Associations, Evaluation

A hierarchy of evaluation organizations is slowly emerging. At the global level are organizations such as the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE) and the International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS). The IOCE is a loose coalition of some 50 regional and national evaluation organizations from around the world. The mission of the IOCE is to legitimate and strengthen evaluation societies and associations by promoting the systematic use of evaluation in civil society. Its intent is to build evaluation capacity, develop principles and procedures in evaluation, encourage the development of new societies and associations, procure resources for cooperative activity, and be a forum for the exchange of good practice and theory in evaluation.

The initiative to establish IDEAS arose from the lack of an international organization representing the professional interests and intellectual needs of development evaluators, particularly in transition economies and the developing world. IDEAS seeks to fulfill that need by creating a strong body of committed voluntary members worldwide, particularly from developing countries and transition economies, that will support essential, creative, and innovative development evaluation activities; enhance capacity; nurture partnerships; and advance learning and sharing of knowledge with a view to improving the quality of people's lives.

The regional level of the hierarchy is made up of evaluation organizations that have a geographical focus that spans two or more countries. The regional evaluation organizations registered to attend the IOCE inaugural assembly include the African Evaluation Association, the Australasian Evaluation Society (AES), the European Evaluation Society, the International Program Evaluation Network (IPEN) of Russia and the Independent States, and the Program for Strengthening the Regional Capacity for Evaluation of Rural Poverty Alleviation Projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Most, if not all, regional evaluation organizations are based on individual memberships. To a lesser extent they serve as umbrella organizations for the national evaluation organizations that lie within their geographical focus. Like their national counterparts, regional evaluation organizations offer many benefits to their memberships.

The national level of the hierarchy is made up of evaluation organizations that operate throughout a single country. The national evaluation organizations registered to attend the IOCE inaugural assembly include the American Evaluation Association (AEA), Associazione Italiana di Valutazione, Canadian Evaluation Society (CES), Egyptian Evaluation Society, Eritrean National Evaluation Association, Ghana Evaluators Association, Israeli Association for Program Evaluation, IPEN-Georgia, IPEN-Ukraine, IPEN-Russia, Kenya Evaluation Association, Malawi Network of Evaluators, Malaysian Evaluation Society, Rede Brasileira de Monitoramento e Avaliaçao, Réseau nigérien de Suivi Evaluation (ReNSE), Réseau de Suivi et Evaluation du Rwanda, Sociedad Española de Evaluación, Société Française de l'Evaluation, South African Evaluation Network, Sri Lankan Evaluation Association, United Kingdom Evaluation Society, and Zimbabwe Evaluation Society.

The structure of regional and national evaluation organizations arises organically in response to contextual variables that are unique to their respective areas of geographic focus. In democratic countries, a common structure is the association or society. (A notable exception is Utvärderarna, a very loose evaluation network in Sweden.) In nondemocratic countries, informal networks whose memberships are not registered with the government have often been found to be preferable. There also appears to be a natural progression to the development of regional and national evaluation organization structure. National organizations often begin as informal networks. As the organizations mature and contextual variables change, often-times the networks begin to formalize. Eventually, some networks take the step of becoming legal [Page 23]organizations that are formally recognized by their governments.

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