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Session Title: Evaluating Program Interventions in a Rapidly Changing World: Exploring the Potential of Mid-term Reviews, Real Time and Prospective Evaluation
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Panel Session 352 to be held in Texas E on Thursday, Nov 11, 3:35 PM to 4:20 PM
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Sponsored by the Evaluation Use TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Marvin Taylor-Dormond, World Bank,
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| Discussant(s):
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| Patrick Grasso, World Bank, pgrasso45@comcast.net
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| Abstract:
The global financial crisis, coupled with earlier food and energy crises threatened economic growth and living standards in developed and developing countries. Policy makers and development agencies responded with a range of direct spending, lending, and technical assistance to stabilize and stimulate economic growth and prevent negative welfare outcomes. In turn, evaluators are expected to provide relevant, appropriate, and timely assessments of how program funds are spent or implemented in this rapidly changing development context. Real-Time (RTE) and Prospective (PE) Evaluation and Mid-Term Reviews (MTR), offer the promise of timely and relevant evaluation, but with some drawbacks. Within the evaluation community there is still no clear, common understanding of what constitutes RTE and PE and of the potential risks and rewards. This panel would introduce examples crisis related interventions by multilateral development banks and would explore the pros and cons of RTE, PE and MTR and their implications for decision making.
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Evaluating Program Interventions in a Rapidly Changing World: Exploring the Potential of Mid-term Reviews
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| Chris Olson, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, olsonc@ebrd.com
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Chris Olson will give insight into the scope of the Global Financial Crisis in member countries of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and will discuss some of the measures taken by Multilateral Development Banks in the Crisis' wake. The discussion will then focus on the challenges of using Mid-Term Reviews for active projects in an unstable environment, providing examples from real EBRD cases. The discussion will be relevant to participants who evaluate ongoing projects in rapidly changing and uncertain environments where reliable information cannot yet be obtained. The presenters will seek to answer such questions as how to structure and conduct a Mid-Term evaluation in such environments? How can Mid-Term Reviews be used to cope with uncertainties, complexities and interdependencies? and How can lessons learned help improve a project’s remaining time?
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Evaluating Program Interventions in a Rapidly Changing World: Exploring the Potential Real Time and Prospective Evaluation
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| Stoyan Tenev, World Bank, stenev@ifc.org
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Stoyan Tenev will discuss the challenges of evaluating under uncertainty and will look at the complexities, dynamism, uncertainties, and interdependencies in the context in which evaluations, including development evaluations, take place. The discussion will be relevant to participants who evaluate in highly dynamic and uncertain environments where obtaining reliable and robust knowledge can be difficult and past experience can be a poor guide for the future. The presenter will seek to answer such questions as how to structure and conduct an evaluation in such environments? What methods can be used to cope with uncertainties, complexities and interdependencies? What is the role of RTE and PE versus traditional ex-post assessments?
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