Diverse competencies on our teams are extremely important – great for professional development, as we learn from each other on the job
Our response to the manifestation of discontinuities in our work and the competencies required:
Change approach mid-project – Developmental Evaluation vs. Implementation and Outcome Evaluation. Understanding different approaches was critical.
Change role – Facilitator and Problem-solving partner, sometimes Activist vs. Evaluator and Subcontractor. Process competencies become very important.
Change focus – What is the big picture? What else is happening vs. what is the project trying to achieve? Requires understanding of systems theory + complexity.
Get comfortable with uncertainty. Requires a resilient disposition comfortable with constant change and chaos.
Developing evaluation competencies is a systems thing!
What changed with capacity development?
VOPE activities moved online – Networking less effective, circles narrowed.
Academic programs with some contact time moved fully online – Peer learning and networking diminished.
Staff in organizations worked more offsite and more discontinuous – Mentoring and on-the-job training reduced.
Building teams tended to be with established relationships – Referrals to “weak ties” reduced.
Erosion of the settings for capacity building. This disruption is going to continue for a longer time. Our evaluation systems are going to become more fragile. This has implications for equity and diversity.
Implications for training evaluators in 2021 and beyond?
Resilience and Adaptability, at individual as well as system level.
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