Transforming Evaluation Contracting Practices to Embrace Local Expertise
Oficina | Online
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Organizado por:
Strengthening Evaluation Contracting Partnerships Initiative
- In partnership with: Dala Institute
Sobre o evento
Small, proximate evaluation firms have deep knowledge of context and culture and access to local communities. Yet, evaluation contracting practices impede their full contributions. In this workshop, participants will discuss: How can evaluation commissioners transform contracting practices to strengthen partnerships with small, proximate evaluation firms? How can larger evaluation firms transform contracting practices to share leadership with small, proximate evaluation firms on evaluation teams? What will it take to achieve this transformation? For each of us, what next steps are possible?
Orador/a
| Nome | Título | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Hippolyt Akow Saamwan Pul | Executive Leader, Institute for Peace and Development, Ghana | Hippolyt is an international development, policy research, advocacy, peacebuilding, and conflict management evaluator. He has co-authored briefs and presented on strengthening evaluation contracting partnerships, countering violent extremism, peacebuilding, and local governance. |
| Carlisle Levine | President & CEO, BLE Solutions, United States | Carlisle is a global advocacy, peacebuilding, rights, and capacity building evaluator. She has co-authored briefs and presented on strengthening evaluation contracting partnerships, contribution analysis in policy evaluation, measuring champion development, and local ownership in evaluation. |
| Rodd Myers | General Convenor, Dala Institute, Indonesia | Rodd is an environmental social scientist. Using mixed-methods in both agricultural and forest-based land-use systems, he analyses interactions between people and nature. |
| Giovanni Austriningrum | Senior Evaluator / Researcher, Dala Institute, Indonesia | Giovanni a social-environmental researcher anchored in Feminist Political Ecology. Her work aims to analyze and transform contemporary agrarian-environmental management policy and practices. |
Resumo
A meeting was held to discuss transforming evaluation commissioning and contracting practices to foster stronger, more equitable partnerships, particularly with small and solo proximate evaluation firms.
Hippolyt Pul of the Institute for Peace and Development (IPD) in Ghana initiated the discussion, highlighting how current policies and practices of funders and other evaluation commissioners often exclude smaller evaluation firms and solo evaluators from bringing their unique knowledge and experiences to make evaluation outcomes fit for purpose. He shared experiences where funders and larger firms favor entities based on size and track record, overlooking the unique advantages local firms bring, such as trust and nuanced understanding of local contexts. Challenges faced by small firms include lack of visibility for advertised opportunities, insufficient time and capacity to develop winning proposals against short deadlines, and unfavorable financial terms, such as delayed payments or lack of upfront funding for expenses.
Rodd Myers from the Dala Institute in Indonesia emphasized that the issue is fundamentally about power dynamics within a specific political economy. He advocated for increased transparency in procurement, including clear evaluation criteria and budget disclosures. He argued for selection processes that co-create contract terms and prioritize a firm's capacity and contextual knowledge over sheer size or past large-budget management. He stressed the need for genuine partnership rather than treating local firms as mere subcontractors for data collection.
Carlisle Levine of BLE Solutions in the United States shared her perspective as a small firm leader who also collaborates with and subcontracts other small firms. She detailed the Ananse team's model, which promotes equitable partnership through shared ownership (e.g., a common name), relational interactions, budget transparency, rates based on expertise regardless of location, shared overhead, leaderful teams, consensus-based decision-making, equal voice in client interactions, and shared intellectual property.
The meeting included breakout sessions where participants discussed positive examples of funders adjusting practices and potential individual actions. Key observations included the difficulty in matching geography, language, and content expertise; some commissioners tapping existing networks rather than using open RFPs; the ongoing challenge of local firms being viewed as service providers rather than true partners; and the benefit of initial conversations and expressions of interest over lengthy proposals.
The overall sentiment was a call for continued dialogue and concrete actions from all stakeholders—funders, large firms, and small firms—to create a more inclusive and effective evaluation ecosystem.