Towards A Participatory Evaluation Methodology: The Southern African Pilot Learning Process

Abstract

This chapter outlines the Pilot Learning Process and its goals and explains the three theoretical foundations on which it rests—participation by project members, a problem-solving methodology, and use of national researchers. It summarizes the findings of the Pilot Learning Process. Given that development of a participatory evaluation process requires a perspective and facilitation from outside the project, engaging African nationals as facilitators, rather than bringing in foreign “experts,” has significant potential benefits. Understanding the conflicting goals and pressures of the different actors in the aid process is an important step in removing the obstacles to development. The projects receiving aid may each have their own goals which may differ implicitly from those of the intermediaries and donors. More and more evaluators have emphasized the advantages of involving those whose work is being assessed in the evaluation process. The pilot Learning Process aimed to enable project members to strengthen their capacity to plan and improve their own efforts to achieve selfreliance.