FORUM SUMMARY
MAIDEN GMEF FORUM IN TAMALE
“Impact Evaluation”
Wednesday, 21st November, 2012
Gariba Lodge, Tamale
Drafted by,
Hafsatu Sey Sumani,
NORSAAC, Tamale.
INTRODUCTION
GMEF held the first GMEF Forum in Tamale at Gariba Lodge on the 21st of November, 2012. The
Forum’s theme was “Impact Evaluation” and it was sponsored by UNICEF Ghana and STAR-Ghana.
GMEF is infinitely grateful for their kind support. The seminar was attended by about 51 people from
different sectors; CSOs, NGOs, Development Partners (DPs), ministries, educational institutions, the
private sector and the media. The Moderator for the event was Mr. Bruno B. Dery who works with
NDPC in Accra.
Presentations were made by Mrs Dede Bedu- Addo, GMEF Coordinator and Gender and Social
Development Consultant; Dr. Seidu Al-hassan, Senior Lecturer and Director, CCEIR, University for
Development Studies and Madeleen Husselman, Northern Regional Manager, Innovations for Poverty
Actions-Ghana (IPA, Ghana). The forum started at 10:00am with Opening Remarks and highlights of
what GMEF stands for as well as its activities by the Coordinator, Mrs. Dede Bedu-Addo.
This was followed by the presentations. Key points raised are presented below:
The first presentation was “INTRODUCTION: “WHAT IS IMPACT EVALUATION”
by Mrs Dede Bedu- Addo, GMEF Coordinator. Sharing some of the highlights from the
GMEF Conference 2012, Dede raised a number of questions about Impact Evaluation to set
the tone for the day’s discussions. Key points were:
−
Why do we evaluate?
o For Accountability: are we using money effectively? Did we do what we said we
were going to do?
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o To learn how to do better in the future: does this work? Test alternative versions
against each other.
−
Good data and analysis are necessary for understanding the root causes, impediments, and
enablers to Africa’s development needs
−
Going beyond physical achievement to also gauge achievement in final outcomes requires good
quantitative and qualitative indicators
−
There’s the need to deal with Africa’s problems of yesterday, today and tomorrow simultaneously
The second presentation was by Dr. Seidu Al-hassan, a lecturer at UDS, on “IMPACT
EVALUATION (IE) IN NORTHERN GHANA”. Some key points raised were:
 The 3 regions in Northern Ghana are characterized by negative indicators: poverty, poor
health, illiteracy hence the attraction of many project interventions. These projects witness
some form of assessment in order to determine their impacts.
 Impacts can be desired or undesired; did X have an effect on Y? What happened, what would
have happened, anyway?
 Issues of IE: effectiveness; relevance; efficiency; sustainability; project techniques; project
activities; stakeholder participation; best practices; unintended benefits.
 Best practices can have negative consequences and some have made little or no impact,
partial impact or greater impact
 Key challenges in Northern Ghana:
o
o
methodological pitfalls (data collection techniques, sampling, etc);
funding;
o
projects trying to do the impossible; statistical problems.
o
how to deal with biases: Placement of projects, knowing the characteristics of
communities; timing for conducting IE while realizing impact: when does impact
begin and when does it end?
o
poverty initiatives do not address root causes (relief oriented instead of development
orientated);
o
socio cultural and religious challenges
The third presentation was made by Ms. Madeleen Husselman, the Northern Regional Manager of
IPA, on “MAKING EVALUATION WORK: RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS”.
Addressing the question, Why RCTs?, Madeleen made these key points.
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 RCTs help to know what would happen in the absence of the program, take difference
between having it and not having it to understand program and measure impact of program.
The impact can be negative or positive.
 The counterfactual is often constructed by selecting a group not affected by the program.
 It is difficult to compare groups when not randomized. Randomization eliminates bias
because members of groups do not differ systematically at the outset. Any difference that
subsequently arises between them can be attributed to the program, rather than other factors.
 When there is an important question you want/need to know the answer to or there is a basic
concept you need tested
 When the program is premature and still requires considerable “tinkering” to work
well
The fourth presentation was on “GENDERISING M & E - ENSURING THAT GENDER AND
SOCIAL
INCLUSION
ISSUES
ARE
FULLY
MAINSTREAMED
IN
IMPACT
EVALUATIONS”. It was made by Mrs Dede Bedu-Addo, Gender and Social Development
Consultant and GMF Coordinator. Some key points were:

Gender-sensitive and Social Inclusion Monitoring & Evaluation reveals the extent to
which a project has addressed the different needs of men and women as well as socially
excluded groups, and has made an impact on their lives and overall social and economic wellbeing

Gender impact evaluation is a tool for realizing Gender Mainstreaming and it has the
final goal of promoting positive change regarding gender inequality and social inclusion.

Information generated by impact evaluations inform decisions on whether to expand,
modify, or eliminate a particular policy or program and can be used in prioritizing public
actions.

Undertake an initial gender study or analysis to identify the potential negative
impacts of project intervention on women, men and Social Inclusion (SI)

Assess the institutional capacity for integrating gender and Social Inclusion into
development activities.

Identify and select key gender-sensitive and Social Inclusion indicators for input,
output, outcome and impact evaluation.
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PARTICIPANTS’ FEEDBACK
 Evaluations should concentrate on both qualitative and quantitative data to measure impact.
 When to use indicators or milestones? Define indicator from time you are developing your
proposal. Milestone is a definite point. Indicator measures if you have achieved that milestone.
 M&E tends to be an add-on responsibility; no one gives it serious consideration at the
beginning of the project. Must use both qualitative and quantitative if you want to measure
impact—you need both numbers and unquantifiable things.
 Measuring impact of projects: format is often provided by donors who want to know impact of
projects. There is some confusion related to impact and results. If you’re working on changing
the behaviour of people, it takes time to measure impact. Should it just be outputs then?
 Some projects can have impact in one year, eg. in water and sanitation where people are trained
on best practices in avoiding guinea worm. There could be a change in behaviour because
people are using the facilities provided otherwise the project should be frank with their donors
that impact cannot be measured in one year.
 Expected and achieved impact should be discussed and negotiated with donors
 How do you measure actual impact?
 In the northern part of the country many interventions have been implemented but with little
impact. Impact Evaluation should also take Process Evaluation into consideration to engage
beneficiaries in the evaluation of how projects are implemented.
 What happens when you conduct an evaluation and realise that there are many negative
impacts at the end of the project and donors are withdrawing from the project?
 Most significant change stories are good for hearing from beneficiaries themselves. Impact
measurement should be triangulated.
 Indicators are very important, if well defined, they inform about what kind of approach to take
for impact evaluation.
 Is it true that government projects often fail? Need to implement a M&E system that enables
the public sector to be accountable for its funding.
CONCLUSION
In closing the forum the Moderator, Mr. Bruno Dery said that Evaluators are called upon to tell a
story about something that happened over a long period. At other times it is about something that is
yet to happen. They are asked to tell a story that will not be pleasant to a lot of people, if they have not
delivered on the project. They are asked to tell a story that will erase perceptions. Evaluators’ stories
are credible and based on evidence. They use terms that can be understood around the globe but
Impact evaluation is difficult. To discuss these terms they have to put in context, which is difficult.
The area of monitoring and evaluation is complex.
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In Bruno’s words, “The key objective of this workshop was to help establish an M&E community of
practice. in Tamale. This is possible. The challenge is what happens when we come back many years
later to tell a story about this. Hopefully evidence will show that we have established this community
in Tamale.”
It is expected that this forum is the first step towards building a community of active and
informed stakeholders on M&E through the quarterly fora/forums. The GMEF Secretariat
will continue to work with local organisations and individuals who are registered with GMEF
and/or interested in M&E to establish the forum locally and keep it growing to serve the
interests and needs of the three (3) northern regions.
GMEF is truly grateful to UNICEF and STAR-Ghana for their funding support in making this
possible, in spite of all the odds. Being an election year, it was difficult to get people to
commit the time and resources to the programme, especially as the year drew to a close but
we are grateful that we were able to organise this and anticipate that it will be an annual event
that will promote M&E and evidence-based decision-making in Northern Ghana. We thank
all the presenters and the moderator, we called on them at very short notice and they did not
fail us. We also thank Mr. Alhassan Mohammed Awal of NORSAAC and his staff who
provided logistical support in Tamale and Gariba Lodge, who provided a suitable venue. We
look forward to replicating this next year and in subsequent years and trust that we will have
the requisite support.
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ATTENDANCE LIST- GMEF MAIDEN FORUM AT GARIBA LODGE IN TAMALE
S/N
NAME
ORGANISATION
DISTRICT
CONTACT
E-MAIL ADDRESS
NUMBER
1.
PHILIP OFORI-ANOM
ZOOMLION
TAMALE
0268735409
[email protected]
2.
ALHASSAN MOHAMMED AWAL
NORSAAC
TAMALE
0243415938
[email protected]
3.
RASHIDA BEN HUSSEIN
NORSAAC
TAMALE
0245372155
[email protected]
4.
RAJANTHI MANIVANNAN
NORSAAC
TAMALE
0546157545
[email protected]
5.
HAFSATU SEY SUMANI
NORSAAC
TAMALE
0273688888
[email protected]
6.
KODJO MENKA
KAIPTC
ACCRA
0244265837
[email protected]
7.
SHAWARATU ABDULLAI
CMR-GHANA
TAMALE
0248262432
[email protected]
8.
HUZEIFA YAHAYA
NORSAAC
TAMALE
0243311353
[email protected]
9.
DEDE BEDU ADDO
GMEF
ACCRA
0277534204
[email protected]
10.
S. A. HAMID
GKS
TAMALE
0201734419
[email protected]
11.
AWUDE EMMANUEL
IFDC
TAMALE
0244922272
[email protected]
12.
ABASS KARIM N40
IFDC
TAMALE
0244210420
[email protected]
13.
BRUNO B. DERY
NDPC
ACCRA
0244180692
[email protected]
14.
TANKO YAKUBU
EISSA
TAMALE
0245518142
[email protected]
CONSULTANCY
15.
ALHASSAN IMORO
RUMNET
TAMALE
024218701
[email protected]
16.
ABDUL RAUF YUSSIF
ZODA
TAMALE
0242612003
[email protected]
17.
MELODY AZINIM
WANEP GHANA
TAMALE
0249440416
[email protected]
6
18.
CLUADIA AFERI
YOUTH ALIVE
TAMALE
0249012747
[email protected]
19.
ANYARAYOR BISMARK
UDS
TAMALE
0200609611
[email protected]
20.
AMPAM DARKO STEPHEN
GMEF
ACCRA
0266917197
[email protected]
21.
AFUA OHENE AMPOFO
IFDC
TAMALE
0264573328
[email protected]
22.
ABDALLAH KASSIM
RUMNET
TAMALE
0244218898
[email protected]
23.
IBRAHIM OSMAN ADAM
RAINS
TAMALE
0208829376
[email protected]
24.
AHMED T. SAEED
CMR-GHANA
TAMALE
0244720080
[email protected]
25.
MOHAMMED A. ABUKARI
NOYED- GH
TAMALE
0242227467
[email protected]
26.
ADISHETU ISSAHAKU
TAMA
TAMALE
0244209937
[email protected]
27.
HAJIA ZARATU A.
WPBM
TAMALE
0244818210
[email protected]
28.
ISSAH ABDUL RAHIM
SWMA
TAMALE
0240307111
[email protected]
29.
HAMIDU FUSEINI
BIDO
TAMALE
0242084799
[email protected]
30.
KANTON FUSEINI
YARO
TAMALE
0246738150
[email protected]
31.
ABUGRI PRINCE AKEBO
ACDEP
TAMALE
0209115938
[email protected]
32.
DAVID SULLEY
CCFC
TAMALE
0242588469
[email protected]
33.
NUAGAH ALISON
PRIVATE
TAMALE
0208433824
[email protected]
34.
ABDULLAI ABDUL SHATAR
PRIVATE
TAMALE
0242809643
[email protected]
35.
ALHASSAN MOHAMMED
GDCA
TAMALE
0243585889
[email protected]
36.
ERIC DOE
IFDC
TAMALE
0244888526
[email protected]
37.
ZAKARIA A. RASHIDA
URBANET
TAMALE
0244407627
[email protected]
38.
T. I. DOKURUGU
NGND
TAMALE
0246835010
[email protected]
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39.
GIFTY AWUNI
NGND
TAMALE
0248453309
[email protected]
40.
MADELEEN HUSSEMAN
IPA
TAMALE
0545496366
[email protected]
41.
CIZ SCHULTZ
IPA
TAMALE
0240601540
[email protected]
42.
DR. SEIDU AL-HASSAN
CCEIR, UDS
TAMALE
0244217888
[email protected]
43.
ESTHER EKUA AMOAKO
U.D.S
TAMALE
0244206175
[email protected]
ATTENDANCE LIST OF MEDIA- GMEF MAIDEN FORUM AT GARIBA LODGE IN TAMALE
S/N
NAME
ORGANISATION
DISTRICT
CONTACT
E-MAIL ADDRESS
NUMBER
1.
NURUDEEN SALIFU
DAILY GRAPHIC
TAMALE
0208377494
[email protected]
2.
ALBERT OPONG ANSAH
GNA
TAMALE
0242586640
[email protected]
3.
IBRAHIM MOHAMMED
ZAA RADIO
TAMALE
0200322801
[email protected]
4.
IBRAHIM RAFIU
DIAMOND FM
TAMALE
0261121190
[email protected]
5.
NOAH NASH
VIASAT TV
TAMALE
0277814973
[email protected]
6.
WALIYU HASSAN
METRO TV
TAMALE
0242534339
7.
SEY MUBARIK
KESMI FM
TAMALE
0246588411
[email protected]
8.
YUSHAWU JAHINFO
FIILA FM
TAMALE
0242227483
[email protected]
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