Development Management Policy Seminar “Designing, Commissioning and Managing Influential Evaluations: Focused on Education Sector”

On June 16th 2015, a seminar titled“Designing, Commissioning and Managing Influential Evaluations: Focused on Education Sector” was held at the main conference room of Kobe University’s Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies (GSICS). The speaker was Dr. Albert Byamugisha, the commissioner Monitoring and Evaluation in the Office of the Prime Minister, Uganda. Dr. Jun Kawaguchi, an assistant professor at Osaka University served as the chairperson for the seminar, as well as the discussant. Not only students of GSICS but also guests attended this seminar, which counted over twenty people.

Dr. Byamugisha’s presentation was made up of two parts, the first being logic models, comprised of logframes and theory of change. The second part was evaluation questions covering theory of change and evaluation criteria. During the first part of his presentation, Dr. Albert Byamushida explained what a log frame and theory of change, highlighting their linkages, differences and key elements.

In the second segment of his presentation, Dr. Byamugisha talked about evaluation questions in relation to theory of change and evaluation criteria. In particular he discussed issues related to formulating questions, OECD evaluation criteria and evaluation frameworks. Further to the above areas, he also shared with the participants key aspects of planning an evaluation, commissioning an evaluation and how to choose an appropriate method for data collection. He concluded his presentation by talking about the process of reporting evaluation results and how to disseminate evaluation findings, as well as the value of getting feedback from key stakeholders about evaluation results.

In the final segment of his lecture, Dr. Byamugisha kindly answered to participants’ questions each by each. Every his remark was based on plenty of his experience, and it attracted participants. For example, when one of the participants asked how we can utilize the result of academic analysis for practice, he suggested to summarize the key message of the result and share it with stakeholders, even the media.

Thanks to Dr. Byamugisha’s energetic lecture, the seminar was highly exciting and informative, especially for those who study developmental management and policy at GSICS. All contents of the seminar provided participants with the practical knowledge of how to manage programmes and projects.

Students of GSICS would like to show great appreciation toward Dr. Albert Byamugisha. They also would like to send the deepest gratitude to Professor Keiichi Ogawa and Professor Jun Kawaguchi, for giving us this precious opportunity.

Authored by Takeru Numasawa