Better Evaluation Ltd and the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI) announce today that planning is underway for the knowledge platform BetterEvaluation.org to be transferred to GEI in December 2021.
The Australian developed BetterEvaluation.org has become the ‘go-to’ knowledge platform with information on more than 450 evaluation approaches, tasks, methods and processes, and over 4,000 resources. Currently, the platform has 1.29 million annual users (in the period from July 2020-June 2021).
GEI is committed to developing country-owned, sustainable monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks and capacities to promote the use of evidence in public decision-making, enhance accountability, and achieve better results. GEI is an inclusive global partnership, supported by a multi-donor trust fund, co-chaired by the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) and the United Nations Development Programme’s Independent Evaluation Office (IEO). IEG, which hosts GEI, will manage the transfer arrangement with Better Evaluation Ltd.
“We believe transfer of the BetterEvaluation knowledge platform to the GEI provides the best opportunity to deliver our long-term vision for the platform to expand its capacity and reach,” the Better Evaluation Ltd Board Chair Karen Barfoot said.
“When considering a potential new ‘home’ for the platform, Better Evaluation Ltd looked for an alignment of values and a commitment to the future of the platform. Our partnership with the GEI over the past year gave us confidence that the GEI could grow the platform and sustain the important role it plays in the global monitoring and evaluation community” added Ms Barfoot.
Sophie Sirtaine, Director of Strategy and Operations of IEG and GEI, agreed, “BetterEvaluation’s knowledge platform has been so valuable to the evaluation community. Indeed, in our meeting with the BE Ltd. Board on the transfer decision, both groups agreed that BetterEvaluation is a ‘jewel’ of the global evaluation community.”
“We honour the work and commitment that has gone into it over the years from those individuals and agencies involved,” added Ms Sirtaine. “This is a very good decision - for BetterEvaluation, GEI, and the evaluation community - and we’re very glad that Better Evaluation Ltd looked to GEI when considering a transition.”
As part of this transfer arrangement, Ms Sirtaine confirmed that GEI will maintain public, open and free access to the platform and support co-creation of content by the global M&E community, in addition to retaining the BetterEvaluation name.
“The principle of creating and supporting ‘public goods’ was central to the establishment of GEI in its conceptual design with GEI’s funding partners – so here we have an easy fit,” concluded Ms. Sirtaine.
“As Program Manager of GEI and someone who has worked with BetterEvaluation over the years,” noted Dugan Fraser, “I am determined to ensure that GEI will be a good caretaker. We’ll find opportunities to grow the platform and complement and align it with GEI’s vision for strengthening monitoring evaluation systems and evaluation capacity development.”
“I look forward to engaging with colleagues in the evaluation community on the platform,” added Mr Fraser. ”GEI is retaining the existing operational team working on the BetterEvaluation platform, and we will continue to upgrade the platform and will be connecting it with GEI’s broader knowledge work.”
Ms Barfoot recognised the contribution and leadership of Professor Patricia Rogers, Greet Peersman, Alice Macfarlan, and Emma Smith who developed the BetterEvaluation knowledge platform over the past 10 years in collaboration with the global M&E community and with the support of original founding partners, RMIT University and PACT, ODI, and ILAC as well as the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), the Australian Government, the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the New Zealand, Denmark, and Norwegian Foreign Affairs Ministries, Comic Relief, Research Into Use, the Rockefeller Foundation, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Beyond the World Bank's IEG and UNDP’s IEO, GEI’s funding partners are the governments of Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark, and Canada, and multilateral agencies including the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. In addition to leveraging the evaluation capacity development programs and country presence of bilateral and multilateral bodies - including the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the World Food Program, Instituto Camões, UNICEF, UNFPA, and the Global Environment Facility Independent Evaluation Office - GEI works with technical collaborators. These include the regional Centers for Learning on Evaluation and Results (the CLEAR Initiative); the International Program for Development Evaluation Training; the ENAP - École nationale d'administration publique; EvalYouth; the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie); and the Geo-Enabling Initiative for Monitoring and Supervision (GEMS) program of the World Bank. GEI collaborates, as well, with civil society organizations, academic institutions, and a number of Voluntary Organizations of Professional Evaluators.
Ms Barfoot also thanked the Directors and staff of Better Evaluation Ltd for their active support and involvement in the transfer process. She said Better Evaluation Ltd would begin the process of winding up its non-profit operations once the transfer was complete.
Both organisations are working towards an official transfer by December 1, 2021.
Inquiries:
Mark Madden, Interim CEO, BetterEvaluation, ceo@betterevaluation.org
Dugan Fraser, Program Manager, Global Evaluation Initiative, dfraser1@worldbank.org