Country-led Evaluations: Experiences from Africa Partner’s perspective: Country recipient partner – learning to trust evaluations.

Presenter: Beverley Barry: Executive Officer – The Learning Cape Initiative, Western Cape Province, South Africa / /

PURPOSE Ultimate goal: – to identify and enhance evaluation groups to provide momentum for the emergence of more institutionalized CLE

South Africa CLE MER audit Evaluation networks Accreditation for professionalism M&E as an economic growth area

Shift to CLE is about transformation: –Nature of evaluations –Form that evaluations take –Function or use of evaluations –Funds for the evaluation Processes of CLE vary in terms of how the country leads the evaluation in partnership with donor to build: –Relationship of trust and integrity –Capacity to project manage and evaluate –Deal with and manage the complexity & chaos Shift in power to govern, lead and manage

Barriers Lack of integrated practices of and systems/ structures for evaluation Meeting project/ legal/ reporting requirements vs. learning and evaluating Challenge to link project / programme /sector linked to country development agenda Fear about evaluation as a discipline and implications Cost and capacity

Drivers Political will to learn: –the need to know, report and use results –Build & maintain systems and structures Legislation: –compliance, audits, policy changes –Supply and demand Influential power that CLE brings: –Niche: knowledge, skills, reach and scope –Track record –Network: information sharing & learning –Knowledge generation

Lessons Learnt : transformation Joint initiation of CLE builds trust & vision Taking the power of PROCESS is taking responsibility for building capacity & creating knowledge, structures, systems The rate of learning of the country should be equal to or greater than the donor to create momentum for COUNTRY LED Transformation = INSTITUTIONALISATION

RATIONALE FOR AND RELEVANCE OF CLE Empowerment Tipping points Social capital

THANK YOU.