Towards a More Inclusive and Rigorous Peacebuilding Evaluation: An Emerging Integrated Framework
by Stephen Gray
May 3, 2023
In today’s world, the importance of peacebuilding cannot be overstated. However, evaluating peacebuilding initiatives is not an easy task, as it involves assessing complex social, political, and economic dynamics. This is where an emerging integrated framework for inclusive rigour in peacebuilding evaluation comes in. In this blog post, we will discuss the key points of the original blog post titled “Innovating for Inclusive Rigour in Peacebuilding Evaluation” published on IDS website, and invite you to read the full post for more in-depth information.
The Challenges of Peacebuilding Evaluation: Peacebuilding evaluation poses several challenges, including the difficulty of measuring intangible outcomes such as trust, social cohesion, and resilience. Additionally, the complexity of the peacebuilding process and the multiple actors involved can make it challenging to assess the impact of specific interventions accurately. Finally, the power dynamics between evaluators and those being evaluated can make it difficult to achieve truly inclusive and participatory evaluation processes.
The Emerging Integrated Framework: The emerging integrated framework for inclusive rigour in peacebuilding evaluation is comprised of three interconnected domains: methodological bricolage, quality of participation and inclusivity, and utilization. Our framework suggests that inclusive rigour in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practice becomes operational through these domains.
Emerging integrated framework. (IDS, 2022).
Methodological Bricolage: This domain involves deciding on the appropriate research methods and tools to understand and evaluate the causal pathways of our practice.
Quality of participation and inclusivity: This domain focuses on ensuring that our processes are inclusive and create space for different forms of knowledge, particularly of marginalised stakeholders, to be meaningfully included in our practice.
Utilisation: This domain involves responding to stakeholder needs for evidence and evaluation to inform decision-making and achieve the ultimate goal of improved peacebuilding programming
An Example of the Framework in Action: The Power and Relationships research initiative in Colombia led by Adapt Peacebuilding in collaboration with Humanity United is an excellent example of how the emerging integrated framework can be applied in practice. This initiative uses a participatory and collaborative approach to evaluate the impact of peacebuilding initiatives on power dynamics and relationships in the region (Click HERE for more information).
In conclusion, the emerging integrated framework for inclusive rigour in peacebuilding evaluation represents a significant step forward in the field of peacebuilding evaluation. By adopting a more complexity-aware and participatory approach, we can ensure that our evaluations are more inclusive, rigorous, and impactful. To learn more about this framework, we invite you to read the original blog post here: https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/innovating-for-inclusive-rigour-in-peacebuilding-evaluation/.
