Evaluating ICT for Education in Africa - Royal Holloway, University of ...

6.7.1 Real world applicationConducting monitoring and evaluation in partnership meant that theresearch had real-world constraints and consequences that influenced theprogramme implementation (Bamgerger 2006, Gray 2004). Had theEthiopian partnership not prioritised monitoring and evaluation, ECBPwould not have had the opportunity to learn vital lessons surroundingappropriate implementation and training. The output of stage one of theEthiopian research was a recommendation to delay the rollout of the laptopsby three months in order that the required framework for training could beestablished. This was a very clear example where the research contributedsignificantly to the enhancement of one of the partnership programmes.Adopting the process based approach allowed findings to be fed back into theoverall approach to programme implementation. The consequences of thiswere challenging from a personal perspective, as recorded in my researchdiary following the decision to recommend a delay in rollout (25/04/08):„It is ironic how the outcome of my time here spent talking topeople and devising the best possible methods for assessingthe educational impact of the programme has been that Bjornand I suggest that we don‟t implement the programme now …The delayed roll-out has huge impact on monitoring andevaluation and my thesis as a whole. But I couldn‟t haverecommended anything else with integrity.‟The real-world consequence of the partnership approach was a point ofregular internal reflection and tension throughout the fieldwork. As notedone night in Ethiopia (07/04/08):„I feel really challenged here, the issues are tricky because thestakes feel so much higher than in Malawi. I might becontributing to a potential global educational disaster – theyare considering spending $2.5 billion on it in Ethiopia and Imight have a role in making that more likely, legitimising itthrough my involvement. I hope not.‟260