Decolonizing community development evaluation in Rakhine State, Myanmar

This paper explores the complexities of decolonising evaluation practices, highlighting that it's more than translation and local data collection.

It deconstructs traditional beliefs on good evaluation and shares reflective practices to support others in decolonizing their approaches.

Key content

Key takeaways from the resource include:

Introduction

The paper by Kelly and Htwe (2024) discusses the importance and complexity of decolonizing evaluation practices in community development programs in Rakhine State, Myanmar. The authors, external evaluators, reflect on their journey towards decolonization, highlighting the limitations of traditional evaluation methods and the need for a more inclusive approach.

Literature review

There is a well-established canon of literature on the aims and effects of colonialism. Colonization is not just economic expansion but also the subjugation and imposition of Western ideas over all aspects of others’ lives, including culture, language, and knowledge. This systemic domination has global intergenerational impacts, perpetuating Western superiority. The decolonization of evaluation intersects with colonial practices and power structures, questioning and dismantling these entrenched systems.

• Decolonizing knowledge and culture: Knowledge about colonized people is often exploited by colonizers, valuing it through Western frames. Decolonizing evaluation requires recognizing and integrating local knowledge and cultural values.
• Decolonizing politics and power: Evaluation is embedded in power structures. Decolonizing evaluation involves addressing these power imbalances and promoting locally led processes.
• Decolonizing evaluation frameworks and practices: Traditional evaluation methods often reflect Western ideologies. Decolonizing evaluation involves developing methods that are relevant to local contexts and promoting local involvement in the evaluation process.

A context of violence and poverty

The paper describes the historical and ongoing conflicts in Rakhine State, which have resulted in severe poverty and insecurity for the Rohingya and Rakhine populations. These conditions create significant challenges for conducting programmatic work and evaluations in the region.

The community development program

The program supports community-led initiatives to address local needs, promote peace, and strengthen local capacities. It involves training village representatives to facilitate development projects and advocate for local government support.

Evaluation approach

The initial evaluation was conducted by an Australian-based evaluator, with plans to transition the role to a Myanmar national. The evaluation included data collection by local researchers and a participatory analysis process to involve local stakeholders.

Reflection on progress toward decolonization of external evaluation

Journeying toward decolonization is a complex and evolving process. The authors initially believed that hiring a Myanmar national, building local capacity around Western evaluation methods, and translating findings into Burmese were sufficient steps towards decolonization. However, they realized this approach was naive and insufficient. PPTH, a Myanmar national, reflects on his experience of learning through a colonized education system and the importance of valuing local culture and knowledge. The journey involves recognizing the need for decolonization within international development evaluation and the role of local evaluators in questioning and critically analyzing Western methodologies.

• What Worked Well? Local involvement in data collection and analysis, creation of a poster in Burmese to disseminate findings, and efforts to build local evaluation capacity were positive steps.
• What Could We Improve? The evaluation process still prioritized Western methodologies, and local involvement in planning and analysis was limited. The reports were not accessible to the local community due to language barriers.
• Next Steps: The authors plan to enhance local involvement in all stages of the evaluation, promote the use of local languages, and support local researchers in developing their own evaluative methods.

Discussion

In this section, the authors reflect on their progress toward decolonized evaluation, identifying improvements and next steps. They critically analyze their findings against literature constructs on decolonizing knowledge, culture, politics, power, and evaluation practices.

• Decolonizing knowledge and culture: The authors emphasize the need for co-inquiry with local communities to develop evaluation processes that are meaningful and relevant to them. They recognize that simply translating materials or building local capacity around Western evaluation methods is insufficient. Instead, they call for genuine engagement with local knowledge and cultural values, ensuring that evaluation frameworks are co-created with community input.
• Decolonizing politics and power: The authors highlight the importance of addressing power imbalances in the evaluation process. They stress the need to promote equal power relationships between evaluators, donors, and local communities. This involves critically examining and altering existing power structures that favor external evaluators and international organizations, ensuring that local stakeholders have a significant role and voice in the evaluation process.
• Decolonizing evaluation frameworks and practices: The authors call for the development of local evaluation methods that prioritize local knowledge and cultural values. They argue that traditional Western-centric evaluation practices often fail to capture the nuances of local contexts. The next steps include enhancing local involvement at all stages of the evaluation process, promoting the use of local languages in evaluation reports, and supporting local researchers in developing and leading their own evaluative methods. This approach aims to create evaluation frameworks that are not only relevant but also empowering to local communities.

Conclusion

The paper concludes that decolonizing evaluation is a complex, ongoing process that requires continuous reflection and commitment. Initially, authors believed that local data collection and capacity building around Western methods were sufficient, but they quickly realized the complexity of true decolonization. The process involved deep engagement with decolonization literature, continuous reflection, and introspection. The authors emphasize the need for evaluators to question their positionality and challenge Western dominance in evaluation practices. Decolonization is about recognizing the self-determination of colonized peoples and shifting power dynamics to promote inclusive and culturally relevant approaches. This shift benefits both the colonized and colonizers by fostering continual learning and more equitable relationships.