Evaluation 2014, AEA, October 15- 18, Denver

[Madhu Joshi]

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The AEA was a great learning experience for me, to listen to a diverse range of evaluators and evaluation methodologies. Though data visualization seemed to be the ‘flavour of the season’ and those sessions had a packed audience, there were equally interesting sessions on measuring changes in norms and beliefs.

I was part of a panel on Gender Based Evaluation and Tools and Uses along with Florencia Tateossian of UN Women and Urmi Shukla, CLEAR South Asia, where I presented our project Pahel. The session was chaired by Sonal Zaveri from the Community of Evaluators, South Asia.

The session details are as follows:

Session Abstract: 

This session sought to contribute to dialogue on tools and uses of gender based evaluation that help capture power dynamics and gender inequalities and could positively affect future gender based programs. Ultimately, understanding better gender based evaluation tools and uses will strengthen the evidence-base for designing effective approaches related to gender equality. The session  presented a broad range of different tools used in gender based evaluation with a focus on evaluation use.

 Abstract 1 Title: The Micro-Social Lens of Gender Inequality: Attitudes and Socio-Psychological Measures of Discrimination, Urmy Shukla, CLEAR, South Asia

Presentation Abstract 1: This presentation highlighted the intersection of gender theory and social psychology, presenting the methods and results of Implicit Association Tests (IATs), a unique socio-psychological measure to capture gender attitudes and discrimination. IATs have been widely used within the US to measure race and gender discrimination, boasting a high correlation between attitudes and discriminatory behavior (Greenwald et.al, 1998; Greenwald et.al, 2009). Transferring this methodology to evaluation in South Asia provides a unique opportunity to study gender attitudes and the effect of gender-targeted programing in a challenging context.
Abstract 2 Title: Evaluating Elected Women Leaders' Individual and Collective efficacy, Madhu Joshi
Presentation Abstract 2: PAHEL: Towards Empowering Women, is an initiative of CEDPA India that aims at building leadership skills in elected women representatives (EWRs) from the Panchayat Raj Institutions to monitor and advocate for quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services being delivered by State run facilities.
The project monitoring data shows that EWRs are taking the initiative to improve SRH services by using checklists to monitor health facilities. However, the EWRs have demonstrated impact and initiative in areas beyond the realm of the project. 
A qualitative assessment of the project was undertaken to measure and analyse the enabling factors that supported the EWRs to evolve as health advocates and consequent shifts in their individual and collective self-efficacy. The objective of this paper is to contribute to enhanced evaluation knowledge and skills in measuring individual and collective efficacy through qualitative tools.
Abstract 3 Title: Gender approach in evaulating women, peace and security programs, Florencia Tateossian, UN Women
Presentation Abstract 3: UN Women is mandated to take a leading role in normative, operational and coordination work on gender equality, including in peace and security. The UN Women Independent Evaluation Office conducted a corporate thematic evaluation in 2012-2013 to assess UN Women's contributions to increase women's leadership and participation in peace and security. The evaluation employed a theory changed approach and deeply integrated gender and human rights into the report in terms of the power analysis, participation, analytical framework, and results. The evaluation included a portfolio review including country scans and a project database that helped understand the nature of UN Women's activities in conflict countries. UN Women will share its experience conducting this thematic evaluation and using it showcasing how well thought outputs during the portfolio work can enhance the utilization of the evaluation. The presentation will count with an interactive session where the evaluation manager and user will present together.

Sonal and I were also part of the business meeting of the Topical Interest Group (TIG) on Feminist Issues in Evaluation which was an opportunity to network with practitioners and evaluators and taking the work forward from the Conference through sharing our diverse experiences and innovations in evaluation.

Though feminist evaluation was not quite in focus at the Conference, it was a victory of sorts for the Feminist Evaluation group that one Presidential Strand was focused on “Violence against Women” and saw good participation.

There were some interesting presentations on – Designing Responsive MEL Frameworks in the Face of Complex Social Change : Examples from Child Marriage Prevention and another on Measuring Social Norms and Gender Analyses into Public Health Policies and Programmes. There were some controversial sessions too such as the one of Evaluating Social Cohesion: Lessons from UNICEF’s Peacebuilding, Education and Advocacy Programmes where many of the participants had issues with the tools and methodologies.

The plenary sessions offered insights into the future directions for the development and evaluation communities. Examples – Evaluating the Role of Business in Creating Equitable and Sustainable Social Impact and Building New Partnerships to promote the use of Evaluation among Public Policy Makers.

[Alex Haynes]

Thanks for sharing and providing your thoughts for some context, Regards Alex

[Rituu B Nanda]

Thank you Madhu for sharing. I have worked primarily in public health and am interested in collective community action. Where can I read more about your project Pahel. I am also interested in learning about the evaluation process of the project. Warm greetings!