Learning from Nine Examples of Peacebuilding Evaluation

Panelists and audience members at the Summit included representatives
from the US Agency for International Development, the US State
Department, the World Bank, the United Nations, the International Development
Research Centre, and other major nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), foundations, and evaluation consultancies. In addition to US, Canadian,
and European participants, participants from Kenya, Israel, Ireland,
Iraq, Thailand, and the Philippines attended.
Prior to the Summit, a review committee selected nine organizations, out of
nearly thirty that responded to a call for submissions, to present evaluations
to an audience of donors, evaluation experts, and practitioners. Presentations
were made by:
1. Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC)
2. CDA Collaborative Learning Projects and Human Systems Dynamics
Associates
3. Search for Common Ground
4. Early Years—the organization for young children
5. Friends of the Earth Middle East
6. Mercy Corps
7. Building Markets (formerly Peace Dividend Trust) 1
8. Brandeis University, Acting Together
9. Pact, Kenya and Act!
Each presentation was followed by focused and structured feedback from
a panel of commenters that included donors, practitioners, and evaluation
experts and a broader conversation with Summit attendees. The challenges
and tensions surrounding evaluation were not resolved at the Summit, but
the rigorous discussion led to some consensus on both helpful and problematic
dynamics as well as possible solutions to maximize the effectiveness
of evaluations under a range of real-world constraints. By presenting and
critiquing these nine cases, the Summit provided tangible examples of effective
peacebuilding evaluation as well as insight on how evaluation can be
improved further.
7
The Evidence Summit illustrates a trend away from talking about the challenges
of peacebuilding evaluation and what might be possible toward talking
about what is being done and how tensions between ideal and feasible
evaluation practices can be resolved. To accelerate this trend, which we consider
a healthy one, this report summarizes major themes and key findings
of the first Evidence Summit, presents the nine evaluation presentations in
the form of case studies, and provides guidance for practitioners on holding
additional Evidence Summits.
1 At the time of the Summit, the organization was called Peace Dividend Trust. In this report, we use their new
name: Building Markets.