The International Program For Development Evaluation Training (IPDET), Ottawa, Canada

The International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET), Ottawa, Canada June 9 – July 4, 2008

Registration is now open at for the 8th annual offering of the International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) in Ottawa, Canada which will be held f rom June past June, over 200 participants from more than sixty countries attended the seventh offering of IPDET. A joint undertaking of Carleton University and the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank Group, IPDET has trained over fourteen hundred evaluators, development practitioners and evaluation managers since it first started in 2001. The program features a two-week graduate level introduction to development evaluation (the Core course), followed by a series of 28 in- depth workshops for professional growth, all taught by a dynamic group of international faculty drawn from Southern and Northern institutions. Applicants can select the Core Course, one or two weeks of in-depth workshops, or a combination of the above. For more information on the program, go to the IPDET website at www.ipdet.org.

Some of last year’s workshops, which will be offered again this year, include designing impact evaluations under constraints; using ci ning and building results-based monitoring and evaluation systems; understanding World Bank country, sector, and project evaluation approaches; participatory monitoring and evaluation; evaluation for post- conflict situations; designing and conducting surveys in the development context, and conducting international joint evaluations.

New this year are workshops on performance budgeting, evaluating public-private partnerships, improving training skills, using evaluations in public policy and governance, and using a results-based framework for evaluating technical assistance.

Of particular note, is that IPDET's external evaluation results show that more than 93 percent of participants rate their IPDET experience as good or excellent and 90 percent would recommend the program to a colleague. In fact, the largest share of IPDET participants come from positive "word-of- mouth" about the program from colleagues and friends.

A community of learners IPDET is more than a training program. It is a global community of learners who connect with like-minded colleagues during the program, many of whom sta program ends. An IPDET moderated listserv, restricted to those who have taught or otherwise participated in IPDET, keeps them connected and provides a forum for discussing development issues and getting information on already developed resources. IPDET alumni occupy senior and mid-level evaluation, audit and management positions in developed and developing governments, non-governmental organizations, bilateral and multilateral development agencies and the private sector, and constitute a remarkable network of evaluators around the world.

IPDET participants can now also earn academic recognition for their work, earning credits towards a Master’s level diploma in program evaluation from Carleton’s School of Public Policy and Administration. In response to increased calls for accreditation of evaluation professionals, Carleton University's School of Public Policy and Administ ovative, executive-style graduate-level Diploma in Public Administration (DPA) with a concentration in Policy and Program Evaluation. If IPDET 2008 participants meet the School's eligibility requirements for acceptance into the program and satisfy the academic requirements of the diploma, it is possible to earn up to half of the credits toward the DPA while attending the full four weeks of IPDET. This initiative may also make it easier for students in graduate-level programs at other universities to receive academic credit from their own educational institution. For more information, visit the IPDET website www.ipdet.org or the School's website at http://www.carleton/sppa/Programs/MA/dpa.htm.

For more information or for assistance with your application, contact Mary Dixon, the IPDET Registrar, at [email protected]. She will be pleased to assist you through the process.