How to evaluate science, technology and innovation in a R4D context? New guidelines offer some solutions
Following the successful discussion last year, I would like to hear your reflections on the beta version of the Evaluation Guidelines on Applying Quality of Research for Development Frame of Reference to Process and Performance Evaluations.
Guidance DocumentMonitoring, evaluation and learning in farmer field school programmes. A framework and toolkit
This document provides guidance and tools that will help farmer field schools to bring about the change expected by setting up a robust monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) system. It targets designers, managers and staff involved in the planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning processes...
A lack of learning in the monitoring and evaluation of agriculture projects
Why are systems supposedly designed to help us learn from experience been so reluctant to learn from their own experience?
“Here we go again” - A lack of learning in the monitoring and evaluation of agriculture projects
There is an apparent irony in the fact that systems supposedly designed to help us learn from experience have been so reluctant to learn from their own experience.
Monitoring and evaluation in the agriculture and rural development sectors ‒ reflections on the NEC Conference
Evaluating agroecology: what is your experience?
Members are invited to share their experiences in evaluating the sustainability of agricultural, and specifically agroecological, programmes.
Guidance DocumentTool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) - Test version
With the help of multiple partners, FAO has developed a global analytical framework for the multidimensional assessment of the performance of agroecology: the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE). This document provides guidance on how to assess agroecology by carrying out a diagnostic...
Evaluation and performance assessments for agroecology
As evaluators, we are often encouraged to collaborate early with projects and programmes, in order to establish baselines, for instance.
Connecting data and research to policies to transform the agricultural sector: the EPA Forum
From 2 to 3 December 2021, the Evidences - Policies - Actions (EPA) Forum had its second edition, organised in a hybrid format under the theme "Connecting data and research to policies to transform the agricultural sector in Benin". Over the two days, public sector officials, researchers
Monitoring, evaluation and learning: How can we maximize capacity?
Growing interest in MEL Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) has recently gained momentum in the context of agricultural innovation and development projects.
Guidance DocumentImpact assessment and evaluation tools
This handbook was developed by the EU LIASON Project Better Rural Innovation: Linking Actors, Instruments and Policies through Networks, and contains 37 tools that can be used to evaluate/assess the impact of interactive innovation. The tools are practice-ready: each is explained in a procedural...
An insight into evaluating agricultural innovation challenges and prizes
External coherence of agriculture interventions
Lack of external coherence in agriculture projects can cause antagonism among interventions or implementation strategies and annihilate the results and progress achieved. This often leads to strategic behaviour (bias) on the part of beneficiaries.
Lessons from the evaluation of IFAD’s support to innovations for inclusive and sustainable smallholder agriculture
Innovations are key to improve the effectiveness of agri-food systems and better meet the rising demand for food worldwide. In particular, they are essential to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 targets.
How do we move forward on Evaluation Systems in the Agriculture Sector?
Is evaluation present in your country, and in the agriculture sector specifically? Please share your experience and suggestions on how to move evaluation systems forward.
Evaluating business innovations in agriculture-based social enterprises
Innovation is not about technology alone. Innovation is about the process of using ideas (novel or otherwise) in new ways and combinations, for economic, social and/or environmental gain.
ReportTracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators 2020
This year marks the 10-year countdown to the end-date of the 2030 Agenda. According to the data contained in the FAO report, collected before the COVID-19 pandemic, progress remains insufficient in the food and agriculture domain, suggesting that the world is not on track to meet the relevant...
Evaluation in times of Covid-19How has Covid-19 affected data quality in the agriculture sector? Highlights on a recent e-Panel
An e-Panel, co-hosted by AVANTI and EvalForward, set out to explore this question. Our panellists, Armand Zoa , Joas Tugizimana and Tim Njagi , shared their experiences from Cameroon, Rwanda and Kenya respectively.
e-learningBuilding forward better initiative - Monitoring, evaluation and learning
The Building forward better initiative - ”Strengthening natural resources management capacities to revitalise agriculture in fragile contexts” project stems from the recognition of the importance of investing in human capital in fragile contexts. In the framework of the project a number of webinars...
ReportReview of monitoring and evaluation capacities in the agriculture sector
Carried out by the FAO Office of Evaluation in collaboration with EvalForward, this study aimed at shedding light on M&E activities, capacities and dynamics taking place in Ministries of Agriculture through interviews with officers working in monitoring and evaluation units in 23 countries and over...
BriefNote on the review of monitoring and evaluation capacities in the agriculture sector
This brief summarizes the main results of the Review of monitoring and evaluation capacities in the agriculture sector carried out by the Office of Evaluaution of FAO with EvalForward. The study aimed at clarifying monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities, capacities and dynamics taking place in...
WebinarData quality in agriculture and food security in the time of COVID-19
AVANTI and EvalForward organized an e-Panel to discuss challenges and explore solutions to data quality production in the agriculture sector in the context of the Covid 19, with: Tim Njagi , Research Fellow at the Tegemeo Institute, Kenya; Joas Tugizimana , Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at...- Webinaronline
Data quality in agriculture and food security in the time of COVID-19
Value chain approaches: reaching the very poor
A value chain is the full range of activities – including design, production and distribution – required to bring a product or service from conception to its final market destination.
Importance of leadership in Results-based management. Highlights on a recent e-Panel
In a recent e-Panel, co-hosted by AVANTI and EvalForward, we explored the role of leadership in instilling a culture of Results-based management (RBM) in African agriculture based on evidenced experience.
How can evaluation help improve data quality and policies on food security during Covid-19 pandemic?
Data on food production, prices, trade, market access, nutrition and data on population without access/constrained access to food items are all affected by the current pandemic
Webinare-Panel on Leadership and RBM in the African Agricultural Sector
This e-Panel was held on 6 May 2020 by AVANTI and EvalForward . Experts from Benin, Ghana and South Africa discussed on the importance of leadership and results-based management (RBM) in the African agricultural sector. Among factors mentioned that appear to be crucial for building a culture of...
ReportMeasuring what matters in agriculture and food systems
A synthesis of the results and recommendations of TEEB for Agriculture and Food’s Scientific and Economic Foundations Report This report serves as a synthesis of the 2018 Scientific and Economic Foundations report and proposes a new and comprehensive Evaluation Framework in the field of agriculture...
Evaluation in the age of big data: Opportunities and challenges in agriculture and food security
Most evaluations require adjusting methodology to real-world constraints, whether they be economic, technical, organizational, political, or related to time or data.
Guidance DocumentStrengthening monitoring and evaluation for adaptation planning in the agriculture sectors
This Guidance Note focuses on how to design a national Monitoring & Evaluation system for tracking adaptation action, policies and plans in agriculture and on how to report at international, national and sectoral level. The Guidelines have been developed by the Integrating Agriculture in National...
From the EvalForward communityYoung People in Agriculture – What lessons can we draw from evaluations?
Youth are becoming increasingly disconnected from the agriculture sector, despite the evidence that there have been some efforts over the years to boost the engagement of young people in agriculture.
Guidance DocumentMonitoring, Evaluation and Learning – Concepts, principles and tools
This guide serves as a resource for national facilitators, for project stakeholders and for other capacity development and monitoring experts to implement a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) system and to be able to track the main outcomes (behavioural changes) resulting from the project. It...
The farmer as a key participant of M&E: lessons and experiences from Participatory M&E systems
What are your experiences and lessons in getting the farmers involved in all stages of Monitoring and Evaluation of agricultural interventions? What are some innovative Participatory Monitoring&Evaluation approaches for agricultural projects and how effective they are?
Measuring resilience-building in Karamoja, Uganda
I was recently involved in a mid-term evaluation of a multi-agency 2016-2020 programming to enhance resilience in Karamoja, the least-developed region of Uganda.- WebinarOnline
EvalForward webinar on the revised evaluation criteria
Are agriculture programs supporting women to improve their livelihood?
Women constitute the majority of the agricultural labour force in small-scale and subsistence farming. What are the lessons learnt from agriculture programs with regards to the activities of the women in the agricultural sector?
Evaluation in the Agriculture sector: what do we know about countries’ capacities?
Evaluation and, more generally, Results-Based Management (RBM) are amongst the best-known instruments to strengthen accountability and learning, and, ultimately, improve policies and practices.- Evaluation conferenceOuagadougou, Burkina Faso
Table ronde: L'institutionnalisation de l'evaluation dans le secteur agricole
Youth in agriculture: what lessons can we draw from evaluations?
For agriculture to grow and innovate we need young people to engage. However, the average age of agriculture workers is increasing. What can evaluation tell us on the rising age in agriculture work and on how to address this issue?- WorkshopIFAD headquarters, Rome, Italy
Learning event: 2019 Annual Report on Results and Impact of IFAD Operations
ReportMeta-evidence review on impacts of investments in agricultural and rural development on Sustainable Development Goals 1&2
Agriculture and rural development research will play a critical role in meeting the ambitious targets under SDGs 1 and 2. In recent years there has been heightened emphasis on both the rigorous evaluation of development interventions and systematic reviews and meta-analyses based on such evaluations...- TrainingIFAD headquarters in Rome, Italy.
Learning event on evaluating the support to pro-poor value chain development
Enhancing funding and service delivery in agriculture: any ideas?
The agriculture sector is often underfunded and this limits service delivery and monitoring and evaluation, especially at local level. Please share your views and any suggestion you may have.
e-learningSustainable Food Value Chains for Nutrition
Free e-learning course of 3 hours developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Bioversity International. The course includes: The relationship between...
Supporting smallhoder agriculture: what are your experiences in using evaluation?
Please share your views and examples on improving smallholder projects with evaluation.
From the EvalForward communityHow can we improve the quality of development projects?
In rural and agricultural development, projects are the main instrument for piloting and/or implementing policies and programmes.
What can we do to improve the quality of development projects?
What is your list of "good practices" that can help improve development projects quality and effectiveness?
Recurring errors in public policies and major projects: contributions and solutions from evaluation
How is evaluation helping address mistakes and failures of policies and major programmes?
Guidance DocumentFAO Framework on Rural Extreme Poverty
The Extreme Rural Poverty Framework , launched on 18 June 2019, provides guidance for FAO’s contribution to addressing extreme poverty reduction. Striving to build consensus on FAO’s role in supporting countries to reach SDG 1, in particular Target 1.1, on eliminating extreme poverty, and SDG 2 on...
Can agriculture and food security policies be effective when statistical data is unreliable?
In conducting research presented at the AfrEA Conference, I was asking myself if the persistence of hunger and poverty in Africa was not related to the unreliability of statistics.
What can we do to improve food security data?
How can we monitor and evaluate efficiently progress towards the SDG2 – Ending Hunger if we cannot count on reliable data and consequent statistics and indicators? Do you think there are also weakness and challenges in data collection in your country?
ReportThe State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture
Biodiversity for food and agriculture is the subset of biodiversity that contributes in one way or another to agriculture and food production. It includes crop, livestock, forest or aquaculture systems, harvested forest and aquatic species and wild species harvested for food and other products...
Dissemination of decentralized evaluation results through an innovative and participatory approach: drawings
When communicating with rural communities with their own dialect, WFP Colombia gets creative, with pens, paint and paper.
We need evaluation to support agricultural transformation in Africa
Daudi Sumba, head of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), shares his views on how evaluation can support Africa's agricultural transformation.- TrainingIstambul, Turkey
PRiME Impact Evaluation Course
Celebrating the African evaluation community at the 9th AfrEA Conference
The 9th International Conference of the African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) took place in Abidjan, from 11 to 15 March.
Is this really an output? Addressing terminology differences between evaluators and project managers
Did you experience challenges due to differences in the use of terminology between people who planned the project and evaluators when doing evaluations? And if you did, how did you handle them?
How to Measure the Impact of Monitoring and Evaluation Work
I am trying to think how best we can measure the impact of monitoring and evaluation work and would be grateful if you could share your experience and ideas with me. What is your take on how to measure the impact or changes that are informed by the monitoring and evaluation?
From the EvalForward communityWhat are your evaluation challenges?
The latest discussion in the EvalForward CoP covered challenges that evaluations encounter in the agriculture, rural development and food security sectors and beyond. Here is a summary of the issues emerging and ways forward suggested.- WorkshopRome, Italy and on webcast
Learning event on the Annual Report on Results and Impact of IFAD Operations 2018
Improving Agriculture and Food Security through Evaluation
Call now open for the 9th AfrEA International Conference.
Challenges of evaluation
What constraints do you encounter during the different evaluations of programs and interventions on rural development, agriculture and food security? How do you get around them? And which are the ones you cannot get around?- Evaluation conferenceManila, Phlippines
2nd APEA International Evaluation Conference
The issues facing global agriculture
What aspects should always be included in evaluation Terms of Reference of agriculture-based interventions?- Evaluation conferenceAbidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
9th AfrEA Conference
EvalForward moving ahead at EvalColombo2018
EvalForward first public launch took place at EvalColombo 2018. What are the expectations of the broader evaluation community?