Independent Office of Evaluation

Innovation and scaling up in IFAD’s contextSmall interventions for big results

United Nations Evaluation Group – 2015 Evaluation Practice Exchange, New York

Independent Office of Evaluation

• For IFAD ‘innovation’ is a process that adds value or solves a problem in new ways. It is: “…the development of improved and cost-effective ways to address problems and opportunities faced by the rural poor through the projects and programmes it supports. These encompass institutional and technological approaches, as well as pro-poor policies and partnerships.’’

• For IFAD further conditions for something to be classified as innovation are:

- The approach, product or idea is new to its context- Useful and Cost effective in relation to its goal- Ability to stick after pilot testing

Innovation in IFAD’s Context

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Independent Office of Evaluation

• Innovations ‘necessary but not sufficient’.

• IFAD’s size vs. expected impact

• Scaling up not only as a principle of action, but also as a true measure of innovation as to create a wider impact on rural poverty, beyond the direct impact

• Scaling up by other development partners, private sector, governments and in some cases IFAD itself.

From innovation to Scaling up

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Independent Office of Evaluation

• Dedicated criteria and rating for innovation and scaling up in IOE’s evaluation criteria since 2002

• Included in first edition of evaluation manual 2009 and an integral part of upcoming second edition

• All Country Programme Evaluations and Project Evaluations are rated on this criteria

• Several higher plane evaluations on innovation and scaling up conducted by IOE:

- Corporate Level Evaluations on ‘IFAD's capacity to promote innovation and scaling up (2010)’ and ‘IFAD's capacity as a promoter of replicable innovation in co-operation with other partners (2002)’

- Thematic Evaluations of ‘Agricultural Extension and Support for Farmer Innovation in Western and Central Africa: Assessment and Outlook for IFAD (2001)’, ‘Promoting of Local Knowledge and Innovations in Asia and Pacific Region (2004)’ and ‘Innovative Experiences of IFAD Projects in Peru (2004)’

Importance of innovation and scaling up in Evaluation at IFAD

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Independent Office of Evaluation

• Innovation lens in evaluation:

- What are the characteristics of innovations promoted by interventions?

- Consistency with IFAD definition of the concept?

- Are the actions truly innovative or are they well-established elsewhere but new to the country or project area?

• Scaling up lens in evaluation:

- Were successfully promoted innovations documented and shared, to facilitate scaling up?

- Has IFAD proactively engaged in policy dialogue to facilitate the uptake of successful innovations?

- Have these innovations been scaled up, and if so by whom? If not, is there a realistic chance that they would be scaled up by government, other donors and/or private sector

Application of innovation and scaling up lens in evaluation

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Independent Office of Evaluation

Innovation

•Organizational resistance to new ideas and change

•ARD encompasses a wide spectrum of activities. Dispersed and unclear innovation agenda – ‘Let a thousand flowers bloom’

•Organizational dilemma: Tested approaches vs. innovative approaches

•Lack of human and technical capacity to promote/spot, absorb and disseminate innovations

•Lack of incentives for promoting innovation

Scaling up

•Insufficient attention to non-lending activities and inadequate synergies with the lending portfolio

•Lack of capacity, priority and resources of partners for scaling up

Constraints to innovation and scaling up in IFAD

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Independent Office of Evaluation

• Build up competencies in-house to promote and disseminate innovations. An change in organizational culture.

• Focus on big bets in innovation, thus optimizing resource utilization and improving absorption

• Treat scaling up as mission critical.

The way forward

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Independent Office of Evaluation

Thank You

IOE Evaluation Manual, First Edition (2009): http://www.ifad.org/evaluation/process_methodology/doc/manual.pdf

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