Capacity Building for Realist Evaluation in International Development

Realist evaluation is being used increasingly in international development projects and programs. However, to date, expertise in realist methodologies has been largely concentrated in Western countries. This paper will... [ view full abstract ]

Realist evaluation is being used increasingly in international development projects and programs. However, to date, expertise in realist methodologies has been largely concentrated in Western countries. This paper will describe one project that seeks to contribute to building expertise in realist evaluation in Indonesia by undertaking a concurrent, capacity building realist evaluation of a four year program to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
The 'Citizen Voice and Action for Government Accountability and Improved Services for Maternal and Child Health' project is being conducted in NTT, a province in Indonesia. Funded by the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) program and conducted by Wahana Visi (World Vision Indonesia), the project aims to improve maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition (MNCHN) services, and in particular, “improved quantity and quality of Midwives and District Health Office's Services for MNCHN”. The project uses World Vision’s ‘Citizen Voice and Action’ approach. It aims to improve the quality of services by holding governments and service providers accountable for their provision.
The evaluation is a collaborative initiative between Wahana Visi Indonesia, World Vision Australia, and Community Matters Pty Ltd. Community Matters is the independent evaluation company leading the evaluation, and providing capacity building in realist evaluation for Wahana Visi and project staff. Data collection is undertaken by project staff. Analysis is undertaken by staff from the project, Wahana Visi National Office, and Community Matters. World Vision Australia has contributed significant funding to the evaluation as a contribution to evaluation capacity building in Wahana Visi.
This paper will describe the stages and processes used to develop capacity in realist evaluation for the project team and Wahana Visi to date, the outcomes of capacity building to date, the plans for capacity building in future stages, the issues encountered along the way and the strategies used to address them.