Building on national expertise for adaptive evaluation practice
Panel Discussion
About the Event
In almost every field, the COVID pandemic has led us to distinguish what is essential from what is less. In evaluation, most international travel had to be cancelled and many ordinary ways of working were disrupted or put into question. Still, many evaluations were conducted in 2020, thanks to creative and adaptive planning and finding new ways of working. Some of these innovative solutions revealed how we can achieve our purpose in different and even more sustainable ways. All over the world, evaluation commissioners and practitioners, and in particular national evaluation practitioners, had to adapt to changing conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many, if not most cases, in-person community-level data collection has been conducted almost exclusively by national evaluation practitioners, with remote guidance from international team members and evaluation commissioners.
This event will allow us to take a step back to reflect on some of these evaluation practice adaptations, and identify those that should persist to build forward better evaluation practice in the future. In particular, the session will look into how the changed conditions have increased reliance on national consultants, what opportunities can be leveraged in this regard, and what risks need to be managed. The session will touch on questions related to strengthening national ownership of the evaluation processes and results, reducing international travel and carbon emissions, protecting the independence and the credibility of the evaluation process, and enhancing capacities and roles of national consultants and institutions.
AGENDA
- Opening remarks – Mr. Masahiro Igarashi, Director, Office of Evaluation, FAO
- Building on national expertise for adaptive evaluation practice - Aurelie Larmoyer, Evaluation Officer, FAO, and Eoghan Molloy, Evaluation Officer, IFAD
- Panel discussion:
o Arjumand Nizami, Country Director / Int. Advisor Environment & Climate Change,
Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, Pakistan
o Khalid El Harizi, Strategic evaluation expert, Morocco
o Mustapha El Haiba, Evaluation consultant, Morocco
- Concluding remarks by Masahiro Igarashi, Director, Office of Evaluation, FAO
This event is linked to a French language event being held on June 4. Register for that event by following this link: https://glocalevalweek.org/fr/event-detail/21266
This event will allow us to take a step back to reflect on some of these evaluation practice adaptations, and identify those that should persist to build forward better evaluation practice in the future. In particular, the session will look into how the changed conditions have increased reliance on national consultants, what opportunities can be leveraged in this regard, and what risks need to be managed. The session will touch on questions related to strengthening national ownership of the evaluation processes and results, reducing international travel and carbon emissions, protecting the independence and the credibility of the evaluation process, and enhancing capacities and roles of national consultants and institutions.
AGENDA
- Opening remarks – Mr. Masahiro Igarashi, Director, Office of Evaluation, FAO
- Building on national expertise for adaptive evaluation practice - Aurelie Larmoyer, Evaluation Officer, FAO, and Eoghan Molloy, Evaluation Officer, IFAD
- Panel discussion:
o Arjumand Nizami, Country Director / Int. Advisor Environment & Climate Change,
Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, Pakistan
o Khalid El Harizi, Strategic evaluation expert, Morocco
o Mustapha El Haiba, Evaluation consultant, Morocco
- Concluding remarks by Masahiro Igarashi, Director, Office of Evaluation, FAO
This event is linked to a French language event being held on June 4. Register for that event by following this link: https://glocalevalweek.org/fr/event-detail/21266
Speakers
| Name | Title | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Masahiro Igarashi | Director, Office of Evaluation | Masa is an evaluation expert with more than 25 years of experience in development evaluation, economic analysis, organizational reform and policy development, and result-based management. He is currently serving as the Director of the Office of Evaluation in FAO and chair of the UNEG. |
| Aurélie Larmoyer | Evaluation officer | Aurélie is an international development programme evaluation specialist with over 20 years of experience in delivering and evaluating aid programmes. She has been an evaluator since 2004 first with WFP then with FAO and the IAEA. She holds a master’s degree in international development (La Sorbonne) |
| Eoghan Molloy | Evaluation officer | Eoghan is an international development evaluation specialist, currently with IFAD Independent Office of Evaluation, and previously with FAO Office of Evaluation and OECD Development Centre. He holds a Master’s degree in Development Practice from Trinity College Dublin. |
| Arjumand Nizami | Country Director / Int. Advisor Environment & Climate Change | Dr. A. Nizami is in development sector for over twenty-seven years. Her thematic interests are diverse including natural resource management, environment, climate-change, value chains, water, food and nutrition, poverty, and institutions. |
| Khalid El Harizi | Evaluation expert | Khalid is a strategic evaluation expert, former staff in IFAD, as Country Programme Manager; Manager of the Innovation Mainstreaming Initiative; and Senior Evaluation Officer. He has done field work in North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, South-East Asia and South Asia. |
| Mustapha EL HAIBA | Evaluation consultant | Mustapha is a specialist in water resources management. Hydrological engineer, former Head of Division at the Water Department in Rabat, Morocco. He has worked for several years in Africa and the Arab region on water, irrigation and drinking water supply projects. |