This is the third session in InterAction’s Decolonizing Evaluation and Research Series, which explores what it means to decolonize evaluation and research in theory and in practice, and how.

The first session combined theory and practice to offer insights to what it means to decolonize evaluation and research, why it is important, and how it can happen. The second session featured three examples of how organizations are working to decolonize the way they do evaluation or research. During this session, staff from Save the Children, International Youth Foundation, and IREX will share specific examples of how their organizations are working to decolonize evaluation and research in children- or youth-focused programs.

Join this upcoming session to hear case studies of decolonization in practice from a children- and youth-programming angle as well as practical tools your organization can adopt to decolonize your own evaluation or research.

Speakers:

Andrew Gleason - Advisor, Gender Equality & Social Justice, Save the Children
Linda Fogarty - Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning, International Youth Foundation
Brian Batayeh - Senior Technical Specialist for Implementation Research, IREX

Case Studies:

Save the Children’s Gender & Power (GAP) Analysis Guidance is a critical tool to examine, understand, and address discrimination and inequality that prevent children, their families, and communities from claiming their full and equal rights. Andrew Gleason will discuss how SC’s approach to GAP analysis, a type of action research that investigates how gender and power inequalities intersect, builds on tried-and-true methodologies while bringing in a unique child-centered and intersectional approach. Andrew will be joined by Nishat Mirza from SC’s Bangladesh Country Office to illustrate how SC’s unique GAP Analysis has been carried out for projects.
International Youth Foundation’s Linda Fogarty will introduce several examples of decolonizing evaluation and research in IYF’s work including: (1a) the Kiongozi Fellowship program which engaged young people in Tanzania as partners in research, program design, and strategy development, and (1b) how IYF used the Youth Programming Assessment Tool (YPAT) to evaluate that program; and (2) working with a local evaluation firm to conduct a developmental evaluation for adaptive management of the High Gear project in South Africa.
The Research-to-Change (R2C) Toolkit, designed by the Youth Excel consortium, guides youth-led and youth-serving organizations to strengthen their positive youth development programs using research and data. Brian Batayeh, lead author of the toolkit, will discuss how to put youth and local implementers in the driver seat to plan and carry out research and use the findings for concrete action.

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Questions? Contact Ben Bestor (bbestor@interaction.org)

Decolonizing Evaluation and Research--Session 3: Decolonization in Practice