Session Description: What do you do when asked to perform an evaluation on a program that is well underway? When your questions about baseline data and control groups are met with blank stares? When time and resources are few, yet clients expect “rigorous impact evaluation”? When there are political expectations and pressures to deal with? This workshop presents a seven-step approach that seeks to ensure the best quality evaluation under real-life constraints. Through presentations and discussion, with real-world examples drawn from multiple contexts, participants in this workshop will be introduced to the RealWorld Evaluation approach. RealWorld evaluation techniques are applicable to evaluators working in any context with budget, time, data and political constraints. The fundamental framework for the session is an exploration off the RealWorld Evaluation approach, including ways to negotiate RealWorld solutions with clients. Finally, we’ll identify a number of evaluation designs appropriate for RealWorld evaluations and discuss their appropriate context-dependent applications.
Jim Rugh brings over 46 years of experience in international development, including 30 years specializing in program evaluation. For 12 years he was the Coordinator of program Design, Monitoring and Evaluation for CARE, a large international NGO headquartered in Atlanta with programs in 70 countries. Under Jim’s leadership CARE adopted an evaluation policy, strategies, standards and guidelines to promote learning for improved program quality and accountability for effectiveness. An active member of AEA for almost 25 years, he currently serves as the AEA Representative to the IOCE (International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation). Jim has facilitated evaluation workshops for many years at AEA’s annual conferences as well as many other countries including South Africa, Niger, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Ukraine, Portugal, the UK and elsewhere. He was co-author with Michael Bamberger and Linda Mabry of the book RealWorld Evaluation: Working Under Budget, Time, Data, and Political Constraints published by SAGE in 2006..