Monthly Corner
Claudy Vouhé shared GRB in local authorities (French)
Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) shows that the development of a budget and budgetary choices are powerful levers in terms of gender equality. We share our lessons learned in the field: a 5-step method, concrete examples (culture, sport, subsidies, public procurement, etc.) and keys to success. An operational work to objectify the impact of public policies and budgets and make RHL accessible.
Anuradha Kapoor Shared Swayam Recent Published Study
This exploratory study foregrounds the largely invisible issue of natal family violence (NFV) in India, exploring its forms, prevalence, and deep, long-term impacts on women's lives. It challenges the myth of the natal home as a safe space and centres survivor voices and lived experiences. The findings expose systemic silences and institutional barriers to justice. It offers vital insights for policy reform, feminist praxis, and deeper societal reflection.
Research Workshop on School Violence Prevention and Response - BLOG POST
Blog post summarizing key findings from each presentation and highlighting the outstanding research of all participants
Tara Prasad Gnyawali - Narrative
My flashback to working with wildlife-affected communities living in a biological transboundary corridor in Bardiya, Nepal, where I spent my golden 15 years. This story reflects changes that demonstrate how a community's tolerance extends to coexistence, and that is only due to the well-integrated planning of Ecotourism opportunities for the community.
Mehreen Farooq - BLOG
Events
Vacancies
- We’re Hiring: National Evaluation Consultant – Bangladesh
UN Women is recruiting a National Evaluation Consultant (Bangladesh) to support the interim evaluation of the Joint Regional EmPower Programme (Phase II).
This is a great opportunity to work closely with the Evaluation Team Leader and contribute to generating credible, gender-responsive evidence that informs decision-making and strengthens programme impact.
📍 Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh (home-based with travel to project locations)
📅 Apply by: 24 February 2026, 5:00 PM
🔗 Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gar4ciRr
If you are passionate about feminist evaluation, gender equality, and rigorous evidence that drives change (or know someone who is) please apply or share within your networks.
- Seeking Senior Analyst - IPE Global
About the job
IPE Global Ltd. is a multi-disciplinary development sector consulting firm offering a range of integrated, innovative and high-quality services across several sectors and practices. We offer end-to-end consulting and project implementation services in the areas of Social and Economic Empowerment, Education and Skill Development, Public Health, Nutrition, WASH, Urban and Infrastructure Development, Private Sector Development, among others.
Over the last 26 years, IPE Global has successfully implemented over 1,200 projects in more than 100 countries. The group is headquartered in New Delhi, India with five international offices in United Kingdom, Kenya, Ethiopia, Philippines and Bangladesh. We partner with multilateral, bilateral, governments, corporates and not-for-profit entities in anchoring development agenda for sustained and equitable growth. We strive to create an enabling environment for path-breaking social and policy reforms that contribute to sustainable development.
Role Overview
IPE Global is seeking a motivated Senior Analyst – Low Carbon Pathways to strengthen and grow its Climate Change and Sustainability practice. The role will contribute to business development, program management, research, and technical delivery across climate mitigation, carbon markets, and energy transition. This position provides exceptional exposure to global climate policy, finance, and technology, working with a team of high-performing professionals and in collaboration with donors, foundations, research institutions, and public agencies.
Reflections from Community of Evaluators, Bhutan Conference
Creativity and good facilitation are at the heart of participatory research!
Recently, I attended a conference on Impact Evaluation hosted by the Community of Evaluators (COE)/ South Asia in Thimpu, Bhutan. The conference was all sorts of GREAT! Four days was divided into two days of pre conference workshops, while the two-day conference saw several interesting panel discussions.
This being one of my first international conferences on Evaluation, I was not sure what to expect. However, sitting and reflecting on the conference, I would say it gave me a ton of interesting literature (which is really keeping me busy), a bunch of new friends, profound conversations, tremendous realizations and learning, an understanding of evaluation from a global perspective with insights from different countries, and an opportunity to network and hear from a good mix of professionals: entrepreneurs, social sector leadership, researchers, Government and private sector personnel, etc.
To my absolute delight, Professor Robert Chambers hosted a full day workshop on ‘Frontiers in Participatory Evaluation’. Considering he has been one of the key influences on how we approach development research, it was quite a privilege to be two feet away from him, discussing my work!
The interactive participatory workshop comprised of many interesting games, exercises and knowledge focused presentations. He began the day with comparing evaluation to ‘cooking’; where he mentioned that a good evaluator (or chef) knows and applies a range of techniques and tools! His main message was that it is important to consider the Who/Whose questions, in terms of Whose voice? Whose reality, the importance to be constantly in touch with people we are working ‘with’ NOT ‘for’ and to understand that there is a constant change in conditions, awareness, aspirations, priorities of communities. He particularly was impressed with the gaining popularity of Participatory Statistics, which are defined as “a set of methods that enable local people to generate statistics for local level planning, learning and reflection, but which can also be aggregated at wider levels and feed into national level policy processes.”
Sharon Weir (Co-Founder, 4th Wheel) with Robert Chambers
Eventually, Robert Chambers concluded that “Innovation is in the gene of good evaluation” and the two most important aspects of good evaluation is good facilitation and harnessing the power of creativity. As example, I shared the ‘hypothetical budget’ tool, Payal and me conceptualized several years ago (to get ‘participatory statistics’ for a Social Return Investment Study), and have been using ever since. The tool according to him, signifies both – creativity and good facilitation. (So proud!)
Here is a short description of the tool:
Method
Community respondents are divided into groups of 4-5 people. Men, women and youth form separate groups. Each group is given a chart paper. The method can be used in two ways – One where participants are given a set of pre-determined options by the research team, for example: health, education, infrastructure, sanitation, water, etc.; and the other where the group should decide their own responses. Once this list is prepared, the group is given a hypothetical budget of INR.10,000 to spend on the list. Respondents can prioritize any way they want with no minimum or maximum spending specified. Scores (budgets in rupees) are then averaged for each indicator/option to understand community priorities.
Application
This method can be applied in baseline research, or in an evaluation study. It helps to understand community perception of priorities and needs, can be used to compare donor/program (percent) resource allocations with community needs (resource allocations), and serves as an inclusive triangulation tool among different stakeholders and heterogeneous communities. It also helps to build consensus on program priorities and outcome indicators among respondents.
Examples – This method has been used several times by the 4th Wheel Social Impact (4WSI) research team. Some recent studies include:
~Needs assessment study: A construction company commissioned 4WSI to conceptualize and design their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives for construction workers at their site. Workers came from different states of India, having their own small regional groups and specific residence locations at the labor colony. All residents of the labour colony were invited to the Focus Group Discussion where CSR plans of the company were shared; they were briefed about the exercise and told the rules of the game. In this particular setting, the groups were asked to list top five priorities in the labor colony first and then allocate budgets.
~Social Return on Investment (SROI) study: A CSR foundation had invested in improving the education status of 30 villages in Gujarat. We used this method to garner responses of diverse stakeholders- parents, teachers, local leaders, etc. We listed twelve education initiatives, before hand and asked respondents to do two things – One, allocate budgets to the different initiatives and secondly, put a price on the perceived benefits of the different initiatives. This helped to compare the foundation’s budget allocations to the (average) budget allocations of the different stakeholders. It also helped to gain a sense of the impact perceived by the community in monetary terms (this is slightly challenging).
Considerations
~ This method can build high expectations among a group. It is important to brief the groups on the aims and use of results of this exercise.
~There is a possibility of some people dictating to the group. It is important to tell respondents to take everyone’s view and consensus, if needed, scores of the smaller group can also be averaged to arrive at one figure.
This article is written by Sharon Weir, Co-Founder of 4WSI. Published: http://the4thwheel.com/blog/2017/06/22/creativity-and-good-facilita...
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Comment by Rituu B Nanda on August 1, 2017 at 22:38
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Thanks for sharing Payal. What would you consider highest level of participation in research and evaluation?
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