Dear colleagues,

We would like to announce a call to present positive experiences of participatory evaluation developed in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Those accepted will constitute the first stage in developing the first regional gathering on the topic, organised by EvalParticipativa, developed by PETAS at the National University of San Juan and the  FOCELAC project by DEval, which will take place at the end of November. The country, place and dates are to be confirmed.  We will shortly provide more details on the project and this invitation to participate.

WHAT KEY PRINCIPLES CHARACTERISE POSITIVE PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION EXPERIENCES?

The EvalParticipativa initiative starts with the recognition that a diversity of experiences already exist in Latin America and the Caribbean which act as participatory evaluations. This signals significant vitality in the region regarding this evaluation approach which has often had an explicit and clear transformational intention and has sought the implication of participants in social action activities (policy, programme or project) and includes those who have less power, seeking to strengthen them and pass on skills through the evaluation process. There are many diverse evaluation experiences, yet it is possible to identify some of the key principles that they seek to demonstrate:

• • principle of participation: this is the cornerstone of these approaches and is made effective through the participation of those implied, going beyond a mere consultation of “beneficiaries” and other local stakeholders so that they grow in their active and decision-making role in the various evaluation phases.

• • principle of learning: participation in evaluation is itself a moment for collective learning, capable of building local capacities and supporting institutional strengthening in real transformational areas and achieving more inclusive development.
    

• • principle of negotiation: this implies recognising social and political processes which are triggered by participation in evaluation. It understands how various perceptions, demands and needs are interconnected and understands the backdrop of power relationships involved.

• • principle of flexibility: this reminds us to prioritise paying attention to the context where the evaluation is being conducted over any existing methodological or procedural approach, paying special attention to sociocultural appropriateness.
    

WHAT DOES THIS OPEN CALL INVOLVE?

Keeping these principles at the forefront, we issue this  Open Call for Participatory Evaluation Case Studies. We want to discover positive experiences from the region of Latin America and the Caribbean over the last few years in an attempt to generate new lessons based on real, specific situations. We want to go beyond theories or ideas on what a participatory evaluation “should be” to submerge ourselves in positive experiences that have been successfully conducted.  These case studies will be presented and discussed in the EvalParticipativa Virtual Forum so that we can learn from them in depth and draw lessons from them. We then want to select a few of these case studies to take part in the First Latin American Participatory Evaluation Gathering, to be held next November (more details to follow shortly). We intend to use these case studies and our time together to gather various viewpoints for a Participatory Evaluation Manual generated from practice and reflection in the region.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE?

To participate in this open call and suggest a case study for the First Gathering of Participatory Evaluation Experiences, send in ‘your’ case study in a summarised format (maximum 4 pages) addressing the following points:

a) A brief description of the intervention evaluated: what was its purpose and on what level was it directed (policy, programme, project? Where and when was it conducted? Who were the main stakeholders in the experience (facilitators, consultants, programme/project manager, etc.)?

b) Objectives: what did the evaluation intend to achieve?

c) Evaluation methodology: How was it conducted? What roles were taken by the different stakeholders (local actors or “beneficiaries”, advisors, programme or project managers, evaluators, donors) at different moments in the evaluative process (in evaluation planning and design; in data collection and analysis; in the development and validation of conclusions; in the dissemination and implementation of recommendations; etc.)?

d) Main difficulties faced: what were they? how were they dealt with?

e) Innovative elements: is it possible to identify some innovative contributions, for example new or original tools used in the evaluation?

f) Discoveries: what did the evaluation reveal or reaffirm?

g) Communication and dissemination of results.How were the results and recommendations shared? Was an evaluation report completed (attach)? Was any audiovisual material generated (attach)?

h) Impact: what consequences did the evaluation have (its process, findings, recommendations)?

WHEN IS THE DEADLINE FOR SENDING IN MY PROPOSAL AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

We would like to receive your proposals by no later than 15 August. This will allow us enough time to carefully select some of these experiences with the intention of inviting some relevant people to share their experience at the regional gathering in November. This will form the basis of the main products to be created by EvalParticipativa: a manual and a course to promote and facilitate participatory evaluations.

We look forward to receiving your contributions and any questions you have via our email eval.participativa@gmail.com. You can download the presentation form (in Word) via this link.

You are welcome to send this open call to other people and contacts who may be interested in proposing their case study.

Bye for now!

EvalParticipativa Team