Fostering a culture of impact evaluation in Africa
with the "Development Methodologies" summer school

"The purpose of the summer school is to teach people how to ask the right questions, conduct testing and assessments, and develop their understanding, in order to take better action," said Rosaline Dado Worou Houndekon, Director-General of CESAG, in her opening address at the summer school's high-level conference.

Allé Nar Diop, Minister-Counselor representing the President of the Republic of Senegal, emphasized that it was now more important than ever for decision-makers to demonstrate the effectiveness of their policies, at a time of limited resources and greater demand for accountability among citizens, and reiterated that fostering a culture of impact in the country and, more broadly, across the African continent, was a fundamental challenge: "Evaluation is an essential tool for rebuilding trust between governments and their people. It means going beyond simple intuition and rooting public policy in fact."

During this morning session on public policy evaluation, Esther Duflo reiterated the need to use evidence-based data "which helps us to prioritize by asking the right questions and opting for the least expensive and most effective solutions." For example, in the education sector, the data produced must provide answers to the following questions: "Are children really learning what they need to learn? What improvements can be made?" She also highlighted the need for skills development in impact evaluation: "At a time when budgets are tight in African countries, we need people to be trained everywhere to ensure that resources are allocated to the most effective programs. Partnerships are essential."

Thomas Melonio, Chief Economist at AFD, also emphasized the importance of partnerships, citing two projects supported by FID in particular: Offline Internet to Support Education, led by Bibliothèques sans Frontières, and Property Tax Management in Dakar (PAGCF).

The summer school builds on these efforts to develop skills and partnerships. Over four days, 140 participants were split into three training cohorts, based on their backgrounds. Facilitated by FID, the Incubator module was an opportunity for around forty people from universities, research institutes, NGOs, and social enterprises, to structure and strategize on their projects' implementation, by applying key concepts such as impact evaluation, theory of change, monitoring and evaluation indicators, and preparation for research partnerships.

According to the participants themselves, these discussions, focused on applying these methods in practice, were highly rewarding. Trésor Batcho, coordinator of the "Champions of Change" project, led by Plan International in Benin and whose evaluation is being financed by FID, explains: "I wanted to broaden my knowledge so I could participate more actively in discussions with the research team. I'm not an economist, and I sometimes avoided joining in with certain discussions during meetings because I didn't understand all the concepts involved. I feel like I now have a better idea of what impact evaluation is all about." Joachim Wilondja, coordinator of a project implemented in the DRC by Liliane Fonds, and financed by FID, said: "I learned more about the data side of things. According to the theory of change, we should ask ourselves: what types of data should be collected? And how do we collect this data?" Amy Ndeye Kebe, manager of an AI-based agricultural project in Senegal which is funded by FID, said: "I learned a lot during the group work. Evaluations are like a chain made up of different processes. I'm leaving with a real sense of optimism."

On July 9, FID organized a session on a central issue: how can evidence from impact evaluations be used to inform public decision-making?

Two panels shone a spotlight on some of the flagship projects financed by FID, resulting from close collaboration between NGOs, public administrations, and researchers:

• The PAGCF program, a project to improve property tax management in Dakar, a strategic source of revenue for local authorities. The research team presented the project's initial and promising results, with the creation of a tax database covering more than 38,000 plots, which has increased the tax registration rate in these areas to 92%. In terms of resources, this work has raised additional tax revenue of over one billion CFA francs (€1.5 million), with tax compliance rates nearly tripling in the areas targeted.
• A project implemented in Senegal by BSF, which deploys an offline digital solution to facilitate access to education in vulnerable regions. A discussion was held with the NGO, the research team and the ministerial partner, with the team presenting the initial results on the project's implementation, demonstrating significant uptake of digital resources by teaching staff in the Kédougou region, and strong interest from the Ministry of Education (Directorate of Primary Education) in line with the national strategy. These two examples demonstrate how rigorous evaluation, conducted in partnership with various stakeholders, can maximize the social impact of public policies and make them more effective. The summer school offered a key opportunity for cooperation and co-development, promoting a culture of evaluation based on proof of impact.

"Beyond the essential issue of financing, the summer school is an effective lever for supporting rigorous evaluation and transforming public policy through innovation based on proof of impact, for teams in the early stages of their project's development, or those establishing a research partnership for the first time," says Johanna Niedzialkowski, Investment Officer at FID.