Do you want to engage in a conference with the latest insights on impact evaluation? Are you a policy maker, evaluator, M&E professional, manager with M&E or RBM responsibilities or researcher facing challenges in impact evaluation? Then this conference may be for you!
Subject: Much is at stake
Impact Evaluation (IE) has been at the centre of attention within the evaluation field for several years. IE addresses the fundamental question: what works for whom, and under what conditions? Governments, civil society organisations and companies want to know if their money has contributed to positive changes in peoples’ lives, and if so: how and why. They want clear answers to shape and improve on future policies. Those implementing publicly funded initiatives want to understand if their efforts have rendered envisaged effects, and if not, what can be done differently. Companies, increasingly taking social and supply chain responsibilities, want to ensure and communicate how their business benefits planet and people. Governments and the tax payers that vote them in look to development with critical eyes – is it ‘value for money’? Researchers, intrigued by the quest for evidence, are innovating with new IE approaches. Jointly, these actors add to the body of knowledge about ‘what works’ and what doesn’t. Many stakeholders with much at stake.
Challenge: what influences
evaluation design, communication and utilization
Evaluation is not – and never has been – neutral. So too within the specific area of IE, different perspectives and interests vie for central stage and power relations shape what transpires. Who defines what is IE? Who defines what is to be evaluated? Who sets methodological boundaries? Who interprets data and uses results? Different values and different paradigms influence the evaluation process, findings and use. What are the issues that need attention as we balance power, rigour, robustness and utility of IE?
During the 2-day conference the following questions will be explored:
- How is utilization of IE findings influenced by IE design and communication?
Sub questions include:
* What influences IE design?
* What influences communication of IE findings?
- What can be done in design and communication to enhance utilization of IE findings?