EVALUATIVE THINKING A Case Study of Plan International Zambia. By: Mercy. L. Chabu December, 2013

Transcription

1 EVALUATIVE THINKING A Case Study of Plan International Zambia By: Mercy. L. Chabu December, 2013

2 About Zambia Zambia is a landlocked with a population of 13 million, fertile (58% agric potential) and mineral-rich country situated on the Southern African. It shares borders with eight countries. It has a land area of about 752,614 square kilometres. Administratively, the country is divided into 10 provinces and 73 districts with Lusaka as the capital city of Zambia. Zambia has 73 ethnic groups, 7 major languages and English is the official language.

3 Plan Zambia Operational Areas

4 Plan International Zambia Plan is an international humanitarian, child centered, development organization, without religious, political or governmental affiliation; Plan s vision is of a world in which all children realize their full potential in societies that respect people s rights and dignity Plan Zambia Country Strategic Plan is from and has a theme Creating a future for children.

5 Plan Zambia CSP Programs HEALTH EDUCATION ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT CHILD PROTECTION AND PARTICIPATION - All programs are implemented in the three (3) operational areas called Program Units (PU s) in the country through numerous projects.

6 Organisational Strategy As part of Plan International, all programs are designed according to the Child Centred Community development approach (CCCD) The organisation has a program cycle anchored on PALS (Program Accountability and Learning System). Situational Analysis from a child rights perspective Development of Country Strategic Plan P.U. Long term Plan Project and Program Implementation Annual Participatory Reflection and Review CSP evaluation Plan Zambia has a department set aside to ensure learning from evaluation to improve program quality and effectiveness

7 Brief Background of the Case Study In line with the Plan Zambia Country Strategic plan and Phase-in framework, one operational site (PU) had closed and a new one needed to be opened. The option selected was to select an area adjacent to the district where there was an already existing Plan operational district. This option proposed expansion into the districts nearest to existing PUs. This could be limited to a maximum of 1-2 adjacent districts, thereafter seek a fresh start elsewhere. In order to make a decision into an important area of operation for the office a consultant was hired to carry out an evaluation.

8 Why Incorporate Evaluative Thinking The organisation believes in evidence based decision making, Learning and improvement for effective, quality programs. Department set aside for this (QED) Evaluation information led to the decision to phase-out of the operational area (Mazabuka PU) in New experiences/initiatives requires reference documentation of similar processes conducted in the past. Important to understand through information collected that Plan programs will be relevant and have desired impact.

9 The Evaluative Thinking Process 1. Numerous brainstorming/reflection meetings discussing key questions around next steps of program operations 2. Core team set-up ( spearheaded by the QED). 3. System of data collection and analysis including reporting set-up. Monitoring reports, preliminary findings of evaluation, desk review reports 4. Stakeholders Plan (Senior leadership, all program managers, Administration, I.T and Finance) 5. Information shared guided decision making by management in line with the suitability of the operational area to be selected.

10 Decisions as a Result of Evaluative Thinking 1. The living conditions study made the organisation decide to phase-out of the Mazabuka district. 2. As a result of documented lessons on the phaseout process, evidence was required to decide the new operational area. 3. A decision to have an external consultant was made with ToRs developed based on learning's from other Plan countries. 4. Desk review findings changed scope of work for field visit from one to all proposed districts.

11 Decisions As a Result of Evaluation Cont d Field monitoring visits observations and findings changes the consultants timeframe and scope of work to include more questions. Preliminary findings propelled management to change the initial intention and decide the option of working in all sites as the needs and relevance of programs were equally spread. The final report presented by the consultant allowed management to consider another option of expanding the current location of programs and now invested in a phase-up instead of phase-in approach into one operational area. Practical implementation of strategy is still on-going.

12 Factors that Enabled Evaluative Thinking The Country Director s visionary leadership. Senior Managements by-in and response to evaluations including attitude and practice on evidence based decisions. The strategically placed department that spearheads evaluations and encourages learning. Management follow-up Quarterly Health Check on evaluations that are being incorporated into action The entire organisations approach to reflection, evaluation and learning.

13 Challenges and how they where overcome Resistance to change, i.e. - the set-up of a new department. Overcome through senior management support and communication. The evaluation time took longer than anticipated and created anxiety. Not everything goes according to plan, information sharing is essential and keeps all expectations met. Limited quantitative information in some areas or sector qualitative information supplemented through key informant interviews and further analysis was incorporated through proxy. Lack of adequate resources to support the process. Creatively, alternative cheaper methods were initiated

14 Lessons Learned Evaluative thinking is all about attitude and requires inspiring leaders, in this case senior leadership especially the Country Director. Resources are key in any evaluative process, therefore adequately planning for evaluations or departments that handle evaluations is very critical to support the evaluative thinking within an organisation. Evidence based decision making is very good as it provides a bench mark for future learning or a point of reference for any change in the decision making process for an organisation.

15 EXAMPLE OF CHILD PROTECTION AND PARTICIPATION COUNTRY PROGRAM CC / DRM conference - Addis Ababa

16 Questions Ahsante