Evaluating Country Programmes - OECD Online Bookshop

OECD 1999
Country Programme Evaluations Workshop: The Case of Tanzania
– Shared purpose, criteria and standards for CPEs.
– Establishment of sound relationships (formal and informal) among partners,
i.e. creating ability to break through cultural barriers and attitudes.
Without adequate local participation which takes into account the above
issues, there can be no meaningful contribution and continuous commitment from
local partners in the events succeeding the evaluation process.
A need for change
It is a challenge to attempt a change in traditional approaches of most development
programmes. It takes time, patience, energy and cost to embark in a process
of change, and particularly when it involves various parties in a multi-cultural
environment, a situation which is typical for a partnership development process.
In reality, and given adequate resources, it is easier to work out strategies and
plans in isolation, sharing results only when these are finalised. In this case,
results can only be short-term; however, in the long term, costs and losses
involved (both materially and emotionally) are huge. It has, therefore, been seen
as necessary to change old patterns and beliefs in order to match development
philosophies and principles with local contexts and, thus, ensure sustainability
for the local population.
Steps to secure involvement of local partners in CPEs
The following steps, though not exhaustive, are simple suggestions to the process
of enabling development partners-mainly donor countries – to create a conducive
environment for effective local partner involvement in CPEs while at the same
time maintaining an adequate level of accountability and professional evaluation
standards.
The process: Evaluation, be it of a country programme or any other, should be
seen as a continuous process which entails a critical assessment, recognising and
learning from positive and negative cases which are vital for the future. Hence,
together with all partners concerned, adequate time needs to be given to the planning
of all evaluation events to be anticipated under a specific country programme.
The outputs of such events will culminate in valuable insights to the inputs
required for an effective CPE.
Policies, strategies and agendas: The policies and strategies of respective
countries in partnership co-operation should be made clear during discussion of
key issues related to programme planning and evaluations. Likewise, the development
agendas of participating partners should be discussed openly and in a transparent
manner. This should also be seen as a continuous process owing to the fact
that there are a lot of dynamics and changes in development co-operation.
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