PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
At the initiative of the Head of Evaluation and Internal Audit in the Department of International Development Cooperation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Finland, and following agreement at the OECD/DAC Expert Group on Aid Evaluation meeting in October 1996, a team of five people from four European Institutes began work on this Study. These were the Groupe de Recherche et d’Échanges Technologiques (GRET), Paris, France (Mr Jean-Louis Vielajus); the Diakonhjemmets Internasjonale Senter (DIS), Oslo, Norway (Dr Stein-Erik Kruse); the Institute of Development Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland (Mr Timo Kyllönen and Ms Satu Ojanperä); and the Overseas Development Institute, London, England (Mr Roger C. Riddell). In brief, the twofold purpose of the Study was to gather and synthesise NGO evaluations of development projects and programmes in order, first, to present data and information on the impact of NGO development interventions, and secondly, to review evaluation methods used. The "draft final" Report, prepared for the OECD/DAC Export Group on evaluation, was completed in early April 1997. Following the Report’s dissemination and a series of meetings to obtain feedback on the findings and conclusions, the Report was finalised in December. As is explained in some detail in the main Report, and as initially highlighted in the Study’s Inception Report produced in December 1996, it became increasingly clear not only that the task set was a mammoth one but that it would not be possible to undertake a systematic and comprehensive analysis in the time available. Thus, while the overall project represents a unique attempt to address these issues on an international basis and notwithstanding the length of this Report and the wealth of data and information contained (especially in the 13 country-study appendices), the authors would like to emphasise that this Report presents an initial view of the vast, and fast-growing, NGO literature on impact and methods. Relatedly, the Main Report provides only a summary of the country case-study material: for those who wish to have further information on what is happening in particular countries and who are looking for examples of the different ways in which NGOs are approaching evaluation, it is recommended that they read the accompanying volume containing the appendices. In undertaking our work across four continents, we have been assisted by a range of institutions and scores of individuals who have given generously of their time, and have been willing to share a range of documents, many of which are not in the public domain. While it is not possible to express our appreciation to each and every one individually, we would like to mention a number of people for their assistance. Our first thanks goes to Dr Ulla Vuorela and her team from the Finnish Cooperative Centre whose preparatory work in gathering reports and related data was invaluable to us: without this source of data, it would have been simply impossible to undertake the study commissioned to us. Secondly, we would like to thank Mr Kari Karanko and his staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Helsinki whose support and encouragement ensured that the project was both started and completed. For financial support and encouragement, we would like to thank the Governments of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, without whom it would not have been possible to undertake the range of case studies contained herein. Equally our thanks are due to Mr Hartmut Schneider and Mr Hans Lundgren at the OECD/DAC and to senior officials in the evaluation departments of most OECD donor agencies for providing us with reports and, in many cases, for facilitating contact with a range of key individuals and NGOs in their respective countries. Thirdly, we wish to thank the many NGOs and NGO staff, in both the north and the south, who not only provided us with their evaluation reports and reviews and explained their attitudes and approaches to evaluation, but also encouraged us in our work. While this Report has been written for the OECD/DAC Evaluation Group, we hope that it will be continue to be circulated and read widely across the different NGO networks and communities. Fourthly, we would like to express particular thanks to our three collaborators who joined us to undertake two of the 13 case studies. These are Anthony Bebbington and Denise Humphreys, who researched and wrote up the Chilean case study, and David Mansfield, who researched and wrote up the United States’ case study. They worked under extreme pressure to produce some of the most interesting analysis in the Study, and early feedback suggests that their work has already been appreciated. Fifthly, we would like to thank the scores of NGOs who read and provided comments on the "draft final" Report and whose comments, ideas and suggestions are summarised in the final chapter of this Report. Finally, we would like to thank key support staff at the Institute of Development Studies in Helsinki and the Overseas Development Institute in London. Particular thanks go to Leena Saavalainen, Ellen Mustonen and Eva-Marita Rinne at the IDS and to Sandra Cox and Matty Thwaites at the ODI for the time and effort they put in to editorial work and ensuring that this Report was produced on time. In undertaking the work for this Study, it has become clear not merely that there is considerable interest in the issues raised, but that the whole area of impact evaluation is changing fast. We hope that the Report will contribute to ongoing discussion and debate about impact and evaluation methods.
Stein-Erik Kruse November 1997 |