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The 2022 IFAD Evaluation Manual
 The 2022 edition of the IFAD Evaluation Manual, prepared in consultation with IFAD Management, is the third version of the document and represents a major revision of the 2015 edition. For the first time, the Evaluation Manual applies to both self- and independent evaluation.
The primary purpose of the Evaluation Manual is to ensure the quality, consistency, rigour and transparency of the evaluation function at IFAD, in order to increase the effectiveness of IFAD’s efforts. Along these lines, it provides guidance on adapting international standards, practices and evaluation criteria to the context of rural development, particularly when the end-clients of development interventions are smallholder farmers and small rural producers. The Manual also offers methodological guidance and standards for evaluations across the Fund.
Conceived as a living document, the 2022 Manual draws on contemporary evaluation literature and advances made since the launch of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, such as the notion of transformative change and addressing sustainability and climate resilience. It also relies on IFAD’s wealth of experience and good practices in evaluating rural development and poverty reduction programmes, as well as corporate policies and processes.
The Evaluation Manual is envisaged to be of interest to IFAD staff members and consultants, as well as to a broader group of stakeholders - governments, the private sector, civil society and other development partners involved in IFAD’s planning, monitoring and evaluation processes – and professionals who are committed to rural development and poverty reduction.
The IFAD Evaluation Manual comprises two parts. Part I establishes general principles, methodological standards and processes that foster collaboration between IOE and IFAD Management. Part II is devoted to specific evaluation products, including both IOE and self-evaluation products.
More here
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Director’s Column
The joint Evaluation Manual is a milestone for IFAD, in that it emphasizes the need for an evaluation culture to be developed by both IFAD management and IOE. To this effect, we need to recognize the strong collaboration accomplished in the production of this world-class Manual, which is fully aligned with international best practices and helps to codify processes, thus ensuring full transparency.
The Manual shall be available in English, Spanish, French and Arabic, and we shall soon be rolling out the training module. In the future, we shall also engage in joint training based on the Manual in order to socialize evaluation.
The outputs of IOE continue to be appreciated by programme countries that use evaluations for critical course correction, which is increasingly important in the context of declining resources.
Happy reading!
INDRAN NAIDOO, PhD
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 Latest evaluation
reports
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Project Performance Evaluations
Uzbekistan Horticultural Support Project
The project was designed to support the diversification of agricultural production towards higher-value crops, with particular emphasis on supporting smallholder (dehkan) farmers. However, overall, IFAD underestimated the level of support needed in a new partner country. Irrigation improvement activities have cut water losses, but the scale of these enhancements have been insufficient in light of the increasing water scarcity in Uzbekistan.
More here.
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Country Strategy and Programme Evaluations
Republic of Burundi
Although the country context presented institutionally, economically and environmentally fragile conditions, IFAD-supported interventions in Burundi achieved most of their objectives. In the areas involved, the IFAD programme brought about improvements in crop and livestock productivity. However, the interventions did not sufficiently contribute to solving a key challenge for rural development in Burundi – the great pressure placed on the country’s limited land resources.
More here.
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Evaluation Synthesis Reports
Government performance in IFAD-supported operations (2010-2020)
The report’s findings include that government is the key player in IFAD’s development effectiveness and has a critical function in project performance. However, government performance has deteriorated over the review period, a decline that – contrary to what may be expected – cannot be explained by performance in either low-income countries or countries with fragile situations.
More here.
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Evaluation Committee updates
On 7 June, the 117th session of the EC took place. The key items discussed were: Country strategy and programme evaluation for the Republic of Indonesia; Country strategy and programme evaluation for the Republic of Uzbekistan; Proposed dates for sessions of the Evaluation Committee in 2023.
On 17 March, During the 116th session of the EC, the following reports were positively received: CSPE Burundi; CSPE Eswatini; Evaluation Synthesis Government Performance; Evaluation Manual; and Management’s Update on the Impact Assessment IFAD11.
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 Events, partnerships and capacity building
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First annual meeting of IOE's Evaluation Advisory Panel
The first annual meeting of IOE’s Evaluation Advisory Panel (EAP) took place from 12 to 14 July 2022. The annual meeting was organized between the EAP and IOE, IFAD Management, members of the Evaluation Committee and the Executive Board of IFAD. The directors of the FAO, WFP and CGIAR evaluation functions were also invited to discuss collaboration between Rome-based agencies. The purposes of the meeting were for EAP members to: (i) review IFAD’s corporate needs and demand for evaluative findings and recommendations; (ii) provide feedback to IFAD and IOE on the evolution of thinking in international development evaluation; (iii) provide advice to IOE, and to some extent to IFAD Management, on emerging priorities for evaluation; (iv) participate in a session on the preparation of a Corporate-level Evaluation on Knowledge Management.
More here.
News item.
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IOE Virtual Learning Event - Evaluation synthesis on Government performance in IFAD-supported operations (2010-2020)
On 3 June 2022, the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) organized a learning event on IFAD’s support to government performance, which presented and discussed the 2021 evaluation synthesis report entitled "Government performance in IFAD-supported operations (2010-2020)". The learning event offered an opportunity to share lessons and experiences on government performance in the context of IFAD projects, based on the evidence collected from IFAD-funded projects.
More here.
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gLOCAL Evaluation Week 2022 - The 2022 IFAD Evaluation Manual as a new tool for rural development practitioners
On 2 June 2022, the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) held a webinar on “The 2022 IFAD Evaluation Manual as a new tool for rural development practitioners”. The event, which was organized as part of the gLOCAL Evaluation Week 2022, presented the new IFAD Evaluation Manual launched by the International Fund for Agricultural Development in 2022 and brought together representatives of international organizations, governments of developing countries and evaluation practitioners.
More here.
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IOE Learning event: Thematic evaluation of IFAD support to smallholder farmer’s adaptation to climate change
On 19 May 2022, the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) hosted a learning event focused on the “Thematic evaluation of IFAD support to smallholder farmer’s adaptation to climate change”. The event promoted ownership and use of the evaluation report, and provided a full understanding of findings, key messages and recommendations. The discussion panel comprised of IFAD managers at the field level and headquarters, as well as technical specialists involved in the design of successful projects.
More here.
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Malawi Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation - Virtual National Workshop
On 17 May 2022, the Government of Malawi and the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), in collaboration with IFAD’s East and Southern Africa Division (ESA), jointly organized a virtual national workshop on the Malawi Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation (CSPE), as a final step in the evaluation process. The virtual event entailed the participation of representatives of the Government, development partners, civil society organizations, private sector partners, and IFAD senior management and staff.
More here.
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IOE Coffee Talk - Mindset Strategies for Post-Evaluation Transformation
On 21 April, as part of the IOE Coffee Talk series, Dr Srini Pillay discussed five myths related to performance appraisal and feedback, and looked at of how these could impact the structure and delivery of the performance evaluation process. Dr Pillay explained how each of these myths operates in the brain, and then presented the alternatives that people can seek if they want to achieve more effective transformations because of their evaluations.
More here.
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Indonesia Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation - Virtual National Workshop
On 18 March 2022, The Government of Indonesia and the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), in collaboration with IFAD’s Asia and the Pacific Division (APR), organized a virtual national workshop for the Indonesia Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation (CSPE), as a final step in the evaluation process. The virtual event entailed the participation of representatives of the Government, development partners, civil society organizations, private sector partners, and IFAD senior management and staff.
More here.
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Independent Magazine - Issue n.3 2022. More here.
Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 I Episode 4
IOE Coffee Talk - Mindset Strategies for Post-Evaluation Transformation: Perspectives from Brain Science. More here.
IOE Evaluation Advisory Panel
Seminar 1 | Seminar 2 I Seminar 3 I Seminar 4
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IFAD Evaluation @IFADeval · Jun 13: "By meaningfully engaging, evaluation offices will improve quality and data, whilst also ensuring long-term ownership of their evaluations": @Indran_Eval, #IFADeval Director, at the Spring meeting of the Evaluation Cooperation Group. Read the news item: https://bit.ly/3HfWBrd.
https://twitter.com/IFADeval/status/1536287560196046848
IFAD Evaluation @IFADeval · May 31: #IFADeval Director @Indran_Eval attended the annual meeting of the International Research Group for Policy and Program Evaluation (INTEVAL), which took place on 23-25 May 2022, at @WiltonPark. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3z4E0fC.
https://twitter.com/IFADeval/status/1531591510508113921
On 2 June 2022, the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) held a webinar on “The 2022 IFAD Evaluation Manual as a new tool for rural development practitioners”. The event, which was organized as part of the gLOCAL Evaluation Week 2022, presented the new IFAD Evaluation Manual launched by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in 2022.
Read more
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 Staff publications and interesting readings
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Listening to the voices on the frontline of development: IFAD in fragile and decentralised contexts - Government performance and the positive relationship between ownership and effectiveness
IFAD was established to mobilize resources for agricultural development in Member States. The latter are the recipients of IFAD's loans and grants, and play a critical role in determining the outcome of IFAD-funded projects. The issue of government performance has been addressed in an Evaluation Synthesis Report on Government Performance in IFAD-supported Operations produced by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD. The importance of the ESR is heightened by the fact that the reasons for lagging government performance are often not well documented and understood. However, it is clear that lagging government performance affects the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and ultimately the sustainability of IFAD-funded operations.
More here.
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About IOE
The Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE) conducts evaluations of IFAD-financed policies, strategies and operations to promote accountability and learning.
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About IFAD
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience.
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