact on NGOs’ Performance and Ability to Mobilize Members in Pakistan

Masooda Banoa, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, Accepted 22 November 2007.
Available online 2 July 2008.

Summary

Based on a country-wide survey of 40 civil society organizations in Pakistan, this paper demonstrates that the policy of channeling development aid through NGOs in the South in the name of generating social capital and strengthening civil society is having a reverse impact: organizations reliant on development aid have no members. The survey indicates a strong correlation between receipt of international aid and absence of members; it further demonstrates a strong correlation between aid and rise in material aspirations among leaders of NGOs and lower organizational performance. The paper raises possibility of a causal relation where aid leads to material aspirations among leaders of NGOs, which in turn result in lower performance and an inability to mobilize members.

References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.

Guidance on M&E for Civil Society Programs: Prepared for AusAID Program Managers

>A report< by Linda Kelly, Rosalind David, Chris Roche. December 2008

Introduction

“AusAID supports a range of civil society programs across several countries. These include large scale bi-lateral programs as well as smaller projects focused on particular sectors and programs which support the work of non-Government Organisations (NGOs).

Civil society work is different from many of the other areas of development work supported through the aid program. It explicitly seeks to serve people through enabling them to undertake their own development, relying as far as possible upon their own skills and resources. As such it focused on enabling and empowering processes. The ways things are done, in particular the way in which people are able to control their own development, is as important, perhaps more important, than what is achieved. This holds true for all aspects of civil society programs including the monitoring and evaluation of such programs.

In light of these differences and the challenges it presents for aid management, this document provides guidance for AusAID program managers about how to approach monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for civil society programs. It provides guidance for the AusAID program manager about what to look for (and avoid) at the key stages of a program in order to ensure that civil society processes are maintained and enhanced through the assessment processes. Attention is also given to how gender should be addressed throughout assessment processes.

The guidance has been developed after review of international best practice (see Annex one), which highlighted the specific difficulties of civil society work and the challenges these raise for M&E. Consultation with AusAID program managers and program implementers has also informed this guidance.

The guidance is divided into four sections:

1) Section 1 covers design. This section considers aspects of analysis and design which are
relevant to M&E.

2) The second section focuses on implementation and how M&E should be expected to
evolve through this period.

3) The next section looks at reporting.

4) The final section addresses evaluation of civil society and community development
initiatives.

A short section for senior managers is also attached. This short summary is designed to help them understand and assess the resources and skills they need within their program staff for
managing civil society programs

For more information contact Michael.bergmann@ausaid.gov.au

PARTICIPATORY MONITORING AND EVALUATION WORKSHOP

Date: July 27-August 1, 2009
Venue: Held at the University of  Ottawa, Canada

This Six-Day PM&E Workshop will show you how to:

*Rethink your own monitoring & evaluation strategies and approaches;
*Master and learn new innovative participatory PM & E tools for the workplace;
*Facilitate PM & E processes for your project, programme or organization;
*Develop monitoring and evaluation plans in a more participatory manner;
* Integrate gender, ethnicity, class and sexuality issues and concerns to your PM&E work;
*Integrate qualitative and participatory methods into monitoring and evaluation.
Continue reading “PARTICIPATORY MONITORING AND EVALUATION WORKSHOP”

Results-based Management, Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space Technology Workshop

Dear Rick

Mosaic.net International will be organizing two workshops on the theme of results-based management and participatory monitoring and evaluation.

Results-based Management, Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space Technology Workshop
Venue: Held at the University of Ottawa, Canada
Date: July 20-24, 2009Venue:

The five day workshop grounds you on three topic areas: results-based management, appreciative inquiry and open space technology. The workshop takes you beyond traditional thinking and will introduce you to new innovative approaches that are changing the workplace. The following themes will be part of the workshop:
-Results-based management and performance measurement and its implications for your organization;
-Building results-based logical frameworks;
-Creating monitoring and evaluation systems that are results-based;
-Moving away from problem-focus approaches to more asset-based approaches;
-The appreciative inquiry cycle;
-Weaving appreciative approaches into results-based Management;
-Using Appreciative Inquiry in the workplace.
-Experiencing open space technology.
Continue reading “Results-based Management, Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space Technology Workshop”