accountability without impact? where are we now? brian pratt
TRANSCRIPT
Accountability without Impact?
Where are we now?
Brian Pratt
Context
Increased interest in evaluation But lack of progress in many areas Changes in aid, funding and aid politics Insufficient work on impact because of
focus on accountability and short term ‘results’?
The Merry-Go-Round
The same questions recurring:• Quantitative or qualitative?
• Participation or not?
• Accountability or learning?
False dichotomies return and rebound So why do we find it so difficult?
Some Constraints
Assumption everyone is an expert and anyone can do evaluation (or no one can)
Institutional confusion Managers fear of evidence? Competition drives out honesty? Breakdown of trust Conscious confusion of words and concepts Politics of aid The loss of the big picture
M&E undermined internally Creating robust systems despite constraints Participation when priorities are on targets and
compliance Obsession with new magic wands (tools) Aggregation for corporate needs and back
donors (simplification)
Technical Challenges
Technical Challenges
To move beyond ‘effectiveness’ as meaning compliance and efficiency
To place impact at the centre not periphery of our thinking
To establish what we mean by the logic or theory of change
Do we know what most agencies mean by this: do they have an underlying theory of change or wider goals?
End Note
Can we bridge the gulf between stakeholders? Can we use new methods and incorporate
them into good evaluation practice? We should explore specific areas such as
evaluating: capacity building, advocacy, networks, and humanitarian work
We need to share experience of evaluation and impact