Institutional Learning and Change Initiative

The Institutional Learning and Change (ILAC) Initiative of the CGIAR, in partnership with WFP, FAO and IFAD, organized a worskhop on evaluation in Rome, at FAO, on 19 September 2011.

This workshop aimed to generate some discussions on complexity and evaluation methods, as well as provide an opportunity for evaluators based in Rome to interact with one another.

The one day program had three main parts:

1. Two separate presentations followed by discussion by Professor Patricia Rogers and Dr Javier Ekboir. Why learning 'What works' is often not enough - dealing with complication and complexity and What constitutes rigorous evidence for policy design, implementation and evaluation?
2. Introduction to a new evaluation resource called ‘BetterEvaluation’
3. Sharing information on a range of methods for negotiating values, combining qualitative and quantitative data, understanding cause and effect, choosing method, and making sense of the wide range of possible evaluation methods.

The prospectus of this event is attached.

Ms Cristina Sette, from the ILAC Initiative, was the facilitator of the workshop, with Ms Daniela Cuneo, from IFAD, in charge of social reporting.

During the workshop a new evaluation resource called ‘BetterEvaluation’, developed in partnership with ILAC, ODI, RMIT, Pact and funded by Rockefeller Foundation and IFAD, was presented.

Participants worked in pairs identifying challenges and good examples of evaluation practices, and categorized them under seven components of evaluation (Manage, Define, Frame, Describe, Understand Causes, Synthesize, Report and Support Use). More about it can be found here.