OVERVIEW

The course covers the basics of conducting evaluations of initiatives, broadly understood, in conflict-prone settings. The focus of the course is not limited to peacebuilding initiatives, but applies to the evaluation of the full spectrum of initiatives: development, humanitarian, private sectors, community development, and so on. “Conflict-prone” setting is similarly broad in its definition in the course. It can applied community work on interface areas of inner-cities, or it can be applied to more conventional, protracted, militarized conflicts.

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Schedule

Monday 13 June: Varieties of Conflict, Varieties of Evaluation
Morning	INTRODUCTION Orientation to course – Rationale, Logic, Structure, Objectives, Calibration of Expectations What are the principal questions & and most vexing issues for the evaluation of initiatives in conflict zones?
Afternoon	OVERVIEW OF EVALUATION 1) Purposes; (2) Types; (3) Approaches of Evaluation Familiarize students with the underpinning logic of evaluation, or evaluative thinking more generally. Why do we evaluate? How do we evaluate? “GOOD” EVALUATION IN CONFLICT ZONES Ingredients of Good Evaluation in Conflict Zones How do context, planning, and peace and conflict sensitivity fit together and interact in conflict-prone areas?

 

Tuesday 14 June : KNOW YOUR CONTEXT
Morning	PEACE AND CONFLICT STAKEHOLDER MAPPING Who are the principal groups with a stake in achieving “peace” or in sustaining conflict? How do different conflicts intersect (or not) in conflict zones When do non-violent conflicts (re) turn violent?
Afternoon	RISK & OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT Assessing the Impact of the Peace and Conflict Environments on an initiative How might conflicts hurt an initiative? How might positive “peace” developments help an initiative? How might particular factors threaten the effectiveness or efficiency of the initiative under consideration? How might particular factors provide opportunities to increase the effectiveness or efficiency of the initiative under consideration? Conflict mitigation/ management Strategies What can you do to avoid/ reduce/ plan for negative conflict impacts on the initiative? Opportunity Optimization: How can you take advantage of peace opportunities?

 

Wednesday 15 June:FPLANNING AN EVALUATION (Street-proofing skills)
Morning	PLANNING AN EVALUATION Developing the critical, analytical, skills required to prepare, interpret, or commission evaluations in conflict-prone settings Terms of Reference; Assessing Purpose Statements for an evaluation; Developing Key Evaluation Questions What is the purpose of the particular evaluation? What use will the evaluation be put to, and who are the principal users? What are the critical questions that will serve as the foundation for the evaluation?
Afternoon	KEY EVALUATION QUESTIONS (KEQS) To understand how and why Key Evaluation Question are the foundation of good evaluations

 

Thursday 16 June: ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES OF PLANNING, MONITORING AND EVALUATION - OUTCOME MAPPING (OM)
Morning	ETHICS, POWER, AND POLITICS Sensitization to Ethical Dimensions of Evaluation in Conflict-Prone Areas What are the principal ethical consideration facing evaluators in Conflict-prone areas? How does the conflict-specific context affect evaluation ethics?
Afternoon	OUTCOME MAPPING (OM) – Boot camp Understanding the logic, rational, and approach of Outcome Mapping (OM) Develop a sense of when/where OM is appropriate or not

 

Friday 17 June: PEACE & CONFLICT IMPACT ASSESSMENT (PCIA)
Morning	THEORY, PRACTICE & POLITICS OF PCIA Distinguishing Peace or Conflict Outcomes from Other Possible Outcomes Introduction and application of a peace and conflict sensitive approach to assessing the influence of an initiative on peace and conflict structures and processes
Afternoon	ETHEORY, PRACTICE & POLITICS OF PCIA (con’t) CLOSING SESSION/ WRAP UP Evaluations of the course and closing discussion on tailoring the course to meet the challenges in this field

 

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Notes on Facilitators

Kenneth Bush

Research Coordinator at INCORE. He received his Ph.D. in International Relations and Comparative Politics from Cornell University. From 2004 to 2009, he was a founding professor of the Conflict Studies Programme at St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada. He has developed and taught courses on: Evaluation, Methodology for Peace and Conflict Studies, Social Justice, Ethnicized Conflict; Peacebuilding; Post-Cold War Security; International Relations Theory; Conflict Management; Forced Displacement; Foreign Policy; and Indigenous Governance. Dr. Bush has worked with a broad spectrum of development and humanitarian organizations in the Global North and South. In 2007, he appointed the independent member of the Monitoring Committee of the PEACE III Programme (2007-2013). He was Special Advisor on Humanitarian Issues to the Canadian Government when it served on the UN Security Council (1998-2000). He has published widely on issues of peacebuilding, identity-based conflict, and bad governance. His pioneering work on Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA) has had a continuing impact on the theory and practice of evaluation in conflict-prone settings.

Colleen Duggan

Senior program specialist in the Evaluation Unit of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Colleen Duggan brings expertise in human rights and the rule of law in divided societies to evaluation research and practice. Between 2001 and 2005, Duggan spent five years with IDRC`s Peace Conflict and Development and Women`s Rights and Citizenship Programs developing programming in Latin America. Before joining IDRC, Colleen Duggan worked for over a decade with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and for UNDP on issues of humanitarian response, security sector reform, transitional justice, human rights and peacebuilding in Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and New York. She has written and published a number of works on early warning and conflict prevention, gender and transitional justice and peacebuilding evaluation. Colleen holds an LLM in International Rights and Humanitarian Law from the University of Essex and a Graduate Degree in International Development and Cooperation from the Université d`Ottawa.

READING LIST

N.B. If you have limited time and can only read some things prior to arriving, we would suggest that you prioritize the items noted ending with '**'. We will be drawing off of the other items in presentations and discussions with you.

DAY 1

• Looking Back, Moving Forward. SIDA Evaluation Manual (2004), Chapter 1, What is Evaluation, pp.9-21 **
  
• Utilization-Focused Evaluation, Michael Quinn Patton, 4th Edition, Sage publications (2008). Chapter 15, “Processes and Premises”, pp.571- 573 **
• Utilization-Focused Evaluation Checklist, Michael Quinn Patton, January 2002, p.1 **
  
• Utilization-Focused Evaluation, Michael Quinn Patton, 3th Edition, Sage publications (1997). Chapter 4, “Intended Uses of Findings” and Chapter 5 “Intended Process Uses pp.63- 113
  
• The Program Evaluation Standards, American Evaluation Association
  
• Conflict Sensitive Approaches to Value Chain Development, USAID (2008), pp. 1-8
  

DAY 2

• Hands-On PCIA Handbook, Kenneth Bush (2003) **
  

DAY 3

• When and How to Use External Evaluators, Tracey Rutnik and Marty Campbell(2002) **
• Writing Terms of Reference for an Evaluation, IDRC Evaluation Highlight 5 (2004)
  - Identifying the Intended Use(s) of an Evaluation, IDRC Evaluation Highlight 6 (2004)
  -Identifying the Intended User(s) of an Evaluation, IDRC Evaluation Highlight 7 (2004)
  - Selecting and Managing and Evaluation Consultant or Team, IDRC Evaluation Highlight 8 (2004)
  
• Utilization-Focused Evaluation, Michael Quinn Patton, 4th Edition, Sage publications (2008). Chapter 14, “Power, Politics and Ethics, pp. 523-558

DAY 4

• Outcome Mapping: A realistic alternative for planning, monitoring and evaluation, Harry Jones and Simon Hearn (2009) **
• Outcome Mapping: Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs. Sarah Earl et al, IDRC (2001)
• Outcome Mapping Case study: Mobile Phones Network - Northern Ireland
  

DAY 5

• Hands-On PCIA Handbook, Kenneth Bush (2003) **

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