Are We Having an Impact? Evaluating Democracy and Governance Programs
Many of the leading organizations working on Democracy and Governance development assistance are grappling with how to measure and monitor the impact of our programming that demonstrates real long-term results. In cooperation with the International Republican Institute, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Center for International Private Enterprise and the National Democratic Institute, Partners presented trends in evaluation design and application in the Democracy and Governance Sector that enable implementers and policy decision-makers to improve program performance, facilitate learning and better develop program objectives and indicators.
Panelists:
As Program
Manager and Trainer for Partners Foundation for Local Development
(FPDL) in Bucharest, Romania, Ms. Olivia Baciu is responsible for
developing and managing programs, conducting training and facilitation
services, developing training materials, and providing technical
assistance on cross sectoral development programs. Ms. Baciu is an
accomplished international trainer and facilitator, having trained in
Europe and Africa on the topics of conflict management, ethnic
integration, local governance, participatory budgeting, NGO
organizational development, among others. She has contributed to
programs implemented by a wide range of donors, including USAID, the
European Union, the World Bank, and the United Nations. Previously,
Ms. Baciu has worked for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the Romanian Department of Foreign Affairs, and the
Institute for Regional Cooperation and Conflict Prevention. As a
trainer, Ms. Baciu has conducted Training of Trainers sessions. Ms.
Baciu speaks fluent Romanian, French, and English and holds three
advanced degrees from universities in Belgium, Italy, and Romania.
Monica Kladakis, Senior Advisor for Evaluation, International Republican Institute
Monica Vegas Kladakis rejoined the International Republican Institute (IRI) in February 2009 as Senior Advisor for Evaluation. In this role, she is leading IRI’s impact evaluation initiatives and conducting research for a world-wide civil society case study project. Ms. Kladakis has had a distinguished career of over 15 years in public service in both the executive and legislative branches of government. From 2005-2009, Ms. Kladakis served as Managing Director at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), where she was responsible for the MCC Threshold Program. Prior to joining MCC, she served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Presidential Personnel. From October 2001 to May 2003, she served as Senior Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights Promotion in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the State Department. In this role, she developed and coordinated policy on a wide range of global human rights and democracy issues, as well as managed the administration of a grant program to promote democracy and human rights initiatives around the world. Prior to joining the Administration, Ms. Kladakis worked on Capitol Hill for over seven years in various capacities Ms. Kladakis received a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from Georgetown University. She speaks Spanish fluently, and Russian and French conversationally.
Nigina Malikova, Evaluation Officer, Center for International Private Enterprise
Nigina Malikova is an Evaluation Officer at the Center for International Private Enterprise where she is a part of the Grants and Evaluation Division at CIPE. As the Evaluation Officer she develops and administers evaluation and monitoring instruments, conducts and supervises evaluations research and analysis and communicates relevant findings to increase organizational learning. Moving within CIPE from Europe and Eurasia department to evaluations in 2007, Nigina has taken a new approach to evaluations at CIPE with developing new tools in cooperation with evaluation consultants, conducting staff trainings, and giving more emphasis on impact evaluations, keeping up with CIPE tradition of upgrading its evaluation policy to refine evaluation methods and techniques.
Linda Stern, Senior Advisor for Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, National Democratic Institute
Linda Stern is the Senior Advisor for Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. An anthropologist by training, she has over 20 years of experience in applied research and work in the non-profit sector in the US, Latin America, the Balkans and Caucuses, South East Asia and Africa. Her work includes designing, implementing and assessing development programming in the areas of: civil society and democracy building; grassroots advocacy; indigenous social movements in exile, gender and political participation, youth development and teen pregnancy, children’s rights to education in post-conflict contexts, and immigrant rights in the US. She currently teaches a graduate course on "Monitoring & Evaluation of International Development Programs" at the George Washington University Elliott School for International Affairs.
Rebekah Usatin, Monitoring and Evaluation Program Officer, National Endowment for Democracy
Rebekah Usatin is program officer for monitoring and evaluation at the National Endowment for Democracy where she designs and manages all phases of NED’s external, independent evaluations and provides training and technical assistance for staff and grantees in monitoring and evaluation techniques and procedures. Before joining NED in 2006, she worked in Montenegro as the evaluation officer for a USAID-funded democracy and governance program. Rebekah holds a master’s degree in public administration and international management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Moderator:
Ms. Roig is responsible for the overall development and strategic planning of Partners’ network, as well as the management of Partners’ staff and global programming. She provides technical leadership on the development of new Centers and other new program development, and maintains relationships with key counterparts and donors.
Ms. Roig joined Partners after significant field experience in the Balkans and Latin America managing various Rule of Law and Conflict Resolution development programs. She is an experienced mediator, facilitator, systems designer and trainer; and has specialized expertise in international project evaluation and program assessments. Ms. Roig currently serves on the editorial board of Conflict Resolution Quarterly, and has written extensively on international conflict resolution and mediation program management. She began her legal career as a mediation program manager for the D.C. Courts, and then as ADR Specialist for the U.S. Office of Special Council. Ms. Roig holds a J.D. from The George Washington University.
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