"Nothing about us without us." A simple statement that speaks volumes. We cannot hope to capture the correct insights about public policies and programmes if we don't capture the multiplicity of voices that are impacted by them. In Plenary 2 of #NECdev, moderator Isabelle Mercier led a brilliant panel through a passionate discussion on what true inclusion means. Some of the key insights shared were: 💡 Much of our fascination with our big data comes at the expense of “warm data” (stories). Interventions are often insufficiently imagined. We have to listen to what others are saying. Instead, too often our interventions are based on homogeneity and not paying attention to contexts. 💡 Broad representation in evaluation processes is the first step, including communities that are most difficult to reach. It entails that these voices are valued and represented in our evaluation products. 💡 We are too caught in evaluating projects, but inclusion is a dynamic process. And for that we need to look at history and systems. 💡 More participation comes at a risk of overburdening. We take away time from important work that people and organizations are doing. It goes back to the question: what’s in it for them? What’s the value added? And how do we make sure that our evaluation spaces are relevant and equally accessible? 💡 Shifting power requires a change in our evaluation practices: expanding scope for more inclusive consultation; opening up evaluation reference groups; putting more emphasis on country case studies and making the evaluation processes more locally owned (with limited, strategic guidance from the central team and barriers & participation plans); creating more spaces for participatory sense-making. 💡 There is concern in the Global South about equity not being sufficiently foregrounded and included in OECD evaluation criteria. This is a lost opportunity to uncover hidden systemic injustices. We should be mindful not to do the superficial things, to avoid being complicit in larger systemic dynamics. 💡 Decisions on which indicators should be selected, and what indicators should be given a certain weight will influence the judgement made by evaluation. We need to be mindful about language (English is not the blueprint for everything) and dynamic qualitative methods. Watch the recording here: https://lnkd.in/eh-rx4a4
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