The Realpolitik of Evaluation

Markus Palenberg is the Founder and Manager of the Institute for Development Strategy (IfDS) in Munich, Germany, where has works as researcher, evaluator, and advisor. Over the last 15 years, Markus has conducted more than 40 research and consulting assignments in the public and private sector, specializing in evaluation of global programmes and evaluating and advising on results-based Management. He regularly serves as peer reviewer of research publications and advisor during the design phases of global programs, has published works on evaluation methodology, and has served on boards, executive committees and advisory panels for development programs and institutions. Arne Paulson pursued a career in international development, working as an economist in a number of international organizations, including the World Bank, UNCTAD (Geneva), the International Energy Agency (Paris), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), from which he retired in 2007. At the IDB, he worked in all aspects of evaluation, including ex-ante economic evaluation, ongoing monitoring of projects in execution, and ex-post evaluation of completed projects financed by the IDB. At the corporate level, he reported on the overall development effectiveness of IDB operations to the bank’s board of directors and at international conferences.

1. Introduction 2. The Results Paradox in Norwegian Development Assistance 3. Behind the Scenes of the French Evidence-Based Policy Movement: Rise and Fall of an RCT-driven Model of Evidence 4. Influencing the Supply of and Demand for Results Information in Government. Can Outsiders Help? A Case Study from Ireland 5. Evaluation One Step Removed: The Government/Not for Profit Performance Nexus 6. The Role of an Intermediary Organization in a Large Evaluation: the Case of the Norwegian Health Care Reform 7. Evaluation Plans in the EU Cohesion Policy: Redefining the Relation Between the Demand for and the Supply of Evaluation 8. Assessing the Contribution of Research to Improved Policy and Practice: An Evaluation of CIFOR’s Climate Change Research 9. Mind the Gaps: Integrating Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals into Evaluation Practice 10. Mending the Theory Gap in Evaluation: Moving Toward Theory Knitting 11. Realistic Commissioning of Impact Evaluations: Getting What You Ask For? 12. Realpolitik of Demand and Supply Regarding Results Information