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Session Title: Evaluation Policy in the Changing United States Government Foreign Assistance Community
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Panel Session 504 to be held in Capitol Ballroom Section 1 on Friday, Nov 7, 9:15 AM to 10:45 AM
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Sponsored by the International and Cross-cultural Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Cynthia Clapp-Wincek,
Independent Consultant,
ccwincek@aol.com
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| Discussant(s):
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| Richard Blue,
Independent Consultant,
richardblue@earthlink.net
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| Abstract:
In the 1970s and into the 1980s, USAID's evaluation system and practices were both innovative and well focused on impact and learning from experience. USAID was considered a leader in evaluation practices. In recent years, new actors have joined USAID in foreign assistance management. During this period, USAID has struggled with support to their evaluation system. This panel includes representatives from USAID, the Department of State's strategic planning office, the office of the Director of Foreign Assistance in the State Department and Millennium Challenge Corporation. Each will talk about evaluation policies and standards, how these are being developed, and how evaluation is playing out in practice in their agencies. After short presentations by each representative, the audience will be asked to contribute their experience and compare and contrast the different agency's approaches.
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USAID Evaluation Policy and Practice
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| Gerry Britan,
United States Agency for International Development,
gerry@usaid.gov
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The USAID experience in developing a stable and useful evaluation policy and implementation structure has had considerable ups and downs since the mid-1970s when the Office of Evaluation was created to strengthen the Agency's evaluation system and to carry out evaluations. By 1981, under President Ronald Reagan, USAID had formed the Center for Development Information and Evaluation, consolidating into one center the archival and evaluation leadership function within the Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination. The creation of the Director for Foreign Assistance shifted the evaluation staff and the focus of the work to the development of the FACTS monitoring and reporting system leaving no personnel or resources for evaluation for over a year. Evaluation seems to be back under discussion at both DFA and USAID. By the time of the Annual Meeting in November, USAID will have made progress in reinvigorating evaluation.
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Bureau of the Director of Foreign Assistance Evaluation Policy and Practice
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| Donna Stauffer,
United States Department of State,
stauffer@state.gov
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The bureau of the Director for Foreign Assistance was created in 2006 with a strong initial emphasis on input output monitoring within the context of the New Strategic Framework for foreign assistance. In 2007, DFA conducted an assessment of its own practices and made changes. DFA is currently working to define an evaluation policy.
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United States Department of State Evaluation Policy and Practice
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| Melinda Crowley,
United States Department of State,
crowleym@state.gov
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The U.S. Department of State implements foreign assistance programs as well but has not had a department-wide evaluation policy to support its strategic planning or results monitoring. The Bureau for Educational and Cultural affairs has had a strong evaluation unit and some other pockets of evaluation have developed as well. In the fall of 2008, the strategic planning office in the Resources Management Bureau (RM/SPP) began meeting with other bureaus to discuss evaluation issues and is working towards an evaluation policy.
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Millennium Challenge Corporation Evaluation Policy and Practice
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| Harry Carr,
Millennium Challenge Corporation,
carrhc@mcc.gov
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In 2004, Congress established the Millennium Challenge Corporation. MCC was 'purposely designed as a small corporation to promote, support and ensure accountability for the innovative foreign aid strategies it administers.' Due to that emphasis on accountability, MCC has used a set of performance indicators to determine countries' eligibility to receive programs. In 2006, MCC issued policy and guidance in monitoring and evaluation and the presentation will discuss what's working and what isn't.
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