Around the world, billions of dollars are spent on development programs to improve health, education, citizen engagement, economic outlook and other issues related to people\u2019s quality of life. But once the money is spent, who is assessing whether the funded programs are making a real difference in people\u2019s lives?<\/p>\n
Evaluators play an important role in determining the effectiveness of development interventions\u2014and the International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) plays an important role in developing the evaluation capacity of nations.<\/p>\n
“Aid is most effective when partner countries are accountable for their own development policies and programs,” says Barbara Levine, program manager of IPDET, an executive training program in development evaluation managed jointly by the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank and Carleton University. “There is a growing demand for evaluation in the developing world\u2014both from donors such as development banks and non-governmental organizations, and the citizens and parliaments that receive official development assistance.”<\/p>\n
IPDET\u2019s four-week intensive training program focuses on program-, policy-, and country-level evaluation, equipping participants from the private sector, non-governmental organizations, development agencies and governments from around the world with evaluation skills, tools and the support of an international network.<\/p>\n
The training program has drawn more than 1,200 people from 130 countries since it was launched in 2001. Recently, the Canadian International Development Agency agreed to renew its support of IPDET with a substantial increase in funding through 2010.<\/p>\n
Many IPDET alumni have organized global, regional and national professional associations, such as the Uganda Evaluation Association, the African Evaluation Association and the International Development Evaluation Association. Active as executive members, instructors, coaches and mentors, IPDET alumni make significant contributions to the development of the culture and capacity of evaluation at the national and global levels.<\/p>\n