Call for Contributions - Evaluation of Education Projects | Panel Discussion

Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) is a major component of the Monitoring and Evaluation Program for Lebanon (MEPL)’s technical agenda, which aligns with USAID’s localization strategy that aims at shifting more leadership, ownership, decision-making, and implementation to local institutions that possess the capability, linkages, and credibility to drive change in their respective communities.
With a portfolio exceeding $500 million in value and over 20 active projects in Lebanon, USAID engages with partners to increase access to education, improve water and wastewater and other essential public services, promote good governance, enhance economic opportunity, protect the environment, and provide humanitarian assistance. USAID/Lebanon is a lead donor in education, water, and essential services at the municipal level as well as an important influence in championing good governance and economic opportunity for low-income Lebanese citizens. In order to achieve success in these efforts, USAID/Lebanon continuously monitors its programs and relies on performance information to support effective and informed decision-making.
Implemented by EnCompass LLC and Management Systems International (MSI), MEPL supplements the monitoring and activity-management efforts of USAID/Lebanon. The information, technical assistance, and support services that MEPL provides help the Mission to make informed decisions regarding its activities in Lebanon, manage its implementing partners’ performance better, and improve its programming based on lessons learned.
The Lebanese Evaluation Association (LebEval) is a leading association of practitioners that works towards building Lebanon’s monitoring and evaluation capacities

Rationale and Details
The two partners are inviting researchers, scholars, evaluators, and experts to contribute to this endeavor by submitting relevant papers and case studies. The most compelling of this literature will be selected and its authors will be invited to be part of the panel.
This panel discussion aims at bringing academics, practitioners, and experts together to discuss the landscape of education project evaluations in Lebanon in light of the current challenges. The pandemic, the economic crisis, and the ongoing devaluation of the national currency have stretched the education sector, public and private, too thin.
The event will provide a forum for evaluators in Lebanon to share their experiences, technical approaches, and viewpoints regarding recent and ongoing adaptive strategies in the evaluation of education projects.

Contributions
MEPL and Leb-Eval are looking for contributions that describe the challenges that the evaluators of education projects implemented in Lebanon face (in primary, secondary, and tertiary education) and the opportunities they see that could improve project performance in this sector.
Contributions may address questions as:
▪ How have the socio-economic conditions in Lebanon affected the quality and timeliness of project evaluations? What factors have posed the most significant challenges to effectively designing and carrying out evaluations of education projects?
▪ How effectively have education project evaluations addressed the most pressing issues in education in recent years?
▪ Has the crisis offered any opportunities for innovative methodological or management approaches in education project evaluations?
▪ What lessons may be learned from recent experience to inform future education project evaluations in Lebanon?

▪ What approaches and methodologies have been used in Lebanon to carry out education project evaluations?
▪ What experiences do evaluators in Lebanon have in the use of technology and child-focused evaluation?

Event
This event is intended to create national dialogue on the opportunities for learning and collaboration amongst various education stakeholders, including donors, the private sector, public institutions, and international and local NGOs. It will provide an open discussion platform to exchange best practices, lessons learned, and takeaways amongst experts and practitioners (including novice ones) in the field and facilitate a learning environment in the form of presentations, panel discussions, and round tables. Evaluation professionals in the education sector will get the opportunity to reflect on the challenges and the mitigation measures that can be taken going forward.

The panel discussion will take place in May 2023.
The exact date and venue will be announced at a later stage.