Open Framework for Evaluation of the Multistakeholder Initiatives in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

FAQ Template | CodyHouse

    RCE Assessment

These Q&A are part of the Open Framework for Evaluation of the Multistakeholder Initiatives in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). We hope you find them helpful for your RCE Assessment.

  • Q. Was the suggested methodology tried before by the RCE community?

    Yes. RCEs in Southern Africa piloted the approach in 2015 and 2016. RCEs in India, Thailand, Japan and Australia have also undertaken evaluation work that informed the design of the Start-up Evaluation Tools.

  • Q. Who can be engaged in evaluation and in which capacity

    Key members and stakeholders of the RCEs – old, new and potential – would benefit collective learning and planning. Engagement of members from other RCEs in evaluation activities as peers can also be useful.

  • Q. Can a new RCE conduct evaluation?

    Yes, the start-up tools can be used at any stage of RCEs development. Newly formed RCEs might evaluate to collectively plan ESD and SD actions.

    More mature RCEs might review their collective effort along with individual actions and ongoing learning. However, if an RCE underwent a period of partnership slow down, attention to past activities of individual partners can be used for learning and planning collective work.

  • Q. What about duration and format of a multi-stakeholder evaluation process?

    The format of evaluation meetings depends on the partners aspirations and what is to be assessed. An evaluation meeting can be held for part/whole day or a few consecutive days or it can be held in a course of several days divided by intervals – in such a case, the partners can use time to collect agreed data, analyse and innovate

  • Q. What were the suggestions from RCEs that have undertaken collaborative evaluation work?

    The experience of undertaking open ended evaluation in RCEs have shown that evaluation becomes useful if:

    Before an assessment meeting –

    • Initial data is gathered by the meeting organizer through collection of materials, reports on RCE activities as well as through the interviews with the RCE partners. The data is then used as input to inform different parts of the assessment that is being done together.
    • Asking the stakeholders to share their thoughts on success and desired directions for the RCE before the meeting (in a simple format). Calling the members for a quick discussion is effective.

    At the beginning of an assessment meeting -

    • Providing the members with an overview of the RCE history, actions, relations within and among RCEs, etc. at the beginning of the meeting. This includes sharing information gathered from the members as a part of preparation.
    • The RCE Partners come prepared to share their experiences, lessons and aspirations in their evaluation work. Dependent on the partners they can be encouraged to use media that are comfortable for them to share their stories

    Throughout the meetings -

    • There is a record keeping and documentation of the meeting and meeting results
    • The facilitation of the process is done in a manner that encourage and gives time to formulate and refine questions, formulating intention, find out what is happening, explore opinions, deliver feedback. The facilitators would benefit from applying a number of methods and techniques that can be used when working with assessment process. Here is a list of some of them (from L4C Handbook of Mellman et al):
      • Nominal Group technique;
      • Fast prioritization;
      • YYY (or: Why, Why, Why), used to uncover underlying problems and to create tension between ‘what is’ and ‘what could be’;
      • Deep listening & parking;
      • Synthesizing (after the analysis has been done with and through the previous methods/techniques);
      • Giving & receiving feedback;
      • Devil’s advocate, and
      • Risk assessment.

    After the meeting -

    The draft report is shared from feedback before finalization and key decisions are included in the RCE action plan and communicate to the stakeholders.

  • Q. What are the advantages of an evaluation for an RCE?

    The process will help to collectively learn from RCEs experiences, document this learning and improve its work as a learning and action community. Evaluation is an occasion that allows all partners to review, reflect and plan together. In this regard, it can be used at any stage of RCEs development.

  • Q. Who will use the evaluation data?

    The data collected in the course of an evaluation process is for the RCE partners to learn about their actions and to improve them. They can also use it to compile a report or case studies of practice (such cases can be documented in a variety of forms – short descriptive texts, photos, videos). The format of the report is decided by the meeting participants.

    It would be advisable to share your report (or part of it that you consider useful) with the RCE Service Centre as a platform of exchange and support to strengthen RCEs as sites of civic learning and change.

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