IDEV participates in an annual event for development practitioners engaged in evaluation to come together to learn, exchange knowledge, and collaborate.
From 17 to 19 July 2023, IDEV’s Chief Evaluation Officer, Joseph Mouanda, together with Alison (Allie) Malkin, mediator, trainer and coach, conducted a workshop on “Communication and Reporting” as part of the International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) 2023 edition held at the University of Bern, Switzerland.
IPDET cooperates with strategic partners to build a global, inclusive, multi-disciplinary community committed to evaluative evidence to improve development outcomes. The summer program in Bern consists of a one-week core course on fundamentals of evaluation, followed by two weeks of workshops on specialized topics and the latest developments in the field. In this spirit, IDEV committed to actively contributing to the training program for the 171 participants from 63 countries.
The 3-day training on communication and reporting animated by Joseph and Allie put great focus on practice and provided a diversified approach for audiences from different organizations and sectors who play different roles in the evaluation process. It was delivered to 24 participants , of which 71% women, working in 20 different organizations located in Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Cameroon, The Gambia, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Mongolia, The Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tobago, Trinidad, and Yemen. 50% of the participants had less than 5 years of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) experience, and 33% had 5 to 9 years of experience.
The participants stepped out of their primary role of design, conduct, management or supervision of evaluations to reflect on the importance of communication and reporting, and on how to achieve the best results in the context of their work in evaluation.
Key takeaways from the workshop
- Find your why: What matters is not the number of evaluations you produce, but the impact the evaluation will have on improving people’s lives. So, before you talk about what you do, you need to know why you are doing it.
- Stakeholder engagement: Stakeholder engagement should take place throughout the evaluation life cycle of development interventions, including feedback loops.
- Report effectively to be heard: It is an art, not a science, and can be achieved through the use of a message-driven approach, appropriate communication of negative findings, and effective data visualization.
- Conflict management: While the evaluator cannot avoid conflict, he/she can minimize the likelihood of it through stakeholder engagement, and he/she should manage it effectively.
- Knowledge management (KM) and communication: This does not come at the end of the evaluation process when the evaluation report is ready, and it is not about two opposing teams (evaluators versus KM and communications). KM and communication should be part of the evaluation team from inception.
- Master your oral communication: To have impact, you need to communicate effectively, efficiently, and powerfully. Therefore, the approach to mastering your oral communication should be based on clarity, leadership, and impact.
