Events

The growing demand for transparency and accountability in public life and action is strengthening the role and place of evaluation in many countries of the world but especially in developing countries where government is ubiquitous. Although government is a major development actor, it is not the sole agent of development. Development is a dynamic process and development professionals have to keep up with new theories, approaches, tools and techniques to improve both development effectiveness and their own agency in the process. The AfrEA conference offers a location, space and opportunity barring the real and concrete limitations of the continent where the newest approaches and ideas, old and still viable techniques as well as practical, useable and useful tools for development evaluation can be showcased and publicly shared for possible implementation and adaptation in Africa. AfrEA conferences offer real value as those who attend get exposure to high level training offered by some of the best trainers in the world. In addition to the training, the opportunity to join a support network in the form of a national, regional, continental or indeed global professional group - so important for continued professional growth and development- is priceless. The conference is a three-way street; good for the evaluation professional/practitioner, and critical for the continued development of the organisation and the profession and invaluable for countries. A strong AfrEA would offer better support for national associations who in turn would make a difference in M&E engagement and performance in their respective countries. A recent study of AfrEA members’ needs and aspirations, conducted in April-May 2011 identified the biennial conferences as the ‘most attractive service provided by AfrEA to date’. Thus AfrEA Conferences and this 6th one no less constitute one strategy for reaching the broader Vision and the Mission of AfrEA which are geared towards the development of the profession by improving relevant competencies and skills, forging enduring relationships and professional partnerships. The conference is therefore not a stand-alone event, but part of a broader strategy to reach the goals of the association. Its plan includes exchange and sharing of experiences; discussions of policy issues, policy debates, theoretical expositions and practice discourses.

Build an organisation-wide monitoring and evaluation system that delivers results This five-day programme will help you introduce a results-based approach to monitoring and evaluation (M&E) across your organisation. You will leave the course with a thorough understanding of the underlying principles and practical tools needed to successfully create an organisation-wide system.

Patricia Rogers is Professor of Public Sector Evaluation at RMIT University (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology), Australia. With more than 25 years’ experience in evaluating government and non-government programs and policies, she has a particular interest in evidence-based policy for complicated and complex interventions. She was the inaugural Chair of the American Evaluation Association’s topical interest group on Systems in Evaluation and has recently written the book ‘Purposeful Program Theory’, with Sue Funnell, on situationally appropriate use of program theory and logic models. The seminars will explore how program theory and logic models can be used for systemic evaluations, addressing relationships, perspectives and boundaries, and recognising interdependency, multidimensionality, and interaction. While logic models such as logframes and results chains represent programs and policies as linear and predictable, program theory can represent complicated aspects of interventions – such multiple organizations working in parallel or sequence; interventions that work at multiple levels (eg individual, site, organization); multiple causal strands within an intervention; and interventions that both influence and are influenced by the context - and complex aspects – where it is adaptive, responsive, emergent and unpredictable. This requires thoughtful decisions about where to draw the boundaries of what is being represented in the program theory. Ultimately everything is connected, but a logic model cannot include everything. The session will also explore the barriers to using more systemic versions of program theory and how these might be overcome.

The event will attract global thinkers engaged in cutting edge evaluation research, theorizing, or practice who seek opportunities to push their thinking in new directions and are interested in applying ideas in a South Asian context

Please note that the event programme, venue and dates are subject to change The South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA) would like to invite all members and interested parties to attend the Annual AGM and Capacity Building Workshops.

Policymakers, programme staff and researchers face many questions related to the monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS programmes in developing countries. Monitoring and evaluation skills are crucial to the successful implementation, design, monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS programmes. In order to build the capacity of professionals in the Anglophone Africa region, a two-week non-degree course will provide training in the design and implementation of M&E systems that coordinate the collection of information necessary to inform decisions related to HIV/AIDS programming.

What will I learn? You choose! Topics range from Evaluation Planning, Sampling, Causal Attribution, Focus Groups, and Appreciative Inquiry; to Reporting, Theory to Practice, System Dynamics, Cultural Competence, and more...

What is the impact of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes on people’s health and education? When have CCTs worked and why? What are the lessons learned? The Centre for Global Development and the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) will together attempt answers in their one day workshop ,“Closing the Evaluation Gap”, on May 4th in Washington D.C. This workshop will mainly discuss the impact of CCTs on health, nutrition and education, and examine the evolution of policy and impact evaluation in the area. It will also analyse CCTs in particular contexts like Mexico, Nicaragua and Colombia.