Foceval
The Foceval project (Fomento de capacidades en evaluación = promotion of evaluation capacities) was launched in 2011. The project’s political partner was the Costa Rican Ministry of Planning. The project was completed at the end of 2018.
The Foceval project had the objective of strengthening the role of evaluation in political decision-making and in managing policy measures in Costa Rica and other selected Latin American countries.
The project included setting up a multi-actor platform, which is now managed by the Costa Rican Ministry of Planning (Mideplan) following the end of the project. The platform performs a central function in national evaluation policy.
Foceval has also helped to strengthen individual capacities – not only at the relevant Mideplan evaluation unit, but also at other institutions in the country such as in parliament, at universities, in evaluation networks and in civil society. Moreover, the project increased the networking of key actors in other Latin American and Caribbean countries.
The project goals were achieved through three fields of action:
- Consolidation
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Training and continuing education structures relating to evaluation that already existed in Costa Rica were consolidated. Moreover, awareness was raised among decision-makers in government, parliament and society of the importance of evaluation. Above all, the project made targeted efforts to help young evaluators acquire practical experience and to encourage civil society to participate in evaluations. Overall, the progress achieved in institutionalisation was consolidated in such a way that it will not be affected by any change in government.
- Dissemination
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In collaboration with international networks and partners, selected learning and advisory products and the evaluation standards developed for the region were disseminated. In the process, tried and tested measures were adapted to the respective context. Through specific activities and, in particular, a regional platform, the project also provided a forum for sharing experience, which was actively used by representatives from the regions.
- Strategy development
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Lessons learned were analysed throughout the entire project term. The conclusions reached were fed into a DEval strategy for evaluation capacity development (ECD).
Why Costa Rica?
The framework conditions in the Central American country were favourable as the government had expressed a great interest in strengthening the country’s evaluation capacities. Measures had also already been taken to expand specialist expertise, for example through university training and continuing education programmes. We were able to further expand these foundations in the context of Foceval.
Who was involved?
In the first phase (July 2011 to June 2014), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) implemented the project. From July 2014 to the end of the project in December 2018, DEval assumed responsibility for implementation.
Related Links
To Foceval´s Website (in Spanish)
Team
- Dr Sven Harten Head of Competence Centre for Evaluation Methodology / Deputy Director
- Erwin Geuder-Jilg Technical Manager FOCEVAL
- Juan Carlos Sanz Evaluator
- Vannesa Villacrés Project Administration, ECD
- Helena Stadtmüller Evaluator
- Sarah Desiree Klier Evaluator - Team Leader ECD
- Nataly Salas-Rodríguez Coordinator of the regional office in Costa Rica
- María Carolina Sandoval Sequeira Former Project Administration: Focelac+
- Madeleine Raabe Assistant, ECD
Contact
Sarah Desiree Klier
Phone: +49 (0)228 336907-943
E-mail: sarah.klier@DEval.org
Dr Sven Harten
Phone: +49 (0)228 336907-950
E-mail: sven.harten@DEval.org
Publications on ECD
- Preguntas de evaluación clave (PEC) para orientar las evaluaciones de la huella ecológica (Footprint Evaluations)
- Todo sobre la Evaluación de la huella ecológica (Footprint Evaluations in Spanish)
- Informes nacionales voluntarios de los ODS en África Anglófona y América Latina: Mapeo de desafíos comunes y buenas prácticas emergentes (Versión 2023 en español, del reporte realizado en diciembre de 2022)
- VNRs and SDG Evaluations in Anglophone Africa and Latin America: A Mapping of Common Challenges and Emerging Good Practices (2022)
- Limited Use of Evaluative Evidence in Public Policy, Planning and Voluntary National Review (VNR) Development. Recommendations for Governments, Evaluation Communities and ECD Stakeholders (2023)
- Uso limitado de evidencia evaluativa en políticas públicas, planificación y desarrollo de informes nacionales voluntarios (INV): Recomendaciones para gobiernos, comunidades de evaluación y actores del desarrollo de capacidades en evaluación (ECD) (2023)
- Grounding Evaluation Capacity Development in Systems Theory
- Diretrizes de Avaliação para a América Latina e o Caribe (Edição 2021)
- Evaluation Standards for Latin America and the Caribbean (Edition 2021)
- Estándares de Evaluación para América Latina y el Caribe (Edición 2021)
- Siembra y cosecha: Manual de evaluación participativa
- Evaluación de la Cooperación Internacional No Reembolsable en Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático en Costa Rica 2010-2018
- National Evaluation Systems in Latin America: Challenges and Lessons Learned for Other Regions
- IIED Briefing: La crisis climática: cuatro formas de fortalecer el diseño de políticas públicas a través de la evaluación
- Dejar huella
- Spuren hinterlassen
- Leaving a Footprint
- Policy Brief: No más cajas negras
- Policy Brief: Evaluando la sostenibilidad en tiempos de la Agenda 2030
- Policy Brief: Estándares para evaluaciones del DEval
- Policy Brief: Stärkung von Evaluierungskapazitäten: ein systemischer Projektansatz des DEval in Lateinamerika
- Policy Brief: Evaluation Capacity Development: A Systemic Project Approach by DEval in Latin America
- Policy Brief: Fomento de Capacidades en Evaluación: Un Enfoque de Proyecto Sistémico de DEval en América Latina
- Ein Interview mit Olga Marta Sánchez Oviedo, Planungsministerin von Costa Rica, und Jörg Faust, Direktor des DEval
- Una Entrevisita a Olga Marta Sanchez Oviedo, Ministra de Planificación de Costa Rica, y Jörg Faust, Director del DEval
- Policy Brief: Evaluierungsstandards für Lateinamerika und die Karibik
- Policy Briefs: Evaluation Standards for Latin America and the Caribbean
- Diretrizes Para Avaliação para a América Latina e o Caribe
- Evaluation Standards for Latin America and the Caribbean
- Estándares de Evaluación para América Latina y el Caribe