Training Caribbean officials on evaluating development aid programmes

A Commonwealth programme to train Caribbean government officials on the evaluation of development aid programmes is being held in Grenada from 28 April to 2 May 2008.

This five-day workshop, co-organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and St George’s University in Grenada, has attracted 30 participants from the region. They include representatives from The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat.

The workshop is designed to address the evaluation of development projects including those related to poverty reduction strategies that are implemented in respective countries. The emphasis is on delivering results through effective management of programmes and execution of duties with efficiency.

Dr Joan Imhoff-Nwasike, Adviser on the Caribbean at the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Secretariat, said the Grenada workshop is the second in a series aimed at training more than 150 public servants in development evaluation over a period of five years. The pilot workshop was launched in May 2007 at St George’s University.

“This workshop aims to help participants become better equipped to identify ways of monitoring and evaluating results through data collection, analysis and interpretation,” explained Dr Imhoff-Nwasike.

She pointed out the critical need to develop the capability of officials to assess the benefits of development programmes through the achievement of goals and objectives. The impact on recipients of development aid is also important to ensure that funds and technical assistance make an impact on the lives of ordinary citizens.