Tag: Civil Society / NGO

US Congress Committee on Financial Services that looked into ‘The World Bank’s Disclosure Policy Review and the Role of Democratic Participatory Processes in Achieving Successful Development Outcomes’.

(from the Pelican email list)

Dear all,

In reaction to the message that I sent to you earlier today, Alnoor Ebrahim sent me a link to a recent hearing of the US Congress Committee on Financial Services that looked into ‘The World Bank’s Disclosure Policy Review and the Role of Democratic Participatory Processes in Achieving Successful Development Outcomes’.

At this hearing, he gave a testimony based on the results of research he did into the reforms and accountability efforts undertaken at the World Bank over the past fifteen years, particularly those in which civil society organizations played a significant role. A PDF of the written testimony is available here:
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ebrahim.pdf <http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ebrahim.pdf>

The testimonies of all five witnesses (Joseph Stiglitz, Richard Bissell, Vijaya Ramachandran, Thomas Blanton and Alnoor) as well as a video of the hearing are available on this page:
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/FShr_091009.shtml <http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/FShr_091009.shtml> ,

From: Niels Keijzer/ECDPM


Evaluation in the UK third sector: current issues, future challenges

Workshop Date: Thursday 8th October 2009 Time: 12.30pm to 4.30pm
Venue: Toynbee Hall, Aldgate, London

Twenty years ago, evaluation in the third sector was limited. There was very little support for third sector organisations wishing to evaluate their work, and self-evaluation was treated with suspicion by many. The situation in 2009 is somewhat different. Many third sector organisations routinely self evaluate and a number commission external evaluations. Although the prime motivators are still accountability and meeting the demands of funders and commissioners, many report the benefits of monitoring and evaluation for learning and decision making.

This timely event will enable presenters and participants to share their knowledge of existing evaluation practices in the UK third sector, and to explore some of the challenges facing us in the future. It aims to build networks of UK third sector evaluators (both self evaluators and external evaluators).
Continue reading “Evaluation in the UK third sector: current issues, future challenges”

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 Impact Assessment: a Guide for Practitioners

The Feinstein International Center has been developing and adapting participatory approaches to measure the impact of livelihoods based interventions since the early nineties. Drawing upon this experience, the guide aims to provide practitioners with a broad framework for carrying out project level Participatory Impact Assessments (PIA) of livelihoods interventions in the humanitarian sector. Other than in some health, nutrition, and water interventions in which indicators of project performance should relate to international standards, for many interventions there are no ‘gold standards’ for measuring project impact. This guide aims to bridge this gap by outlining a tried and tested approach to measuring the impact of livelihoods projects. The tools in the guide have been field tested over the past two years in a major research effort, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and involving five major humanitarian NGOs working across Africa.

Download a PDF copy of the guide here

Does Empowerment Work?

“Does Empowerment Work?: Underlying concepts and the experience of two community empowerment programs in Cambodia and Tanzania ” (2008), by Aldo Benini.

This book length document “investigates the effectiveness in poor rural societies of a concept of modernity that has enjoyed an explosive career over the past fifty years – empowerment. From rich-nation self-help movements to the liberation of historically oppressed groups, programs claiming to give power to the powerless are legion. Often they are mixed with other normative master frames and social technologies such as human rights or micro-finance. Continue reading “Does Empowerment Work?”

Impact assessment: Drivers, dilemmas and deliberations

Prepared for Sightsavers International by Jennifer Chapman & Antonella Mancini
jenny.chapman@tiscali.co.uk antonella.mancini@blueyonder.co.uk 9 pages 10th April 2008

“This paper investigates key debates and issues around impact assessment and performance measurement for UK development NGOs. It was originally written for Sightsavers to stimulate debate and thinking among staff, Board and senior management team. This version has been amended to be relevant for a wider NGO audience. It is based on the authors’ many years experience, reading of key documents and 11 interviews with informants selected because they are inluential in these debates and/or they have first hand experience of trying to implement impact assessment or performance measurement systems within NGOs. The paper has been put together in a relatively short period of time and does not claim to be based on rigorous research.”

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