Fabiola Amariles's Posts - Gender and Evaluation2024-03-28T11:58:57ZFabiola Amarileshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/FabiolaAmarileshttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2219382855?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://gendereval.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=07h9503hxli2v&xn_auth=noA guide to develop key competencies and leadership skills for women in organizationstag:gendereval.ning.com,2021-12-22:6606644:BlogPost:1537922021-12-22T04:43:04.000ZFabiola Amarileshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/FabiolaAmariles
<p></p>
<p>May I share with this community the note posted in the <a href="https://ideas-global.org/new-book-by-fabiola-amariles-in-spanish-women-to-lead-our-way-5-key-skills-for-power-and-success/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">current issue of the IDEAS Newsletter</a>, on my book in Spanish, "Mujeres, a liderar!... A nuestro modo: 5 habilidades clave para el poder y el éxito" (Women, to lead our way: 5 key skills for power and success). The English and Portuguese versions will be available…</p>
<p></p>
<p>May I share with this community the note posted in the <a href="https://ideas-global.org/new-book-by-fabiola-amariles-in-spanish-women-to-lead-our-way-5-key-skills-for-power-and-success/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">current issue of the IDEAS Newsletter</a>, on my book in Spanish, "Mujeres, a liderar!... A nuestro modo: 5 habilidades clave para el poder y el éxito" (Women, to lead our way: 5 key skills for power and success). The English and Portuguese versions will be available shortly. </p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9934566869?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9934566869?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center" width="168" height="174"/></a></p>
<p>While this Spanish version is focused on Latin American & Caribbean cultural contexts for women leaders, it intends to support women in organizations worldwide. Men can also benefit from the leadership tips provided in the book. <br/> <br/> It is based on my experiences in mentoring and leadership programs for women in organizations, as well as Feminist & Gender Transformative Evaluation capacity development programs conducted in different environments, with universal gender equality principles and leadership styles that may be applied anywhere to help overcome gender gaps in organizations.</p>
<p>The book is available in digital and paperback versions at: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09898HRZ2">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09898HRZ2. </a> </p>
<p>I would appreciate your reviews and comments to help improve future editions of the book. </p>
<p>Thank you for your support! </p>Learning about the principles of feminist evaluation. The experience of community rural development projects (Colombia).tag:gendereval.ning.com,2021-01-11:6606644:BlogPost:1384882021-01-11T02:43:14.000ZFabiola Amarileshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/FabiolaAmariles
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">By Alexandra Santillana (Global Affairs Canada), Fabiola Amariles & Ana Isabel Arenas (Learning for Impact).</p>
<p>(SPANISH BELOW) </p>
<p><span>With our best wishes for 2021 with health and well-being, we would like to share with the Gender and Evaluation community, our recent publication for the initiative "Significant Learning in Participatory Evaluation", about a pilot experience in which we applied some feminist evaluation principles and…</span></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">By Alexandra Santillana (Global Affairs Canada), Fabiola Amariles & Ana Isabel Arenas (Learning for Impact).</p>
<p>(SPANISH BELOW) </p>
<p><span>With our best wishes for 2021 with health and well-being, we would like to share with the Gender and Evaluation community, our recent publication for the initiative "Significant Learning in Participatory Evaluation", about a pilot experience in which we applied some feminist evaluation principles and participatory data collection methods in community development projects in rural Colombia.</span></p>
<p><span>This experience is part of the <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/priorities-priorites/policy-politique.aspx?lang=eng#6">Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP)</a> of the Canadian Cooperation, which aims to eradicate poverty and build a more peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous world. Canada strongly believes that promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is the most effective approach to achieving this goal.</span></p>
<p><span>According to an article by the International Center for Women's Studies "<a href="https://www.icrw.org/publications/defining-feminist-foreign-policy/">Defining Feminist Foreign Policy</a>" (2019), there are currently only three countries that have explicit feminist foreign policies: Sweden (2014), Canada (2017), and France (as of March 2019 ).</span></p>
<p><span>We trust that these experiences of reflection on feminist principles in evaluation processes contribute to a better understanding of the local gender contexts where development interventions are practiced, and therefore to better evaluation results. We also hope that we have contributed to strengthening FIAP in the Canadian government's development assessments.</span></p>
<p><span>We invite you to read the full article at the following link:</span></p>
<p><span>ENGLISH VERSION: <a href="https://evalparticipativa.net/en/2020/10/29/we-never-stop-learning-principles-from-feminist-participatory-evaluation-in-colombia/">https://evalparticipativa.net/en/2020/10/29/we-never-stop-learning-principles-from-feminist-participatory-evaluation-in-colombia/</a></span></p>
<p><span>Your feedback will be highly appreciated. Thank you. </span></p>
<p><span>Alexandra, Fabiola and Ana Isabel</span></p>
<p>--------------------------</p>
<p><strong>Aprendizajes sobre los principios de la evaluación feminista. La experiencia de proyectos comunitarios de desarrollo rural (Colombia).</strong></p>
<p>Por Alexandra Santillana (<em>Global Affairs Canada)</em>, Fabiola Amariles y Ana Isabel Arenas (<em>Learning for Impact).</em></p>
<p>Con nuestros mejores augurios por un 2021 con salud y bienestar, queremos compartir con la comunidad de <em>Gender and Evaluation</em> nuestro artículo reciente publicado por la iniciativa “Aprendizajes Significativos en Evaluación Participativa”.</p>
<p>Se trata de una experiencia piloto en la que aplicamos algunos de los principios de la evaluación feminista, así como métodos participativos de recolección de datos, en proyectos comunitarios de desarrollo rural en Colombia.</p>
<p>Esta experiencia se enmarca en la <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/priorities-priorites/policy-politique.aspx?lang=eng#6">Política Feminista de Asistencia Internacional</a> (FIAP, su sigla en inglés) de la Cooperación Canadiense, la cual tiene por objeto erradicar la pobreza y construir un mundo más pacífico, más inclusivo y próspero. Canadá cree firmemente que la promoción de la igualdad entre los géneros y el empoderamiento de las mujeres y las niñas es el enfoque más eficaz para lograr ese objetivo.</p>
<p>Según un artículo del Centro Internacional para Estudios de la Mujer <span><a href="https://www.icrw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ICRW_DefiningFeministForeignPolicy_Brief_Spanish.pdf">“Definiendo la Política Exterior Feminista”</a></span> (2019), actualmente existen solo tres países que poseen políticas exteriores explícitamente feministas: Suecia (2014), Canadá (2017) y Francia (desde marzo de 2019).</p>
<p>Confiamos en que estas experiencias de reflexión sobre los principios feministas en los procesos evaluativos contribuyan a una mejor comprensión de los contextos locales de género donde se practican las intervenciones del desarrollo, y por ende a unos mejores resultados de las evaluaciones.</p>
<p>También esperamos haber contribuido a afianzar la FIAP en las evaluaciones del desarrollo del gobierno canadiense.</p>
<p>Les invitamos a leer el artículo completo en el siguiente enlace:</p>
<p>VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: <span><a href="https://evalparticipativa.net/2020/10/29/seguimos-aprendiendo-principios-de-la-evaluacion-feminista-y-participativa-en-colombia/">https://evalparticipativa.net/2020/10/29/seguimos-aprendiendo-principios-de-la-evaluacion-feminista-y-participativa-en-colombia/</a></span> </p>
<p>Apreciaremos mucho sus comentarios. </p>
<p>Alexandra, Fabiola y Ana Isabel </p>
<p> <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8410311098?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8410311098?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center" width="308" height="231"/></a></p>
<p></p>The redWIM LAC network and its contribution to gender transformative evaluationtag:gendereval.ning.com,2019-10-09:6606644:BlogPost:886492019-10-09T11:30:00.000ZFabiola Amarileshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/FabiolaAmariles
<p style="text-align: right;"><strong><span>By: Fabiola Amariles Erazo</span></strong></p>
<p><span>(SPANISH VERSION POSTED ON THE SPANISH GROUP OF THIS COMMUNITY-EVALGENERO)</span></p>
<p><span>The monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of development projects, programs, and policies with a gender-transforming approach has become an important entry point for measuring and valuing actions that seek equal rights and opportunities for men and women.</span></p>
<p><span>At the same time, there is…</span></p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><strong><span>By: Fabiola Amariles Erazo</span></strong></p>
<p><span>(SPANISH VERSION POSTED ON THE SPANISH GROUP OF THIS COMMUNITY-EVALGENERO)</span></p>
<p><span>The monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of development projects, programs, and policies with a gender-transforming approach has become an important entry point for measuring and valuing actions that seek equal rights and opportunities for men and women.</span></p>
<p><span>At the same time, there is increasing recognition of the value of gender and equity analysis in the management of organizations linked to sustainable development. It has been demonstrated that institutions can have greater impact on the recipients of development programs when their own processes, structures, and programming are democratic and equitable. </span></p>
<p><span>This is how some M&E methodologies (qualitative and quantitative methods for collecting and analyzing data) have merged with Organizational Development (OD) tools (i.e., Appreciative Inquiry, Institutional Change Framework) to achieve a better understanding of organizations. As Campbell and McClintock<sup>1</sup> predicted in 2002, "OD-based evaluation can be an important tool in the process of creating dynamic and self-renewable organizations". </span></p>
<p><span>We at <a href="http://www.wim-network.org/">redWIM</a>, the LAC Women in Management network, have confirmed this hypothesis in each M&E experience that shows positive changes in the lives of women. Since its creation two decades ago, redWIM has been working from different fronts to help identify the changes that organizations require so that their strategies, processes, and operations are gender-equitable and contribute to the sustainability of their results. <a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3653165590?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3653165590?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-right" width="243" height="148"/></a></span></p>
<p><span>The celebration of its 20th anniversary in Cali, Colombia was the right moment to reflect on the achievements and on how we can act to overcome the persistent gender gaps in organizations and thus contribute more to equitable development.</span></p>
<p><span>Among the emerging issues and the questions that we must answer in the short term are:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><em>What are we trying to change in terms of gender equality?</em></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span>As our founding partner Lidia Heller discusses in her <a href="http://www.wim-network.org/que-estamos-tratando-de-cambiar/">editorial article</a> (in Spanish), despite the legal, political, social and cultural advances of women in the last 20 years, situations of inequality and injustice for women persist. Most indicators of gender gaps show us that we are not making enough effort to achieve gender equality.</span></p>
<p><span>Dr. Heller identifies three avenues for change: <strong>culture, organizational practices, and individual behaviors</strong>. As redWIM, we have the firm intention of working in these three areas to contribute to social change.</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span> </span><strong><em>What opportunities are available from the field of M&E to contribute to these changes?</em></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span>It is a fact that we must move from rhetoric to action, focusing on what we want to change, with participatory methods centered on people. For the work in M&E, the <strong>development of competencies</strong> is prioritized, especially <strong>the soft ones</strong> that will help to move from the technical skills of knowing “what to do and how to do it” to the <strong>“how to be”</strong> evaluators with full awareness and decision to promote and act on the transformations needed to achieve an egalitarian society.</span></p>
<p><span>The redWIM, together with ReLAC and the regional evaluation networks AGDEN (Africa) and CoE-SA (South Asia), as members of <a href="https://evalpartners.org/evalgender/">EvalGender+</a>, have built a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ubloijhvrh1rLdJjsYkZY_wXRUBFkhn8wuXE3fuR3BQ/edit">Competency Profile for evaluators and change actors</a> that promote and apply the gender perspective with cultural sensitivity in evaluations. This tool, which is under continuous review and update, will strengthen capacity building programs and is expected to facilitate gender equity work and evaluation in other regions.</span></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><em> </em></strong><strong><em>Other emerging issues</em></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span>The Cali meeting also allowed us to reflect collectively on other actions that, from the field of evaluation, could contribute to moving more rapidly towards social change:</span></p>
<ul>
<li>Promote <strong>transformative evaluations,</strong> incorporating organizational diagnoses and change methodologies with gender equality and feminist perspectives.</li>
<li><span>Periodically carry out participatory <strong>feminist reflections</strong> in development programs and projects that allow detecting how the change is taking place in the lives of women, with the possibility of scaling the results.</span></li>
<li><span>Promote greater use of theories of change in programs and projects with adequate <strong>quantitative and qualitative indicators</strong> that facilitate measurements in a manner relevant to the realities of the context evaluated.</span></li>
<li><span>Enrich the current evaluation methodologies for development with the inputs obtained in studies and work carried out by feminist organizations for gender mainstreaming. That is, challenging traditional evaluation paradigms and still delivering rigorous and useful evidence for transformative change.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span>T</span><span>o paraphrase Campbell and McClintock, "the evaluation, as a good OD, should make both donors and managers of development programs and projects feel a little uncomfortable, introspective and possibly a bit defensive, as well as appreciative and curious".</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><em><strong>[1]</strong></em> <em>Campbell, M. y McClintock (2002). Shall we dance? Program Evaluation Meets OD in the Nonprofit Sector.</em></span></p>
<p><strong><em><span>Resources (links):</span></em></strong></p>
<ul>
<li><span>Lidia Heller - redWIM Editorial - What are we trying to change? (Spanish) <a href="http://www.wim-network.org/que-estamos-tratando-de-cambiar/">http://www.wim-network.org/que-estamos-tratando-de-cambiar/</a></span></li>
<li><span>Making gender equality a reality in organizations - Sigrid Meijer, Patricia Lindo, Ivonne Siú (Spanish) <a href="http://www.sidocfeminista.org/images/books/11600/11600_00.pdf">http://www.sidocfeminista.org/images/books/11600/11600_00.pdf</a></span></li>
<li><span>Guide to including a Gender+ perspective in VOPEs: innovating to improve institutional capacities. <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.evalpartners.org/sites/default/files/documents/evalgender/Gender_Guide_def_en.pdf">https://www.evalpartners.org/sites/default/files/documents/evalgender/Gender_Guide_def_en.pdf</a></span></span></li>
<li><span>Profile of competencies for evaluators and change actors who apply the gender perspective with cultural sensitivity. </span>SPANISH: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e_T9LZNfe0nYx1GCdi-lEY902yIUaFHKERGz3Ftou4/edit#"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e_T9LZNfe0nYx1GCdi-lEY902yIUaFHKERGz3Ftou4/edit# </span> </a>ENGLISH: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ubloijhvrh1rLdJjsYkZY_wXRUBFkhn8wuXE3fuR3BQ/edit">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ubloijhvrh1rLdJjsYkZY_wXRUBFkhn8wuXE3fuR3BQ/edit</a></li>
</ul>Reflections on attitudestag:gendereval.ning.com,2019-03-26:6606644:BlogPost:830142019-03-26T19:00:00.000ZFabiola Amarileshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/FabiolaAmariles
<p></p>
<p>May I share a post published today at Zenda Ofir´s blog on "Evaluation for Development". </p>
<p>My contribution to her blog intended to be tips for Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs), but I hope that they can be adapted by current evaluation practitioners who wish to reflect on their role in transformative change. </p>
<p>You can read the English version of the post at the following link: …</p>
<p></p>
<p>May I share a post published today at Zenda Ofir´s blog on "Evaluation for Development". </p>
<p>My contribution to her blog intended to be tips for Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs), but I hope that they can be adapted by current evaluation practitioners who wish to reflect on their role in transformative change. </p>
<p>You can read the English version of the post at the following link: <a href="http://zendaofir.com/fabiola-amariles-tips-yees/">http://zendaofir.com/fabiola-amariles-tips-yees/</a> </p>
<p><span>The Spanish version is given below. </span></p>
<p><span>Your comments/additions/suggestions will be greatly appreciated. We would like to have an active exchange with YEEs and other groups on all these topics. </span></p>
<p>------------</p>
<p><strong>Más que consejos: reflexiones sobre las actitudes</strong></p>
<p>La invitación de Zenda a contribuir a su blog con algunos consejos “desde el Sur Global” para Evaluadores/as Jóvenes y Emergentes me ha hecho reflexionar sobre cómo apoyar a las personas que ingresan al mundo de la evaluación para evitar errores comunes y romper paradigmas, en la época actual donde se requieren transformaciones para que el desarrollo de las naciones tenga un sentido de equidad y justicia social.</p>
<p>Creo que más que consejos técnicos y metodologías novedosas, es nuestra <strong>actitud y forma de pensar</strong> lo que va moldeando nuestro quehacer profesional. Las técnicas las aprendemos en las aulas y en los libros, mientras que nuestras formas de actuar las construimos siguiendo pautas de integridad, trabajo honesto, trato justo y actitudes éticas, es decir, fortaleciendo las <strong>competencias que atañen al ser humano</strong>, y que generalmente se aprenden en las primeras etapas de la vida.</p>
<p>De allí que mis consejos se dirigen a las <strong>actitudes</strong> <strong>y principios</strong> que como evaluadores debemos cultivar y practicar cuando trabajamos para el desarrollo sostenible. Se trata de reforzar aquellos rasgos de nuestra personalidad y nuestro carácter, que unidos a una formación en <strong>liderazgo centrado en principios</strong> podemos poner al servicio de nuestra profesión. Aplicando las ideas de Robert Greenleaf en <span><a href="https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/">“Servant leadership”</a></span> (Liderazgo Servicial), es encontrar los recursos del carácter necesarios para realizar nuestro destino, es descubrir la sabiduría y el poder para poner nuestra profesión al servicio de las personas menos privilegiadas de la sociedad. En últimas, es asegurarse que nuestro conocimiento no se quede sólo como conceptos aprendidos, sino que seamos capaces de ejercer influencia en nuestro entorno para contribuir al cambio social.</p>
<p>Mi experiencia en la evaluación transformadora de género alimenta estos ‘tips’, sin embargo, espero que quienes los lean los adapten a otras áreas de la evaluación.</p>
<p><strong>Top Tip 1 – Revise sus propias percepciones sobre "ética y responsabilidad" al hacer juicios evaluativos.</strong></p>
<p>Esto se refiere no sólo a seguir la normativa y los principios éticos que rigen el proceso evaluativo, sino también al respeto por los derechos humanos de las comunidades que participan en la evaluación, a su dignidad y a los asuntos culturales que rigen su comportamiento. Significa reflexionar de manera crítica sobre los factores que inhiben o facilitan el cambio requerido, en un marco de empatía y co-responsabilidad.</p>
<p><strong>Top Tip 2 – Rompa paradigmas, venza resistencias.</strong></p>
<p>La evaluación transformadora requiere nuevas visiones y también nuevos usos del conocimiento que en ocasiones significan rupturas con perspectivas hegemónicas de la teoría evaluativa, así como cambios de comportamiento. Quienes se aventuren en la profesión de evaluación deben tener una <strong>actitud asertiva</strong> para transmitir los hallazgos y promover el cambio de manera convincente y con pensamiento lateral. Presentar los resultados de la evaluación con argumentos robustos basados en el conocimiento personal, con un análisis crítico y minucioso de los hallazgos para <strong>facilitar, junto con las comunidades participantes de la evaluación, la identificación de “puntos de entrada”</strong> hacia los cambios que se deben realizar.</p>
<p><strong>Top Tip 3 – Use la triangulación de los datos como medio de reflexión y discusión.</strong></p>
<p>Evaluar con una mirada transformadora significa sacarla del espacio técnico, afinando nuestra capacidad interpretativa de las diversas perspectivas sobre un mismo asunto; cuestionar y hacer <strong>reflexionar de manera crítica</strong> sobre los resultados de la evaluación a las personas participantes. Esto es especialmente importante en situaciones excluyentes donde se requiere identificar dónde se ocultan las fuerzas del poder inequitativo que obstaculiza los cambios. Las <strong>competencias de negociación y de relaciones interculturales</strong> juegan aquí un papel importante en esta labor facilitadora.</p>
<p><strong>Top Tip 4 – Contrarreste los mitos acerca de la evaluación “castigadora”.</strong></p>
<p>Una mirada fresca de las evaluaciones en su papel transformador debe reforzar el concepto de que los juicios valorativos y las evidencias son herramientas de mejoramiento que no deben generar temores o posiciones defensivas de la parte evaluada. Actitudes amigables y colaboradoras, así como el uso de herramientas y métodos que destaquen lo que está funcionando bien con el debido rigor analítico (por ejemplo, la Indagación Apreciativa o “<a href="https://www.betterevaluation.org/en/plan/approach/appreciative_inquiry">Appreciative Inquiry</a>”), ayudarán a socializar los resultados y potenciar su uso con mayor efectividad.</p>
<p>También es útil resaltar la conexión entre los resultados obtenidos y su contribución a objetivos superiores de igualdad y justicia social. Igualmente, como lo muestran algunas tendencias actuales (Ver <span><em><a href="https://aea365.org/blog/should-we-be-having-fun-with-evaluation-by-wendy-tackett/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+aea365+%28AEA365%29">AEA365: ¿Deberíamos estar divirtiéndonos con la evaluación?</a></em></span><em>),</em> después de tener un entendimiento común de qué es la evaluación, podemos divertirnos con ella sin dejar de cumplir las pautas de calidad.</p>
<p><strong>Top Tip 5 – Identifique y supere los nuevos colonialismos en evaluación.</strong></p>
<p>La/el evaluador transformador/a se posiciona a sí mismo en un lugar de influencia para desafiar la dinámica de poder tradicional y el colonialismo, buscando soluciones locales a los problemas detectados. La competencia cultural se convierte en una habilidad clave para lograr este objetivo. Además, para crear asociaciones no paternalistas con comunidades de diversos orígenes, un/a evaluador/a transformador/a se beneficiaría de las actitudes de <span><a href="https://aea365.org/blog/humberto-reynoso-vallejo-on-cultural-competence-and-cultural-humility-in-evaluation/">"humildad cultural"</a></span> que agregan una dimensión política para abordar los desequilibrios de poder en los grupos tradicionalmente excluidos. </p>Gender evaluative culture, participation, and South-South exchange: Learning topics in EvalGender+ / EvalYouth Alliancetag:gendereval.ning.com,2018-11-09:6606644:BlogPost:791942018-11-09T05:00:00.000ZFabiola Amarileshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/FabiolaAmariles
<p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong><em>By: Fabiola Amariles, Rituu B Nanda, Gerardo Sánchez, Claudia Olavarría</em></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">During the 13<sup>th</sup> biannual Conference of the European Evaluation Society in Thessaloniki, Greece, (EES2018), members of the <a href="https://evalpartners.org/about/about-us">EvalPartners</a>´ sponsored initiatives <a href="https://evalpartners.org/evalgender/">EvalGender+</a> and…</span></p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong><em>By: Fabiola Amariles, Rituu B Nanda, Gerardo Sánchez, Claudia Olavarría</em></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">During the 13<sup>th</sup> biannual Conference of the European Evaluation Society in Thessaloniki, Greece, (EES2018), members of the <a href="https://evalpartners.org/about/about-us">EvalPartners</a>´ sponsored initiatives <a href="https://evalpartners.org/evalgender/">EvalGender+</a> and <a href="https://evalpartners.org/evalyouth">EvalYouth</a> participated in a fishbowl session entitled <em>Promoting Gender Responsive and Equity focused Evaluation among young and emerging evaluators: Experiences in cross-collaboration between EvalYouth and EvalGender+.</em> The session was moderated by Marco Segone, from UNFPA, and had contributions from Fabiola Amariles, Rituu Nanda and Svetlana Negroustoueva, from EvalGender+, as well as Gerardo Sánchez and Claudia Olavarría, from EvalYouth LAC. </span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/133790623?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/133790623?profile=original&width=378" width="388" class="align-center" height="241"/></a></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">EvalGender+ and EvalYouth strategic networks were launched in 2015 as part of the global platform to develop the 2020 Action Plan on Evaluation and to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. The two networks have been strategically engaging since. In December 2017, during joint ReLAC/IDEAS conference, representatives of these two initiatives from Africa, Asia and</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> the Americas gathered in Guanajuato, Mexico to develop a formal strategy to enhance collaboration between the two networks. Several lines of action were identified for engaging of and strengthening skills of young and emerging evaluators and promoting the demand and use of Equity Focused and Gender Responsive (EFGR) Evaluations, for SDGs and beyond. The following objectives were agreed to: (i) capacity development on the inclusion of a gender perspective in evaluation among young and emerging evaluators, (ii) increasing strategic approaches and sustainability of the collaboration, and (iii) mentoring experience for young evaluators using an EFGR approach.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">EES2018 was the opportunity to review achievements and milestones and to obtain feedback on the work done. Participants of the panel reflected on key lessons from operationalizing these objectives to-date and draw paths for further and deeper collaboration within the two networks. We also reviewed the possibilities that arise from promoting a participatory evaluation approach, including the participation of vulnerable populations (especially youth and women) within the context of EFGR evaluations.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Three topics of discussion emerged from the session:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong>Feminist evaluation principles as a catalyst for social change goal in the practice of evaluation</strong></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">As part of the ongoing partnership EvalGender+ / EvalYouth, a joint webinar was held about lessons learned and hot tips to make evaluation gender responsive, having Feminist Evaluators <strong>Svetlana Negroustoueva</strong> and <strong>Silvia Salinas-Mulder</strong> as speakers. The event was attended by 125 participants from around the world (mean age 36). The main ideas presented in the webinar were around the main <strong>principles of a <a href="https://www.betterevaluation.org/en/themes/feminist_evaluation">Feminist Evaluation</a> as well as gender-transformative approaches,</strong> which would: explore why <strong>differences between women and men exist;</strong> acknowledge and <strong>value differences,</strong> not considering women as a homogenous category; and <strong>guide evaluators to be reflexive,</strong> considering that evaluations are not value-free</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">, and that there are different ways of knowing; stress different voices, <strong>give voice to women</strong> within different contexts and <strong>advocate for marginalized groups.</strong></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong><em>Ownership of evaluation & evaluative mindset in communities, especially the youth</em></strong></span></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">“<em>When I decide what to do and I do it, then I have taken ownership”. </em>Philip Forth</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Participation, inclusion, and ownership are key learning topics in the association EvalGender+ / EvalYouth. We often use the term participation, but do we reflect on the degree and depth of engagement? When communities own the evaluation process, they develop an evaluative mindset and can act based on evidence. Constellation’s <a href="http://www.communitylifecompetence.org">Community Life Competence</a> approach aims to foster ownership through action learning cycle from planning to self-assessment. For example, in 90 villages of Assam (India)</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">, we used family and community-centered approach to immunization where youth have played a key role. Community members collectively learned about the current status of an issue, compiled an action plan and tracked their own progress. Community members valued the contribution of youth, youth recognized the importance</span> <span style="font-size: 8pt;">of immunization and will ensure it for their own children. Youth learned to think critically. Additionally, family-centered approach ensured that onus of health of the children was not solely on the mother.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">For contextual and realistic evaluation on issues related to communities, let us create human-centered conditions and make participation less cosmetic and more substantial. For achieving SDGs, all stakeholders have a key role to play. Communities need to shoulder the responsibility, then, ‘no one will be left behind’.</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong><em>Promoting Mentoring and South-South exchange as a mutual learning experience</em></strong></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Some other examples of successful associations, developed as one of EvalGender+ main initiatives and framed in the scope of the common agenda developed in Mexico in 2017, included a mentoring experience for young and emerging evaluators (YEEs) that actively participated in the second phase of the project on South-South collaboration on capacity development for Gender Transformative Evaluation developed in Asia (CoE SA), Africa (AGDEN) and Latin America (ReLAC and REDWIM</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">). (See interregional report in English <a href="https://evalpartners.org/sites/default/files/documents/evalgender/P2P%20APENDICE%20-%2028SEPT2018%20-%20EN.pdf">here</a> and Spanish <a href="https://evalpartners.org/sites/default/files/documents/evalgender/P2P%20APENDICE%20-%2028SEPT2018%20-%20ES.pdf">here</a>). Interviews and analysis were made by YEEs that allowed to get a view on their needs regarding culturally and gender-sensitive</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> training, but also we learned from each other in a two-way mentoring process. No doubt that our profession has an ample opportunity to contribute to social change and we are on track to continue building our capacities to reach this goal.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">The next steps in this collaboration are pursuing the activities drafted in the agenda, as the creation of the joint task force to guide these efforts, and also to provide an input to the ongoing EvalYouth´s mentoring program to include the EFGRE</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> approach. It will also be relevant to seek the involvement of the local VOPES,</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> local EvalYouth Chapters and also international evaluation bodies.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">We firmly believe this is a good example to encourage evaluators from EvalPartners networks to cross-collaborate, in order to find a diversity of valuable perspectives that, we hope, will enrich the evaluation practice to leave no one behind.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Please join EvalYouth and EvalGender+ and reach us out at:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">EvalYouth: <a href="mailto:evalyouth@gmail.com/evalyouthlac@gmail.com">evalyouth@gmail.com/evalyouthlac@gmail.com</a>;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">EvalGender+: Svetlana Negroustoueva (<u><a href="mailto:negroustoueva@gmail.com">negroustoueva@gmail.com</a>)</u> and <u>Florencia Tateossian</u> (<a href="mailto:Florencia.tateossian@unwomen.org">Florencia.tateossian@unwomen.org</a>). </span></p>Gender Transformative Evaluation – More and more presence in the international arenatag:gendereval.ning.com,2017-04-22:6606644:BlogPost:642302017-04-22T19:02:16.000ZFabiola Amarileshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/FabiolaAmariles
<p align="right"></p>
<p align="right"><b style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">By Fabiola Amariles (REDWIM/RELAC); Rachel Sittoni & Florence Etta (AGDEN)</b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236431734?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" height="259" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236431734?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="194"></img></a> The 8<sup>th</sup> International Conference of the African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) held in Munyonyo Uganda from 27<sup>th</sup> to 31st March 2017 demonstrated…</span></p>
<p align="right"></p>
<p align="right"><b style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">By Fabiola Amariles (REDWIM/RELAC); Rachel Sittoni & Florence Etta (AGDEN)</b></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236431734?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236431734?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="194" class="align-left" height="259"/></a>The 8<sup>th</sup> International Conference of the African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) held in Munyonyo Uganda from 27<sup>th</sup> to 31st March 2017 demonstrated once more that true development cannot be achieved in any society if gender equity and equality remain at the periphery of development action.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">The conference focus on the Evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provided a perfect entry point for discussions on the vital place and role of gendered evaluation practice for inclusive and sustainable development. Having a dedicated Gender Equality and Equity Focused strand at the conference was an indication that the global evaluation community is increasingly recognizing the need to find and analyze evidence about gender imbalances as they may impair development especially in the implementation of SDGs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">The presence of more than 600 evaluation practitioners and decision-makers from across the world and many sectors of society in the conference was an excellent environment for group and individual researchers and practitioners of Gender Transformative Evaluation to share their thoughts on and strategize on ways to increase their contributions to international development in a systematic, committed and coordinated way. There was a vibrant and growing gender and evaluation community present in the different sessions of the Conference to deepen on approaches, tools and cases to advance the field and face current development challenges.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">Among the many workshops, panels and individual presentations made, we would like to highlight the two events that most reflected the presence of the Gender and Evaluation community:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">The Africa Gender and Development Evaluators Network (AGDEN), UN Women, EvalGender+, UNICEF, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), and the Institute for </span><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">Reproductive Health, Georgetown University (IRH) hosted one of the 20 conference strands, on </span><b style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">Gender Equality and Equity Focused Evaluations.</b> <span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">AGDEN acted as the official representative of EvalGender+ and UN Women coordinated the strand.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">The strand provided a space for sharing evaluative evidence and experience in support of </span><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">gender equality and equity in SDGs in Africa. It also showcased how evidence has been used to buttress and enhance evaluation capacity. There were seven sessions across all three days of the conference with contributions from Governments, Voluntary Organizations of Professional Evaluators (VOPEs), researchers, evaluation commissioners, academia and emerging evaluators and practitioners.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">At a round table, chaired by Florence Etta on Day 2 of the conference, three excellent presentations made by Silvia Salinas-Mulder, Michele Tarsilla, Ph.D. & Anne Nathalie Manga-BADJI exhorted participants respectively to be: </span></p>
<p>a) <span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">Conscious of and cultivate competencies that will lead to gender responsive transformative evaluations;</span></p>
<p><font face="verdana, geneva">b) Careful to manage the risks as they measure equity in the SDG era, especially to ‘mix statistical rigor with equity oriented techniques and approaches’;</font></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">c) Intentional and thoughtful in the practice of evaluation which is grounded in empirical theory but contextually relevant. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236432421?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236432421?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="304" class="align-center" height="155"/></a></span><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">As if in answer to the charge by two of the presentations, Fabiola Amariles reported on an EvalPartners Peer-to-Peer (P2P) project whose goal is</span> <b style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">“Developing a Culturally Responsive Curriculum on Gender Transformative Evaluation based on best practices: A South to South Collaboration</b><b style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">”</b> <span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">by four VOPEs on three continents namely: REDWIM, CoE South Asia, AGDEN and RELAC. Sonal Zavery, from CoE SA and Cecilia Manyame from AGDEN complemented this report with partial results of the P2P project in their respective regions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">The EvalGender+ group managed to meet on the margins of the AfrEA conference bringing together members present at the conference. This brief meeting reinstated the group’s commitment to support countries, organizations and individuals’ efforts to consolidate an effective, inclusive and transparent M&E framework to evaluate SDGs with an equity focused and gender responsive lens. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">The network brings together multi-level actors to increase policy uptake and to improve evaluation results making them relevant to the different contexts. Present members at the 8th AfrEA conferen</span><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">ce emphasized the need for EvalGender+ to systematize its work including documenting and co-operation with other interested partners for the community to effectively position itself as the leading voice in gender responsive evaluation. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;">As a result of this meeting, an “AfrEA statement on Gender, Equity & Evaluation” was created and presented at the final session of the Conference:</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236432495?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236432495?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="590" class="align-center" height="304"/></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236432605?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="225" class="align-right" height="169"/>The EvalGender+ network is growing with membership. To increase our network and to further extend our reach in local communities, we are trying to identify members around the world to increase our influence. To join the network, please sign up at <a href="http://gendereval.ning.com/" target="_blank">http://gendereval.ning.com</a> and to become a member of the different task forces please visit <a href="http://gendereval.ning.com/profiles/blogs/join-evalgender-task-forces">http://gendereval.ning.com/profiles/blogs/join-evalgender-task-forces</a>. </span></p>Cultural Competence and Power Dynamics in Evaluation: Reflections from a Gender Perspectivetag:gendereval.ning.com,2017-02-06:6606644:BlogPost:633072017-02-06T04:37:52.000ZFabiola Amarileshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/FabiolaAmariles
<p>Dear Friends,</p>
<p>It is a pleasure to share with you (below) the Spanish version of our article originally entitled <i>Cultural Competence and Power Dynamics in Evaluation: Reflections from a Gender Perspective</i>, published in September 2016 in the special edition of the <i><a href="https://www.europeanevaluation.org/sites/default/files/ees_newsletter/ees-newsletter-2016-09-september-r10-web.pdf">Evaluation Connections Newsletter</a></i> of the European Evaluation Society EES, just…</p>
<p>Dear Friends,</p>
<p>It is a pleasure to share with you (below) the Spanish version of our article originally entitled <i>Cultural Competence and Power Dynamics in Evaluation: Reflections from a Gender Perspective</i>, published in September 2016 in the special edition of the <i><a href="https://www.europeanevaluation.org/sites/default/files/ees_newsletter/ees-newsletter-2016-09-september-r10-web.pdf">Evaluation Connections Newsletter</a></i> of the European Evaluation Society EES, just before its Annual Conference.</p>
<p>This special edition of the Newsletter was dedicated to “culture and evaluation”, a topic that we consider of great importance in our Latin American and Caribbean region, a very diverse, unequal, rich and deeply complex region. We approached that complexity from a gender perspective, addressing dilemmas and tensions that arise in theory but mainly in evaluation praxis and that confront us with power, ethics and politics. In evaluations we need to address such issues through <b>knowledge, attitudes and actions</b>, so we dare to propose a set of “warnings” and tips.</p>
<p>We thank you in advance for your reading and feedback. This is a topic that we continue promoting and developing though different initiatives, like the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) “South-South” project with Africa and South Asia entitled <i>Developing a Culturally Responsive Curriculum on Gender Transformative Evaluation based on best practices: A South to South Collaboration</i>.</p>
<p>We would greatly value any reactions, comments and suggestions that will challenge our ideas and enrich our reflections and contributions. Please leave your feedback either in English or Spanish.</p>
<p>Kind regards,</p>
<div><p>Silvia Salinas Mulder & Fabiola Amariles Erazo </p>
<p></p>
<p align="center"><b>Competencia Cultural y Dinámicas de Poder en la Evaluación: Reflexiones desde una Perspectiva de Género</b></p>
<p align="center"><b>Silvia Salinas Mulder y Fabiola Amariles Erazo</b></p>
<p><b>(Traducción del artículo publicado en inglés en la revista <i>Evaluation Connections</i> de la Sociedad Europea de Evaluación – Septiembre 2016)</b></p>
<p><b>Versión original en:</b> <a href="https://www.europeanevaluation.org/sites/default/files/ees_newsletter/ees-newsletter-2016-09-september-r10-web.pdf"><b>https://www.europeanevaluation.org/sites/default/files/ees_newsletter/ees-newsletter-2016-09-september-r10-web.pdf</b></a></p>
<p>¿Alguna vez has realizado o gestionado una evaluación en contextos culturalmente diversos, caracterizados por fuertes desigualdades entre sus participantes? Si la respuesta es “sí”, las ideas expresadas en este artículo, que captura muchos años de experiencia en evaluación en América Latina – una región con más de 800 grupos indígenas y diez por ciento de la población que concentra el 71 por ciento de la riqueza regional – te resonarán y te harán reflexionar más sobre tu propia práctica. Si la respuesta es “no”, puede que aún encuentres interesante continuar leyendo y descubras algunas perspectivas frescas para repensar tus experiencias previas o abordar próximos desafíos en evaluación, allí donde la vida te lleve.</p>
<p>En América Latina el “respeto cultural” es parte del discurso dominante y las demandas de grupos históricamente excluidos. Sin embargo, frecuentemente se convierte en un “diálogo de sordos”, ya que la noción de “respeto cultural” abarca distintos supuestos que van desde el fundamentalismo cultural hasta relaciones interculturales dinámicas. Estos supuestos influyen en cómo la competencia cultural es percibida y operacionaliza en políticas, diseños e implementación de las evaluaciones.</p>
<p>Esto es particularmente relevante para las evaluaciones que aplican un lente transformacional de género y equidad social. Los supuestos culturales con frecuencia ocultan, subestiman o legitiman relaciones de poder jerárquicas y desigualdades establecidas por la cultura. Como lo hemos notado en conversaciones con evaluadores-as de otras regiones, éste es un fenómeno mundial.</p>
<p>Con base en nuestras experiencias como evaluadoras en distintos países de Sur y Centroamérica, hemos identificado una lista frecuente de formas de conocer, actuar y hacer las cosas durante distintas fases de los procesos de evaluación, que son “protectoras de la cultura” pero “ciegas al género”. Éstas incluyen:</p>
<p><b>I. <i>Generalización y homogenización:</i></b> Gestores, evaluadores y financiadores generalmente abordan a las comunidades como grupos homogéneos y aislados. Este es un abordaje simplista que ignora la diversidad interna, el dinamismo y los intercambios con el mundo exterior (ej. la migración).</p>
<p><b>II. <i>Fundamentalismo e idealización:</i></b> Esto hace referencia a un abordaje ahistórico, que sobrevalora las tradiciones y rechaza las transformaciones que son resultado de la modernidad. Frecuentemente las comunidades y algunas-os evaluadores atribuyen los cambios, problemas y conflictos a la influencia de Occidente.</p>
<p><b>III. <i>Invisibilidad de las desigualdades de género, raza, edad y otras y sus intersecciones:</i></b> Actores-as clave de la evaluación ignoran, niegan o justifican las desigualdades internas, así como las interacciones entre dos o más formas de discriminación, por ejemplo la intersección entre género, raza, edad y etnicidad.</p>
<p><b>IV. <i>Paternalismo:</i></b> Las-los evaluadores a menudo muestran una confianza no reflexiva, inclusive ingenua hacia la comunidad y sus representantes, vs desconfianza y cierta “culpa” respecto a su propio rol cuestionador y analítico. Esto frecuentemente implica una aceptación no crítica, automática de lo que las-los miembros de la comunidad dicen.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236446512?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2236446512?profile=original" width="318" height="267" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Dado que los cuatro abordajes mencionados anteriormente sobre cómo lidiar con la “otredad” reproducen un sesgo de género, excluyen a las mujeres e inhiben el potencial transformador de una evaluación hacia la igualdad de género, se requiere una reflexión seria sobre los vínculos entre género y cultura. En este sentido, el siguiente párrafo incluye algunos puntos que podrían guiarnos en este ejercicio de auto-reflexión:</p>
<p> (i) Vemos y evaluamos a través de los ojos de nuestra propia historia y entorno; (ii) nuestra mirada de la realidad es siempre parcial y sesgada; (iii) como evaluadores-as representamos estructuras y relaciones de poder que pueden expresarse de maneras sutiles; (iv) la experticia en género no necesariamente cuestiona el machismo, el patriarcado y las actitudes coloniales; y (v) las competencias en evaluación rara vez incluyen auto-reflexión y conciencia sobre asuntos de poder.</p>
<p>Nos basamos en estas reflexiones para proponer una serie de sugerencias para construir un puente entre las competencias culturales y de género en la evaluación:</p>
<p><b>Cultura vs relaciones interculturales:</b> Las evaluaciones deben ser abordadas como un proceso de aprendizaje e intercambio con otras culturas, no sólo de entenderlas. El uso de intermediarios culturales como miembros del equipo de evaluación puede ser valioso para "tender un puente, vincular o mediar entre grupos de personas de diferentes orígenes culturales con el propósito de producir cambios" (Centro Nacional de Competencia Cultural, 2004).</p>
<p><b>La neutralidad de género no existe</b>: como evaluadores debemos ser conscientes del contexto cultural y de algunos asuntos de poder, inesperados pero previsibles, relacionados con la cultura, que están presentes en el proceso de evaluación y que pueden mostrar desigualdades de género y afectar los resultados de la evaluación. Por ejemplo, cuando la participación en la evaluación se limita a los líderes y autoridades reconocidas, generalmente varones, que se considera que "representan" a la comunidad.</p>
<p><b>No todo lo que brilla es oro:</b> Tenga cuidado con los paradigmas de evaluación contra-hegemónica que ignoran las desigualdades de género y la complejidad cultural, y sea escéptica-o sobre las mediciones del éxito que no expresan claramente las transformaciones de género. Por ejemplo, un indicador sobre la asignación de crédito para las mujeres puede esconder barreras culturales, distorsiones e incluso violaciones a los derechos de las mujeres para cumplir con los objetivos.</p>
<p><b>De la-el poderoso evaluador al actor de cambio que empodera:</b> El enfoque transformador en la evaluación requiere explorar nuevas formas de pensar sobre el papel de las-los evaluadores como agentes de cambio social. A su vez, los evaluadores que deseen ir más allá de su rol técnico tradicional a un rol orientado a la promoción y al empoderamiento, necesitan involucrarse e interactuar con la cultura de las comunidades donde operan las intervenciones que se están evaluando. También necesitan revisar sus propias creencias y actitudes acerca de las relaciones de poder.</p>
<p>Geert Hofstede, un investigador social, cultural y organizacional da algunas orientaciones sobre cómo los diferentes aspectos de las culturas nacionales pueden diferir de una región a otra, lo que puede contribuir a esta autorreflexión. Entre otras herramientas, Hofstede construyó el <a href="http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/">"Índice de Distancia de Poder"</a> <sup>1</sup> que contribuye a la comprensión de los asuntos de poder y puede orientar los procesos de evaluación a un "mismo nivel de juego" en cuanto a temas culturales y de igualdad de género.</p>
<p>Con base en este análisis, enfatizamos la importancia de la "competencia cultural con perspectiva de género” en la evaluación. Esto implica que las-los evaluadores deben ser competentes en la prevención del sesgo de género y manejar asertivamente la resistencia cultural con respecto a la igualdad de género, incluyendo mitos, jerarquías patriarcales tradicionales y otros mecanismos de exclusión de las mujeres que son apoyados por la cultura. Además, los evaluadores pueden desempeñar un papel clave e influyente proporcionando evidencias para apoyar transformaciones de género que tomen en cuenta los aspectos culturales.</p>
<p>Entre las cualidades clave de evaluadores sensibles al género y la cultura y podemos mencionar: conocimiento del contexto; autoconciencia y reflexividad; visión estratégica; pensamiento lateral; flexibilidad; proactividad; escucha activa y mente abierta. Los perfiles de competencias de evaluadores deben hacer mayor énfasis en estas competencias, ya que son tan importantes como los criterios de conocimiento y práctica. Están fuertemente vinculados a las <i><strong>formas de</strong> <b>ser</b> y <strong>formas</strong></i> <strong><i>de ver</i></strong> de los evaluadores. Forman percepciones sobre el papel del evaluador-a en relación con la igualdad de género y la equidad social.</p>
<p>Corresponde a la comunidad evaluadora construir las estrategias necesarias para inducir tales actitudes entre quienes contratan y quienes ejecutan las evaluaciones... y corresponde a cada lector-a reflexionar sobre su experiencia y posición respecto al género y la cultura... tanto en la teoría como en la práctica.</p>
<p><b>Notas</b></p>
<p>[1]. El Índice de Distancia de Poder (IDP) de Hofstede se refiere a la medida en que los miembros menos poderosos de las organizaciones e instituciones (como la familia) <b>aceptan y esperan</b> que el poder se distribuya de manera desigual. Ver: <a href="http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/">http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/</a></p>
<p><b>Referencias:</b></p>
<p>Faúndez, A. & Weinstein, M. en colaboración con Íñigo, I. (2012). <a href="http://www.onu.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/AmpliandolaMirada.pdf"><i>Ampliando la mirada: La integración de los enfoques de género, interculturalidad y Derechos Humanos.</i> Santiago de Chile: UNFPA, ONU Mujeres, Unicef, PNUD.</a></p>
<p>Hofstede, Geert (1991). <i>Cultures and organizations. Software of the Mind. Intercultural Cooperation and its importance for survival</i>. McGraw Hill. </p>
<p><i>ONU Mujeres (2014).</i> <a href="http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2014/Gu%C3%ADa%20de%20Evaluaci%C3%B3n%20de%20Programas%20ONU%20Mujeres%20-%20ESP%20pdf.pdf"><i>Guía de evaluación de programas y proyectos con perspectiva de Género, derechos humanos e interculturalidad.</i></a><i> </i></p>
<p>PNUD (2010). <i>Informe Regional para América Latina y el Caribe 2010. Actuar sobre el futuro: Romper la transmisión intergeneracional de la desigualdad.</i> Nueva York: PNUD.</p>
<p>Salinas-Mulder, S. & Amariles, F. ( 2014). Latin American Feminist Perspectives on Gender Power Issues in Evaluation (Chapter 9). In: S. Brisolara, D. Seigart, & S. SenGupta (Eds.) <i>Feminist Evaluation and Research: Theory and Practi</i>ce. (pp. 224-254). New York: Guilford Press. </p>
</div>Donna Mertens and Transformative Mixed Methods: More justice-oriented methods are needed!tag:gendereval.ning.com,2016-10-05:6606644:BlogPost:587592016-10-05T11:58:48.000ZFabiola Amarileshttps://gendereval.ning.com/profile/FabiolaAmariles
<p>During four days from 20-23 September 2016, <b>Donna Mertens</b>, the well-known professor and author of several books on mixed methods in research and on diverse participatory and inclusive approaches to evaluation, conducted a course on Transformative Evaluation to 35 professionals of several disciplines from Chile, Bolivia, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Paraguay in Santiago, Chile. The course was sponsored by Fulbright Foundation, Universidad Santiago de Chile and American Evaluation…</p>
<p>During four days from 20-23 September 2016, <b>Donna Mertens</b>, the well-known professor and author of several books on mixed methods in research and on diverse participatory and inclusive approaches to evaluation, conducted a course on Transformative Evaluation to 35 professionals of several disciplines from Chile, Bolivia, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Paraguay in Santiago, Chile. The course was sponsored by Fulbright Foundation, Universidad Santiago de Chile and American Evaluation Association (AEA) and supported by the initiative EvalYouth for Latin America, the LA&C Evaluation Network RELAC-Chile and CLEAR.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2058248695?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2058248695?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-right"/></a></p>
<p>The course proved to be a great opportunity for strengthening the capacities of Latin American evaluation professionals for incorporating a transformative approach into evaluation, and at the same time it served as a forum for an active exchange of experiences among people from different countries, cultures and perspectives from our region.</p>
<p>We took this opportunity to interview Donna on her perception about challenges and opportunities for promoting the use of a transformative approach in evaluation in Latin America. Also to seek her opinion on the use of Equity Focused and Gender Responsive (EFGR) evaluations to contribute to social justice, from the perspective of the rich exchange of experiences that took place in the course.</p>
<p>We asked her to reflect on which were the three major topics of relevance that emerged from the discussions during the course. These are her impressions:</p>
<p><b><i>DM:</i></b> First of all, I am overwhelmed with the emotional connection that we made with each other in the course. This was a wonderful experience that made me very happy! Some topics that caught my attention were:</p>
<p><b><i>1) </i></b> <b><i>Resilience:</i></b> I think that despite the historical context of power structures that have been obstructive to development, Chilean people sincerely care about the poor and would like to see a change. The need to make visible unequal situations appears to be an important issue. I would advise on not to oversimplify what needs to be done or think that we can go now and change the world, that would be naive! We need to put it in a challenge context in terms of history, power relations and economics.</p>
<p><b><i>2) Consciousness of evaluators about the need for evaluation models that involve justice-oriented frameworks:</i></b></p>
<p>It was not a surprise for me that people feel frustrated with forms and methods of evaluation that do not ensure involvement of the communities where they work. The transformative evaluation is an approach that offers strategies for addressing these challenges, based on the framework of justice and equity. It is necessary to align it with assumptions that take into account the context and specific needs of marginalized groups.</p>
<p><b><i>3) Areas that need additional attention:</i></b> The discussions also led to some important issues that may require further reflection if the region wish to advance to social transformations:</p>
<ul>
<li>The use of evaluation networks to advocate for better evaluation;</li>
<li>The recognition of important <b>dimensions of diversity</b> in our stakeholder groups: Use strategies and mixed transformative methods to explore the meaning of diversity and the uses of power in our stakeholder groups, including a focus on women and girls, people with disabilities, indigenous people, and those who live in poverty;<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2058249057?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2058249057?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-right"/></a></li>
<li>Implication of awareness in response to diversity.</li>
</ul>
<p>“We were lucky to have some economists in the training course that raised important issues about, for example, budgets, power and their relation with public policies. We are not giving enough importance to these issues”, Donna said referring to the formation of transformative evaluators who take care of people’s rights.</p>
<p>Another topic for discussion is the diversity of contexts and historical implications for social interventions in countries like Chile, Peru, México, and Colombia. Some countries do not have development cooperation funds; this fact changes the discourse and strategies for advocacy with decision makers and on how we approach different governments within countries. We need to have this into account when introducing transformative evaluation as well.</p>
<p>One important lesson from the course is how to approach the Transformative Evaluation, starting from the multi-phased evaluation design. Donna reminds that we should start with whatever understanding of the problem is, and prevents about the common expression of: “I know what the problem is and what the solution is”. This is a formula for failure.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2058249105?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2058249105?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Donna leaves us with a final reflection about the role of networks to contextualize strategies for the introduction of a transformative approach in evaluation. EvalPartners is already working with parliamentarians all over the world to create an evaluation culture and support human development at the country level through a rigorous production of evidence for social change. “We need to do more on bringing more partners into action, for example, keep the voices of EvalYouth and EvalGender+ active in the discussion. Together we can change the world for better! If we do not do it, it doesn’t happen”.</p>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Interview by Fabiola Amariles (<a href="mailto:famariles@gmail.com">famariles@gmail.com</a>), EvalGender+</h2>
<h2>and Claudia Olavarría (<a href="mailto:claudiaolavarriam@gmail.com">claudiaolavarriam@gmail.com</a>), EvalYouth </h2>
<p> </p>
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