Accountability without Impact? Where are we now? Brian Pratt

Context Increased interest in evaluation But lack of progress in many areas Changes in aid, funding and aid politics Insufficient work on impact because of focus on accountability and short term ‘results’?

The Merry-Go-Round The same questions recurring: Quantitative or qualitative? Participation or not? Accountability or learning? False dichotomies return and rebound So why do we find it so difficult?

Some Constraints Assumption everyone is an expert and anyone can do evaluation (or no one can) Institutional confusion Managers fear of evidence? Competition drives out honesty? Breakdown of trust Conscious confusion of words and concepts Politics of aid The loss of the big picture

M&E undermined internally Creating robust systems despite constraints Participation when priorities are on targets and compliance Obsession with new magic wands (tools) Aggregation for corporate needs and back donors (simplification) Technical Challenges

To move beyond ‘effectiveness’ as meaning compliance and efficiency To place impact at the centre not periphery of our thinking To establish what we mean by the logic or theory of change Do we know what most agencies mean by this: do they have an underlying theory of change or wider goals?

End Note Can we bridge the gulf between stakeholders? Can we use new methods and incorporate them into good evaluation practice? We should explore specific areas such as evaluating: capacity building, advocacy, networks, and humanitarian work We need to share experience of evaluation and impact