Books & Articles
Useful Web Sites
Glossary of Terms

Books & Articles

Alkin, Marvin, C, Debates on Evaluation, (London, New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1990).

Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Assistance (ALNAP), Annual Review 2001, Humanitarian Action: Learning from Evaluation.

Anderson, Mary, B,"Reflecting on the Practice of Outside Assistance: Can we know what good we do?" in Austin, A, Fischer, M, Ropers, N, Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, (Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management, 2000).

Anderson, Mary, B, Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace or War,(Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999).

Bush, K, "A Measure of Peace: Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA) of Development Projects in Conflict Zones," Working Paper No.1, Peacebuilding and Reconstruction Program Initiative, (Ottawa: IDRC, 1998).

Bush, K, "Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA) Five Years On: The Commodification of an Idea," in Austin, A, Fischer, M, Ropers, N, Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, (Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management, 2000)

Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee, "Toward a Lessons-Learned Framework for NGOs in Peacebuilding: Summary of a Report by the Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee," (Ottawa: Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee, 1999).

Church, C, and Shouldice, J, The Evaluation of Conflict Resolution Interventions: Framing the State of Play, (Letterkenny, INCORE, 2002).

DANIDA, "Effectiveness Criteria for Peace Work," Issue Paper, 2001.

Folger, Joseph P, "Evaluating Evaluation in Ethnic Conflict Resolution: Themes from, and Commentary on, the Haverford-Bryn Mawr Conference" in Ross, M, H and Rothman, J, eds., Theory and Practice in Ethnic Conflict Management: Theorizing Success and Failure, (London: MacMillan Press, 1999).

Goodhand, J, Conflict Assessment Project: Approach and Methodology, (INTRAC for DFID, 2000).

Hoffman, Mark, "Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment Methodology: Evolving Art Form or Dead End?" in Austin, A, Fischer, M, Ropers, N, Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, (Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management, 2000).

Johannsen, Agneta, M, Measuring Results of Assistance Programs to War-Torn Societies," (Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, no date).

Johnson, Deb, "'Participatory Evaluation? Yeah, That’s Fine But We Want a Conventional Report!’ A Case Study of the Perils of Designing and Implementing a Participatory Evaluation."

Havermans, Jos, "Lessons Learned from Ten Years of Experience in Conflict Prevention," 2002,

Kelman, Herbert, C, The Contribution of Non-Governmental Organizations to the Resolution of International Conflicts: An Approach to Evaluation, Massachusetts: Harvard University, no date.

Laprise, Anne-Marie, "Programming for Results in Peacebuilding – Objectives “Tree” and Performance Indicators," (Hull: Canadian International Development Agency, no date).

Maoz, Ifat, "An Evaluation of Jewish-Arab Coexistence,".

Morrow, D, "Community Relations and Peacebuilding: What Have we Learned?" (Belfast: Community Relations Council, 2000).

National Center for Children in Poverty, "Teaching Conflict Resolution: An Effective School-Based Approach to Violence Prevention."

OECD/DAC, Guidance for Evaluating Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies, (OECD, 1999).

Orosz, Joel, J, "The Insider’s Guide to Grantmaking: How Foundations Find, Fund and Manage Effective Programs," (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000).

Patton, Michael, Quinn, "Utilization Focused Evaluation (UF-E) Checklist," (2002).

Patton, Michael, Quinn, "Utilization-Focused Evaluation in Africa: Evaluation Training lectures delivered to the Inaugural Conference of the African Evaluation Association," September 1999.

Coupal, Françoise and Simoneau, Marie, "Participatory Evaluation: A Case Study of CCIC Humanitarian Fund Projects in Haiti."

Druckman, D and Stern, P, "Perspectives on Evaluating Peacekeeping Missions."

Reflecting on Peace Practice, "Effectiveness Criteria," Issue Paper, (Massachusetts: Collaborative for Development Action, 2001).

Smyth, Marie and Robinson, Gillan, eds., Researching Violently Divided Societies: Ethical and Methodological Issues, (Tokyo, New York, Paris: United Nations University Press, 2001).

Duffield, Mark, Gossman, Patricia and Leader, Nicholas, Review of the Strategic Framework for Afghanistan, 2001.

Roche, C, Impact Assessment for Development Agencies: Learning to Value Change, (Oxfam, 1999).

Rossi, Peter, H, Evaluation: A Systematic Approach.

Ross, M, H, "PCIA as a Peacebuilding Tool," in Austin, A, Fischer, M, Ropers, N, Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, (Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management, 2000).

Ross, M, H. “'Good enough' isn’t so bad: thinking about success and failure in ethnic conflict management." Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, volume 6, number 1, 2000: 27-47.

Rothman, J, ‘Action Evaluation: A Response to Mark Hoffman’s comments,’ in Austin, A, Fischer, M, Ropers, N, Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, (Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management, 2000).

Rothman, J, "Applying Action Evaluation to Community and Neighborhood Development Initiatives," 1999.

UNHCR and Save the Children-UK, Sexual Violence and Exploitation: The Experience of Refugee Children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, 2001.

Scriven, Evaluation Thesaurus, Fourth Edition, (London, New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1991).

Spencer, Tanya, "A Synthesis of Evaluations of Peacebuilding Activities Undertaken by Humanitarian Agencies and Conflict Resolution Organizations," (London: Active Learning Network on Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Assistance, 1998).

Galama, Anneke and Van Tongeren, Paul, Towards Better Peacebuilding Practice: On Lessons Learned, Evaluation Practices and Aid and Conflict, (Utrecht: European Centre for Conflict Prevention, 2002).

United Nations Development Program (UNDP), "Participatory Evaluation in Programs Involving Governance Decentralisation: A Methodological Note," June 1996.

UNDP, Office of Evaluation and Strategic Planning, ‘Who are the Question-makers? A Participatory Evaluation Handbook.’

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Working in a War Zone: A Review of UNHCR's Operations in Former Yugoslavia, 1994.

UNHCR, Rwanda Emergency: Evaluations and Lessons Learnt, 1995.

USAID, "The Participation Forum Workshop Notes, No. 2: Participatory Evaluation" October 1995.

World Bank, "Participatory Methods."

Useful Web Sites

The Action Evaluation Research Institute

The Abraham Fund

Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Assistance

Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation

The Butterfly Garden

Canadian International Development Agency, Performance Review Branch

Community Relations Unit Northern Ireland, Community Relations Practice Research Project

DANIDA (Danish International Development Assistance), Evaluation Secretariat

DFID (UK Department For International Development), Performance Assistance Resource Centre

ELDIS (Gateway to Development Information)

European Platform for Conflict Prevention

W. K. Kellog Foundation, Evaluation Unit

The Reflecting on Peace Practice Project, Collaborative for Development Action

Resolving Conflict Creatively Program

World Bank, Operations Evaluation Department

Glossary of Terms

Best Practices
A recent short paper by UNESCO describes ‘best practices’ as 1) the extraction of excellent examples from case studies, and 2) the use of these excellent examples in the selection and development of new projects and programs. By selecting, studying and circulating ‘best practices’ a bridge is constructed between empirical evidence, research and practice.

Cluster Evaluation
A cluster evaluation is when a number of interventions are evaluated simultaneously in order to assess their contribution to a funder’s mandate or thematic approach.

Do No Harm
This concept emerged in Mary B. Anderson’s seminal book, Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace or War. The book brought together years of cumulative experience of aid workers in conflict situations. It suggests that aid can promote either the things that divide, or the things that connect war-torn societies thereby fuelling or ameliorating the conflict. In the conflict context therefore, aid interventions must first and foremost be sure to ‘do no harm.’

Evaluation
There are a number of definitions of evaluation. The most relevant to the practice of conflict management evaluation are:

Evaluator
An evaluator is the person who carries out the evaluation. An external evaluator is one not connected to the intervention they evaluate in any way. External evaluators bring expertise from private or public institutions to interventions. Funders often hire external evaluators to carry out evaluations of funded interventions. Internal evaluators are normally people who are connected to the organisation that implements the intervention in some way; but who have not been involved directly in the intervention’s implementation.

Funders
Funders are assumed to be any organisation that provides financial support for conflict management interventions. This includes donor governments, foundations, trusts, NGO’s and specialised agencies.

Impact
An impact is assumed to be the overall or long-term effects and consequences of interventions. Impacts may be positive or negative, intended or unintended.

Indicator
An indicator is a qualitative or quantitative statement. By examining an indicator before and after the implementation of an intervention, an evaluator can measure and obtain evidence about the impact of the intervention.

Intervention
The term conflict management intervention is assumed to describe all events, services, activities or related functions of conflict management projects and programs. For the purposes of this paper ‘conflict management interventions’ are assumed not to include conflict prevention interventions because such interventions have slightly different implications for the practice of evaluation.

Lessons Learned
A ‘lesson learned’ is a body of knowledge about the ways things are done. The concept of ‘lessons learned’ implies that this knowledge is subsequently applied to either the intervention from which the knowledge was gathered or to other interventions.

Outcome
An outcome is assumed to be the short-term result of an intervention. For example, an outcome of a Track II Diplomacy intervention might be a set of recommendations endorsed by all participants in that meeting.

Output
Outputs are assumed to be the immediate results of an intervention’s activities necessary to achieving the intervention’s objective. For example, an output of a Track II Diplomacy intervention might be the number of leaders who attended a meeting.

Outsiders
The concept of ‘outsiders’ has emerged from the Collaborative for Development Action’s ‘Reflecting on Peace Practice Project.’ This project defines an ‘outsider’ as an individual or agency from outside the conflict area that chooses to become involved in a given conflict. ‘Insiders’ are therefore all those who have no choice but to be involved in a given conflict.

Practitioners
Practitioners are assumed to be all those who implement, administer and are responsible for conflict management interventions.

Stakeholders
DANIDA’s Evaluation Guidelines define stakeholders as: a person, group, organisation or other body who has a ‘stake’ in the area or field where interventions are directed, for example, the beneficiaries of interventions. Stakeholders belong to all three levels of Lederdach’s society that is, the elite, the middle-range and the grass roots.

Terms of Reference
DANIDA’s Evaluation Guidelines describe an evaluation’s terms of reference as specifying:

Transfer
Herbert Kelman introduces the concept of transfer when he describes his work with interactive problem solving and processes that can be used for evaluating such work. A working definition of transfer for the purpose of evaluation is the ‘ripple’ or ‘multiplier’ effects of interventions beyond their immediate scope of action. That is, the widening and deepening of interventions’ impact.

Triangulation
DANIDA’s Evaluation Guidelines describe how triangulation can be used as a research method during an evaluation. Triangulation involves using several information sources and evaluation methods simultaneously in order to generate knowledge about the same topics. A triangulation effect therefore helps verify information, cut through conflicting evidence and acquire insight into the impact of interventions.