Frameworks for evaluating development assistance often result in a largely extractive process that risks dehumanizing the experience of those on the receiving end of that assistance. This approach runs counter to a widely accepted principle of development effectiveness - local ownership. Many evaluators agree that it is important to hear from those affected by an intervention. But too often evaluators simply turn program participants into data providers. In this session, our presenters will draw on their recent work to answer questions like: How should program participants be involved in evaluations? How can organizations adopt a local ownership approach? How do we simultaneously ensure quality, rigor and local ownership?

Carlisle Levine is an international development, peacebuilding and advocacy evaluator with 24 years of international development experience and 17 years of evaluation experience. She is a skilled facilitator and trainer with expertise in leading complex evaluations, building staff evaluation capacity, developing M&E systems, fostering collaborative learning processes within dispersed and diverse teams, and developing knowledge sharing systems.

Laia Griñó is Senior Manager of Transparency, Accountability and Results at InterAction. Laia leads InterAction’s work on NGO and U.S. government transparency and also manages InterAction’s Evaluation and Program Effectiveness Working Group (EPEWG). The EPEWG seeks to improve the capacity of InterAction members to measure and demonstrate their effectiveness and to inform donors’ evaluation policies and practices.

Leslie Groves is an independent inclusion expert, with 20 years’ experience of working with civil society, government and international organisations to improve performance and accountability in relation to equalities and human rights in 26 countries across the world. She works to ensure that aid recipients, including those from excluded groups, are able to engage with and influence the full policy and programme cycle. Her most recent publication is a DFID commissioned working paper on beneficiary feedback in evaluation.