Send to Friend 
 Digg   Del.icio.us   Facebook 
 StumbleUpon   Reddit 

Inspired Organisations: Learning and evaluation a top priority

posted on Saturday, November 21, 2009 01:16 PM

We face a time when efficiency, cutting costs and preparation for tough times ahead dominate conversation. Many funding organisations are looking at less income due to a reduction in interest of their investments, which can mean fewer grants and a much closer eye on what is invested in. For some of the organisations I have worked with the first reaction to this is to fundraise harder, to apply for more grants and to ask for less money to ensure they get it. This can result in compromising some of the most important parts of the work to be carried out, and that too often includes the budget allocated to learning and evaluation. Cutting back on learning and evaluation can help with the survival of a project in the short-term – survive the worst, think about the future later. However although this may be a strategy to get through the tough times there are problems with this approach. If an investment is not made in learning and reflection, in the long term it will be difficult to evidence its worth. In addition the project could suffer from not effectively responding to changes in the project’s environment or to developments/challenges as the project progresses – potentially critical to its success. Some of the most inspirational organisations I have worked with use another approach - they use the urgency to review resources by their effectiveness to achieve the goal. In practice this means they question themselves hard constantly – are we taking the best approach, are our resources allocated in the best way, what will the resource commitment now mean in the long term? They seek out knowledge and work hard to maximise their resources for the greatest impact of their work. Cost-effective evaluation tools then become part of the wider picture – will these tools give the quality information needed to make the project work best; and will they give the information required to maximise its impact in the long term? If a tool does not provide critical information vital to the project’s success it will be difficult to categorise it as cost-effective. Superfluous information is a luxury few organisations can indulge in at the best of times. I believe funders need to encourage this approach by ensuring that their investment does not compromise on funds for learning and evaluation, and is flexible enough to allow for the best tools (for the project) to be used, not just traditional or fashionable tools.

Comments

RUKUNDO JOSHUA

Friday, October 07, 2011 02:38 PM

I am just moved by your work.You are the people society needs now.I pray you receive my proposal. Thank YOU.