Evaluating ADEA Working Groups
ADEA recently conducted an evaluation of its Working Groups which was completed in 2000. The evaluation sought to assess the overall performance of the Working Groups and to appraise the extent to which they repond to the needs of ADEA's partners. Below is a summary of the major conclusions. Highlighted are future steps taken to improve the Working Groups' efficiency and to make sure that they are responsive to national concerns and needs.
At the request of ADEA's partners (ministries and agencies), a formative evaluation of the Working Groups was completed in mid-2000. The need for the evaluation stemmed, mainly, from three factors: (i) a general perception that WG activities were not sufficiently known to African ministers of education and African professionals; (ii) concern expressed by ministers that Working Group activities are not sufficiently integrated in ministerial agendas; and (iii) the need for improved accountability in light of the increasing success of the Working Groups in attracting resources.
The evaluation sought to assess the overall performance of the Working Groups and to appraise the extent to which they respond to the needs of ADEA's partners. The overall purpose of the evaluation was to ensure that the Working Groups develop in ways perceived to be useful to ADEA's partners, within acceptable norms of management and accountability. This is no simple task given that each Working Group is structured according to its specific needs, operates accordingly, and is autonomous. This is recognized as desirable for the overall dynamism of ADEA. There is, therefore, a general sense of the need to respect such diversity.
The evaluation addressed questions such as: the impact of the WGs, their visibility and viability; coordination between them; their degree of Africanization; how they collect, treat and disseminate information; and how well they function in terms of overall management and administration.
Methodology
The evaluation team was composed of two independent evaluators, one from Burkina Faso and the other from the United States of America. Between them they possess extensive education research and policy experience in Africa. They began working in August 1999 with a review of the literature produced by the Working Groups. This provided insights into the overall work of the WGs and their evolution. Then the team participated in activities organized by the WGs and met with and interviewed a wide range of actors, including the leaders and coordinators of the WGs, ministers, agency representatives, and various other professionals working in the field of education in Africa. In all, 425 people were interviewed (305 in Africa, the others in the agencies), including 13 ministers, 16 permanent secretaries or deputy ministers, and 4 university heads. Finally, two case studies were conducted in Burkina Faso and Senegal to assess the actions and impact of the Working Groups at the national level, in countries where their presence has been significant (Uganda was also selected for a case study; however, a tragic air crash aborted that case study along with the lives of its authors, to whom the evaluation report is dedicated).
General overview
While each WG is quite autonomous and has its own history, the evaluation identified general trends, some of which are highlighted below.
- Expansion: Aside from the "youngest" Working Groups (Early Childhood Development, Nonformal Education, Distance Education) and the Working Group on Research and Policy Analysis (which was dismantled in 2000), most Working Groups have expanded in terms of the number of activities, wider country coverage, and the involvement of an increasing number of education specialists and professionals beyond the limited scope of the ministries of education.
- Anchorage in Africa: ADEA Working Groups are increasingly concerned with anchoring their activities in Africa, i.e. grounding their actions in the realities and work conditions of the sector.() The evaluation showed that WGs are doing an excellent job of supporting regional and cross-country exchange, that African expertise is being used increasingly, and that more meetings are being held in Africa. However, the report notes that more efforts should be made towards supporting more visible leadership and representation from the South. In addition, WGs need to establish better mechanisms to learn about the priority needs of the ministries and the wider educational community.
- Visibility: While ADEA's visibility in the international arena has increased, largely a result of the Biennial Meetings, WGs have a rather low profile in terms of visibility at the national level. ADEA is not very well known in countries outside a restricted circle of actors. The evaluation shows that in general, ADEA's role has been that of a discrete, behind-the-scenes prodder of action and catalyst for change. This is evidenced by situations where ADEA's two key partners, ministry officials and agency representatives, are not always aware of significant contributions made by WGs to ongoing policies and activities.
- Impact: Impact refers to the contribution that the WG activities have on the daily work of professionals in the sector. In most cases, individuals involved in particular WGs view their participation as something that has added tremendous value to their work. However, individuals involved in WGs represent a small percentage of the educational professionals working in the sector.
Taking steps to become more responsive to national needs
The evaluation demonstrated that ADEA is contributing to the capacities of African countries to improve both the access to and the quality of education. Through its unique modes of operation and governance, ADEA develops mutual trust and respect among professionals and policymakers. To a large extent, this has been made possible by the dedication and hard work of the leaders and coordinators of the Working Groups whose work is often more a labor of love than fulfilment of bureaucratic duties.
While no major dysfunctionalities were pointed out, the evaluation shows that the efforts of the Working Groups are not maximized and that greater anchoring at the national level is needed. In general, the evaluation found that: (i) the Working Groups need to be more responsive to the countries' needs, as expressed by the ministry and other institutions, including NGOs; (ii) better coordination is required of Working Groups operating in individual countries; and (iii) the Working Groups should become better known to the ministries of education and to the agencies present in the countries in which they work.
To address these issues, ADEA will pilot a strategy of country Working Group workshops which will gather all the WG members in a given country along with a wide range of actors in education including ministry staff, civil society representatives and agency representatives resident in that country. In addition to exchanging information, these workshops will explore how the Working Groups can become more involved in two of the major challenges confronting education in Africa: the HIV/AIDS epidemic and realization of the education for all goals expressed at the recent Dakar World Education Forum. Expected outcomes of the workshops include (i) improved and more direct communication and information exchange between ministries and the Working Groups, along with (ii) development of better knowledge in countries of the work of the WGs operating there, thereby ensuring improved Working Group responsiveness to nationally-expressed needs.
Based on the Working Group evaluation report prepared by
Aime Damiba and
Diana Van Belle-Prouty
1. Indicators of anchorage, as identified by the persons interviewed for the evaluation were the following: responsiveness to the priorities of the ministries; more visible leadership and representation from the South; more use of African expertise/consultants; greater numbers of Africans on WG Steering Committees; greater number of Africans attending WG meetings; more meetings held in Africa; greater regional and cross-country exchange; ongoing North-South exchange; greater financial contribution by African ministries and partners.
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