Assessing Capacity for Evaluation: A Pilot in Kenya

Author(s): MEASURE Evaluation

Year: 2018

Abstract:

Funders want to know if the programs they support in low-resource countries are succeeding and look to evaluations for the answer. However, if outside experts conduct the evaluations, these countries miss the chance to build their capacity to do this work themselves. Strengthening the capacity of local institutions to implement evaluations is a critical need.

The capacity-building approach embraced by MEASURE Evaluation, funded by the United States Agency for International Development, is “learning by doing.” While an evaluation is implemented, a concurrent process develops the knowledge, skills, and competencies of a local organization.

In 2016, with the goal of systematizing this learning-by-doing approach, MEASURE Evaluation prepared a toolkit for capacity building in evaluation.

That same year, MEASURE Evaluation piloted this guidance with a local research partner in Kenya: the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), which is a pan-African research institution headquartered in Nairobi. Our goals were to conduct an evaluation and to improve APHRC’s evaluation capacity. This experience in Kenya, outlined in this brief, was a valuable test of the toolkit, yielding insights for future applications.