evaluations that matter

Evaluation for Results-oriented Management

Caroline Heider, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INDEPENDENT EVALUATION GROUP

02.20.2017

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Evaluation for Results

What a nerdy subject, what a contentious field… For some, what we do as evaluators seems peripheral, if not irrelevant. But in reality, we are all evaluators, and we evaluate all the time.

To explain how and why, let’s turn to something that we all love. Food!

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Guide Michelin

We all recognize the Guide Michelin as a mark of excellence when it comes to the world of food. As a consumer, a patron, just reflect: when and how do you use the Guide Michelin?

• You rely on it for the credibility of its stars.• You trust it when you want a special meal for a

wonderful occasion. • You know you will have a fantastic evening at any

Michelin star restaurant…

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Guide Michelin

Now think of it from the perspective of the chef, the staff, the restaurant:

• The stress of the assessment• The thrill of competition• The motivation and care to pay attention to every

detail.

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At its heart, the Guide Michelin is an evaluation system…

• Customers value the system: they know what it means and they rely on its credibility. And: they know what they want, and it is more than a plate with food in front of their nose!

• The restaurant, chefs and staff – know what it means. They fear it but also like the challenge of achieving a Michelin star, and it motivates them to pay attention – to monitor and self-evaluate – everything from the quality of the food that’s bought, to the way it is prepared and served, to the attention that guests receive throughout the experience, and the décor of the restaurant. It is not just a plate of food that is served, it is much more!

So what can development institutions like the World Bank Group

or other organizationstake from the Guide Michelin?

Think client satisfaction.

So what can development institutions like the World Bank Group

or the Central Bank of France take from the Guide Michelin?

This is what independent evaluation is about.

Getting and sustaining results requires that we have internal systems to monitor, measure, assess what we do, what the results are, where the bottlenecks lie and constantly learn and adapt. And that is what monitoring, self-evaluation, and independent evaluation is about.

Things we need to deliver as evaluators

Close an information gap Provide a credible source of

information Deliver timely insights

There are more…

Our clients have role to play as well…

Openness and receptivity among colleagues

Active engagement to discuss A willingness to take a step back to

gain new insights

Our shared goalTo serve our clients better

EvaluatorsThe organizations and projects we

evaluate

So back to our example of the Guide Michelin.

What can we in development learn from Guide Michelin?

It is important that the system works, because it incentivizes internal monitoring and evaluation systems. The maître d’, who

monitors that the waiters have laid the tables, the sous-chef who makes sure the kitchen help has done whatever

preparations are needed for the day. And, the chef who samples the food, evaluates whether it meets expectations and serves

the reputation of his/her establishment. All contribute to making the system function and deliver the right results.

The same is true for the development community

It is essential that there is a culture and a system to pay attention, observe, track and record progress, fix problems as they arise, and step back at the end and reflect on what we

have created. Independent evaluators play a key role but they cannot deliver on all of that. On the contrary: this kind of reflection and care for ongoing operations comes out of a

commitment to quality and delivery of results. Our evidence shows that a functioning self-evaluation – from start to finish –

is an essential factor of success.

evaluations that matter

Evaluation for Results-oriented Management

Caroline HeiderINDEPENDENT EVALUATION GROUP

ieg.worldbankgroup.org