This is Matthieu Stigler again (Message 15).

I would be interested in having more details for the message of Huu-Nhuan Nguyen, who advocates the use of participatory methods.

I understand from your message that participatory methods can be used from two perspectives, one trying to involve more stakeholders in the project simply by involving them in the evaluation, the second perspective of full empowerment. Maybe one should add to these a third category, an "instrumental" one, stating that participation will increase the quality of the evaluation itself, just for the sake of the evaluation. I am not sure however whether the two first categories make much sense in a pure and narrow ex-post perspective? Both arguments seem to me to be more appropriate for the monitoring of an on-going project, where the project can still be adjusted and adapted, and involvement in the project makes sense (unlike in the ex-post case where a project would be terminated)?

Furthermore, could you elaborate more on what you understand by participatory assessment? Do you consider an evaluation asking beneficiaries' opinions a participatory approach? So does it equate in some cases to using qualitative methods with open-questions such as focus groups? Or does participatory assessment imply that the synthesis of stakeholders' opinions be made by stakeholders themselves? This seems to me a very critical procedure, with high risks of reproducing social power structures, or of being biased by the economic/political interests of the stakeholders?

Finally, you mention impact pathways, seeing it as complementary. Interestingly, there has been also a recent "participatory impact pathway analysis", (see Douthwaite et al. 2007, 2008). Would you consider this also participatory? Clearly in this case, the method is not chosen by stakeholders, but imposed a-priori, so I am not sure whether one should see it as participatory according to your definition?

Matthieu Stigler
Institut de recherche de lšagriculture biologique (FiBL) Ackerstrasse 113, Case postale 219
5070 Frick,
Switzerland
www.fibl.org
e-mail: matthieu.stigler (at) gmail.com 

References:
-Douthwaite, B., Alvarez, B.S., Cook, S., Davies, R., George, P., Howell, J., Mackay, R. and Rubiano, J. (2007). Participatory Impact Pathways Analysis: A Practical Application of Program Theory in Research-for-Development. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation 22(2) Pages 127-159
-Douthwaite, B., S Alvarez, G Thiele and R Mackay (2008) Participatory Impact Pathways Analysis: A practical method for project planning and evaluation, ILAC brief 17, http://www.cgiar-ilac.org/files/publications/briefs/ILAC_Brief17_PIPA.pdf  (540 KB)

[To contribute to this conference, send your message to [log in to unmask] For further information, see http://www.fao.org/nr/research-extension-systems/res-home/news/detail/en/c/217706/ ]. 

########################################################################

To unsubscribe from the Impact-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=Impact-L&A=1