Ideas may make some difference

Measuring development progress was behind the foundation of Ideas, a voluntary, charitable membership-based organisation that is geared for developing countries yet draws its 800 members from both developed, developing and emerging economies. Doha Abdul Hamid spoke to Gulf News on Ideas' efforts.

Gulf News: In brief, how would you describe the roles and impact of Ideas?

Abdul Hamid: Very briefly, Ideas has three main roles: 1) Pushing the borders of knowledge by encouraging research in theory and practice of development monitoring and evaluation; 2) Ideas has a key role in capacity building and grooming the different stakeholders to M&E (monitoring and evaluation) worldwide; 3) Ideas is the largest and only global network of development practitioners, development evaluators, and academics from all parts of the world. All have interests in developing a global advocacy for the cause of development monitoring and evaluation.

Gulf News: How do you view the recent food crisis, and what role Ideas has played in containing its negative impact?

Abdul Hamid: The conference that was held last May in Egypt on evaluating climate change and development was the first of its own kind worldwide, since all other conferences were highlighting the issue of climate only.

We recognised that the world is heading towards hard times and the main impact of climate change will severely influence developing countries that are mostly agrarian, dependent on water flows and mostly vulnerable to shortages.

In the conference we developed a network among participants to share good practices worldwide. We also developed an international repository of knowledge of evaluative studies on climate change.

In addition, the Government of Egypt, for the first time, is now having almost daily announcement about the need to revisit domestic agriculture policy and to better the situation of farmers.

Gulf News: Ideas promotes development evaluation for results. Do you work with policymakers? How do you evaluate your own results?

Abdul Hamid: Of course we work with governments, and how come not? We work with all stakeholders: governments, NGOs, private sector, parliaments, media and poilitical parties.

Stakeholders of developing countries are the least cognisant of M&E techniques, not to say that donors themselves are building their capacities in the field.

Our work is evaluated through two channels: our members in the annual general meeting; and by our development partners (donors) who review the results of our work. by the way, there is a third venue, whereby we commission independent evaluation of our activities and learn from our faults and effect reforms of our policies and modus operandi.