Workshop on Evaluation of humanitarian programs

Workshop on Evaluation of humanitarian programs 

Introduction

The Czech NGO platform FoRS – Czech forum for development cooperation consists of approximately 50 NGOs dealing mostly with the overseas development programming. Much fewer members (4-5) are engaged in the emergency response during the sudden onset disasters or in the long term protracted crisis. The overall experience of Czech NGOs with evaluations reflects this ratio. While there is a relatively extensive and shared experience with the evaluations of the development programs, there have been only fragmented attempts so far to conduct evaluations of the humanitarian actions. Similar can be said about the major governmental donors, the Czech development agency (CRA) and humanitarian department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While CRA has a systematic approach towards evaluations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs humanitarian department still lacks a structural approach towards evaluations. So far only one evaluation has been commissioned.

Workshop on the humanitarian evaluations should thus help to fill this gap and to encourage the Czech humanitarian actors to a more structural approach towards evaluating the humanitarian actions, initiation of the learning process and thus striving for better quality of the action.

Objective of the workshop is:

• To increase the overall awareness of the necessity for  evaluation of humanitarian programs
• To understand basic differences and analogies between development and humanitarian evaluations
• To understand basic methods, approaches, do’s and don’ts and practical steps in the humanitarian evaluations

The workshop will be held in English, no translation is provided.

The seminar is targeting:

Core employees and consultants of FoRS member organizatiosn, Czech Development Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Please register by May 26 via e-mail adela.stiborova@fors.cz (Adéla Stiborová FoRS, 777 273 909).

Draft programme:

14:00 – 15.30             Field Session – Practical experience sharing and presentation of selected field evaluations. Two project evaluations presented (one from long-lasting disaster, one from project responding to sudden crisis, open discussion).

Sabine Kampmüller, Head of Evaluation Unit Vienna, Medecins sans Frontieres

15:30 – 16:00             Humanitarian projects evaluations in Czech Republic – Presentation of one humanitarian project evaluation done by Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (project realized by ADRA in Burma after cyclone Nargis in the period 2008 – 2011), quality of evaluations, the future of humanitarian project evaluations done by Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Hana Volná, Deputy Director of the Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

16:00 – 16:30             Coffee break

16:30 – 18:00             Framework session – Difference between evaluations of development and humanitarian programs, donors position towards humanitarian evaluations, learning process and strive for quality in the humanitarian action, certification of the humanitarian organizations in Europe, open discussion.

Speakers:

Hana Volná – Deputy Director of the Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

Hana Volná is responsible for providing of humanitarian assistance abroad, including the coordination with other donors and cooperation with both international and non-governmental implementing organizations. She is also responsible for the official activities of the Czech Republic in the framework of the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative, where the Czech Republic together with Denmark fulfilled the annual co-chairmanship from July 2012 until July 2013.

Sabine Kampmüller – Head of Evaluation Unit Vienna, Medecins sans Frontieres

Sabine Kampmüller holds a Masters degree in International Health (MIH) and a diploma in nursing. As the Head of the evaluation unit she has managed and conducted different types of evaluations and Lessons-learned excercises since 2005. Sabine has worked for MSF as a nurse and project manager in various programs in Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Nagorno-Karabakh.  Specific areas of experience and interest include nomadic health care, urban health and qualitative research.