24-February-2020
“Stakeholder engagement is important in optimizing the value of an evaluation. It is the value for money of an evaluation”
Tell me about one of your recent memorable evaluation experiences
One of my recent memorable evaluation experiences concerns a sector evaluation, for which I was part of the evaluation team. This evaluation is memorable mainly because of what I learned about effective stakeholder engagement especially before and during the evaluation. Such evaluation stakeholder engagement is important in optimizing the value of an evaluation. It is the value for money of an evaluation, as it mitigates unnecessary conflict, and facilitates the buy-in and use of the evaluation findings. It also provides comfort and satisfaction to both the intended evaluation user(s) and the evaluation team. The evaluation in question generated resistance and fatigue. As we did not have an effective stakeholder engagement strategy at the start of the evaluation, we had to overspend in terms of time and budget resources in order to enhance the value of the evaluation.
What do you do before any evaluation?
Before conducting an evaluation, I usually focus on:
- Improving my understanding of the intended user and uses of the evaluation, and the object of the evaluation including its intervention logic and context
- Developing a practical and credible evaluation plan with all the details including intended users and uses, questions, methods for answering the questions, quality assurance, timeline and logistical arrangements
What do you bring with you on your field missions in conducting an evaluation?
Apart from my evaluation plan and field mission terms of reference, I bring with me:
- A to-do list
- A to-expect list, and
- A fit-for-purpose attire to facilitate long walks in challenging terrains in search of hard-to-reach stakeholders of the object of the evaluation.
What is the most important lesson you learned from your recent evaluations?
Engagement of evaluation stakeholders including the main audience throughout the evaluation process matters for the success of an evaluation: it enhances the credibility, acceptability and use of the evaluation results. For this to happen, we need to have a stakeholder engagement strategy as part of the evaluation process; the stakeholder engagement strategy should include the stakeholders, their stakes/interests, and how to effectively to engage them throughout the evaluation process including in defining the evaluation purpose(s), questions, and recommendations.
What should an evaluator avoid doing during an evaluation?
In compliance with the good practice standards for independent evaluation, an evaluator should, avoid, among other behaviors:
- partiality in identifying evaluation questions, criteria and methods, and in reporting findings and recommendations;
- unethical behavior;
- disrespect of stakeholders.
How can we strengthen evaluation practice?
Evaluation practice can be strengthened by improving the capacity to design, conduct and supply useful evaluations, and the capacity to demand and use evaluations appropriately for better development results. In this regard, I wish to mention support for:
- Continuous improvement of evaluators’ competences, support systems and structures to do meaningful and credible evaluations; to advocate for evaluation use; and for evaluation to have a voice at strategic levels;
- Enhancing the capabilities of national, regional and global evaluation networks to continue to promote the importance of evaluation, and contribute to evaluation capacity development;
- Meaningful conversations between evaluation providers and users;
- Support the right mindset for evaluation supply and use among users including the citizenry at all levels.
How do you think evaluation will evolve?
Evaluation will continue to evolve in order to reflect the complex and dynamic nature of human behavior and development. In such an evolution, while mindful of “alternative facts”, evaluation will better integrate important issues such as gender, environment, climate change, equity, inequality and human rights.