EvalPartners International Forum on Civil Society’s Evaluation capacities Chiang Mai, Thailand 3-6 December, 2012
Overview
Within the EvalPartners initiative, an International EvalPartners Forum was organized on 3-6 December 2012 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with the aim of strengthening evaluation capacities of Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in general, and Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) in particular.
The Forum facilitated the sharing of good practice and lessons learned by VOPEs and others engaged in Evaluation Capacity Development (ECD), while identifying EvalPartners priorities to be implemented in 2013.
The event focused on active and participatory methods (such as market places, working groups, etc.) and discussion of a limited number of case studies identified through the international mapping of VOPEs. The best case studies will be documented and published within the UNICEF et al blue book series.
More than 80 participants from all over the world attended the Forum. These include the Presidents/Chairs of all Regional and Major VOPEs and more than 30+ national VOPEs, as well as high-level representatives from bilateral (including the Government of Finland, Switzerland, USA and Australia) and International Organizations, such the WB Vice President and IEG Director General, UNEG Chair, Directors of Evaluation Offices of UNICEF, UNDP and UN Women, among others. Please click on the report and on the photo gallery to access the report of the Forum and photos of participants.
Video Interviews are also available here
Participants signed the EvalPartners Chiang Mai Declaration (Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Russian), committing themselves to EvalPartners objectives and principles.
Main Forum themes
The Forum covered the following themes:
- VOPEs’ capacities to play meaningful roles in influencing enabling environments for evaluation at national and/or subnational level; Government and/or non-governmental institutions/organizations; within and across sectors, focusing on:
- National evaluation policies
- Country-led M&E systems
- Demand for and use of evaluations by donors and implementing agencies
- VOPEs’ institutional capacities
- VOPEs’ capacities to design and implement strategies to strengthen capacities of evaluators in general, and their own members in particular
- A cross-cutting theme will be equity-focused and gender-responsive evaluations
To access the presentation delivered at the Forum, please click on the title of each presentation in the agenda below.
Time |
Session objectives |
Chair |
Speaker / Presenters |
Session 1: Welcome and Opening |
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8:00 – 9:00 |
Welcome all participants and contextualize EvalPartners |
Chair: Jim Rugh, EvalPartners Coordinator
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Welcome:
Opening:
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Session 2: EvalPartners and National Evaluation Capacity development (video-recorded) |
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9:00 – 9:30 |
Chair: Jim Rugh, EvalPartners Coordinator |
Marco Segone, Co-chair, EvalPartners; and Co-chair, UNEG Task Force on National Evaluation Capacity Development |
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Session 3: The role of VOPEs in influencing an enabling environment for evaluation (video-recorded) |
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9:30 – 10:30 |
Share good practices and lessons learned of VOPEs’ practical cases in influencing National Evaluation Systems, Policies and/or function |
Chair (interviewer): Nermine Wally, AfrEA President |
Morocco:
South Africa:
Sri Lanka:
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10:30 – 11:00 |
Break |
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Session 3 (cont.) The role of VOPEs in influencing an enabling environment for evaluation (video-recorded) |
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11: 00 – 12: 00 |
Share good practices and lessons learned of VOPEs’ practical cases in influencing National Evaluation Systems and/or Policies |
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(Continued) |
Session 4: The role of CSO in using evaluative evidence to influence public policies |
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12:00 -12:30 |
Share good practices and lessons learned, and facilitate mutual learning, dialogue and networking, about |
Chair: Ziad Moussa, EvalMENA Facilitators |
VOPE case studies |
Session 4: The role of CSO in using evaluative evidence to influence public policies |
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12:30 – 13:00 |
Marketplace continues, with different VOPEs sharing from their case studies |
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More VOPE case studies
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13:00 – 14:00 |
Lunch |
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Session 5: How to strengthen VOPE’s capacity to influence an enabling environment for evaluation |
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14:00 – 15:30 |
Brainstorm on potential innovative initiatives to strengthen VOPE’s capacity to influence an enabling environment for evaluation. |
Chair: Ada Ocampo, UNICEF
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Six working groups organized by language/region:
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15:30 – 16:00 |
Break |
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Session 6: Towards a strategy/work plan to strengthen VOPEs’ capacities to influence an enabling environment for evaluation |
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16:00 – 17:00 |
Based on the previous brainstorming session, to prioritize and detail a 2013-2015 strategy and a 2013 Work Plan to strengthen VOPEs’ capacities to influence enabling environments for evaluation |
Chair: Ada Ocampo, UNICEF
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(Same working groups as in Session 5) |
19:00 – 21:00 |
Welcome ceremony with Traditional Thai performance, and delivering of the 2012 EvalPartners Award to Jean Quesnel |
Tuesday 4th December: VOPEs’ institutional capacities
Time |
Session objectives |
Chair |
Speaker / Presenters |
Session 7: Synthesis of proposed strategy/work plan to strengthen an enabling environment for evaluation |
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8:00 – 8:30 |
Present the proposed 2013-2015 strategy and a 2013 Work plan to strengthen VOPE’s capacity to influence an enabling environment for evaluation |
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Enabling Environment Working Group |
Session 8: Institutional capacities in voluntary organizations (video-recorded) |
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8:30- 9:00 |
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Chair: Shubh Kumar Range, CoE/South Asia |
Jean Quesnel, Credentialed Evaluator, Former Director of the Evaluation Offices of CIDA, IADB and UNICEF |
Session 9A: Strengthening VOPEs’ Institutional capacities |
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9:00 – 9:30 |
Share good practices and lessons learned, and facilitate mutual learning, dialogue and networking, about strengthening VOPEs’ Institutional capacities. |
Chair: Doha Abdelhamid, EvalMENA
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VOPE case studies: |
Session 9B: Strengthening VOPEs’ Institutional capacities |
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9:30 – 10:00 |
Share good practices and lessons learned, and facilitate mutual learning, dialogue and networking, about strengthening VOPEs’ Institutional capacities. |
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VOPE case studies:
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10:00 – 10:30 |
Break |
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Session 9C Strengthening VOPEs’ Institutional capacities |
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10:30 -11:00 |
Share good practices and lessons learned, and facilitate mutual learning, dialogue and networking, about strengthening VOPEs’ Institutional capacities. . |
Chair: Issaka Traore, AfrEA
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VOPE case studies: |
Session 9D: Strengthening VOPEs’ Institutional capacities |
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11:00-11:30 |
Share good practices and lessons learned, and facilitate mutual learning, dialogue and networking, about strengthening VOPEs’ Institutional capacities. |
Facilitators: Member of MG in each room |
VOPE case studies: |
Session 10: Strengthening VOPEs’ Institutional capacities |
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11.30 – 12.30 |
Synthesizing good practices and lessons learned |
Chair: Tessie Catsambas, AEA |
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12:30 – 14:00 |
Lunch |
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Session 11: How to strengthen VOPEs’ Institutional capacities |
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14:00 – 15:30 |
Brainstorm on potential innovative initiatives to strengthen VOPE’s Institutional capacities. |
Chair: Tessie Catsambas, AEA
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Working groups divided by sub-theme
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15:30 – 16:00 |
Break |
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Session 12: Towards a strategy/work plan to strengthen VOPEs’ Institutional capacities |
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16:00 – 17:00 |
Based on the previous brainstorming session, to prioritize and detail a 2013-2015 strategy and a 2013 work plan to strengthen VOPEs’ Institutional capacities |
Chair: Tessie Catsambas, AEA
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Working groups divided by sub-theme
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Wednesday, 5th December: Institutionalizing sustainable learning strategies
Time |
Session objectives |
Chair |
Speaker / Presenters |
Session 13: Towards a strategy/work plan to strengthen VOPE’s Institutional capacities |
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8:00 – 8:30 |
Present the 2013-2015 strategy and a 2013 work plan to strengthen VOPEs’ institutional capacities. |
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Institutional Capacity Working Group |
Session 14: Institutionalizing sustainable learning strategies (video-recorded) |
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8:30- 10:00 |
Present different options on how to institutionalize sustainable learning strategies |
Chair: Issaka, AfrEA
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Session 15: Strengthening VOPEs’ capacities to enhance evaluators’ skills (video-recorded) |
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10:00 – 11:00 |
Share good practices and lessons learned of VOPEs’ practical cases in strengthening VOPEs’ roles to broker academic collaboration to build evaluators’ skills. |
Chair: Marcia Paterno, ReLAC |
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11:00 – 11:30 |
Break |
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Session 16A: Strengthening VOPEs’ capacities to enhance evaluators’ skills |
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11:30 – 12:00 |
Share good practices and lessons learned, and facilitate mutual learning, dialogue and networking, about strengthening VOPEs’ capacities to enhance evaluators’ skills.
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Chair: Pablo Rodriguez-Bilella, ReLAC
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VOPE case studies: |
Session 16B: Strengthening VOPEs’ capacities to enhance evaluators’ skills |
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12:00 – 13:30 |
Share good practices and lessons learned, and facilitate mutual learning, dialogue and networking, about strengthening VOPEs’ capacities to enhance evaluators’ skills. |
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VOPE case studies: |
12:30 – 14:00 |
Lunch |
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Session 17: How to strengthen VOPEs’ capacities to enhance evaluators’ skills |
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14:00 – 15:30 |
Brainstorm on potential innovative initiatives to strengthen VOPE’s capacity to enhance evaluators’ skills. Highlights from what we have heard so far, and own experiences and ideas |
Chair: Natalia Kosheleva, IPEN
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Working groups by sub-topics:
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15:30 – 16:00 |
Break |
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Session 18: Towards a strategy/work plan to strengthen VOPEs’ capacities to enhance evaluators’ skills |
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16:00 – 17:00 |
Based on the previous brainstorming session, to prioritize and detail a 2013-2015 strategy and a 2013 Work plan to enhance evaluators’ skills |
Chair: Natalia Kosheleva, IPEN Facilitators: |
Working groups by sub-topics:
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18-00 – 20:00 |
Working session with Regional VOPEs |
Thursday, 6th December: Equity-focused and gender-responsive evaluations and 2013 workplan
Time |
Session objectives |
Chair |
Speaker / Presenters |
Session 19: Towards a strategy/work plan to strengthen VOPEs’ capacities to enhance evaluators’ skills |
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8:00 – 8:30 |
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Chair: |
Evaluators’ Skills Working Group |
Session 20: Equity-focused and gender-responsive evaluation (video-recorded) |
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8:30- 9:00 |
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Chair: Inga Sniukaite, UNWomen |
Belen Sanz, Head, Evaluation Office, UNWomen; and Chair, UN Evaluation Group (UNEG)
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Session 21: Strengthening VOPEs’ capacities to make evaluation work for equitable development results |
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9:00 – 9:30 |
Share good practices and lessons learned of VOPEs’ practical cases to make evaluation work for equitable development results |
Chair: Inga Sniukaite, UNWomen
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Case studies: |
Session 22: Towards a strategy/work plan to strengthen VOPEs’ capacities to make evaluation work for equitable development results |
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9:30 – 11:00 |
Develop a 2013-2015 strategy and a 2013 Work plan to strengthening VOPEs’ capacities to make evaluation work for equitable development results. |
Chair: Inga Sniukaite, UNWomen
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Working groups led by MG members :
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11:00 – 11:30 |
Break |
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Session 23: Towards a consolidate strategy/workplan to strengthen VOPE’s capacities |
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11:30 -12:30 |
Synthesizing priorities that have been presented by the working groups during the past 3 days, present the draft comprehensive 2013-2015 strategy and 2013 work plan |
Chair: Murray Saunders, EES + IOCE VP |
Tessie Catsambas, AEA + IOCE Secretary |
12:30 – 13:30 |
Lunch |
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Session 24: Take home messages and follow-up of regional and big country VOPEs from the Forum (video-recorded) |
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13:30 – 15:00 |
Take home messages and follow up of regional and big-country VOPEs from the EvalPartners Forum
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Chair: Soma de Silva, IOCE President
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15:00 – 15:15 |
Break |
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Session 25: The role of the international community in supporting National Evaluation Capacity Development and VOPEs (video-recorded) |
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15:15 – 16:45 |
Provide feedback by the international community to the proposed EvalPartners’ 2013-2015 strategy and 2013 workplan |
Chair: Colin Kirk, Director, Evaluation Office, UNICEF |
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Session 26: Closing |
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16:45 – 17:30 |
Highlight main outcomes of the Forum, the way forward and commit to the EvalPartners principles by signing the EvalPartners’ Declaration |
Chair: Soma de Silva and |
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