Dear Sir, Dear Madam,

We would very much appreciate it if you could publish the following activity in the forthcoming editions of your  journal/ calendar and/or on your website free of charge:

---

EIPA organises a seminar on “Mastering Evaluation Skills: Strategies, Methods and Tools”. It will take place in Maastricht (NL) on 16-18 December 2013.

This three-day seminar is directed towards civil servants from EU Member States, candidate countries, the EU institutions and other multilateral institutions, as well as auditors, consultants, staff of NGOs and other stakeholders involved in monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes and projects.

The seminar consists of three parts that can be followed together, or separately. The first part will give an overview of the entire evaluation field and how to choose the most appropriate evaluation design (incl. designs such as concept mapping, most significant change, etc.) in view of the purpose, timing, criteria and questions to be addressed. Next, the role of theories (of change) will be explained and how these are used and formulated differently in quantitative or qualitative approaches to evaluation. Finally, part one concludes by providing a thorough understanding of how to draw inferences – both inductively and deductively and presents a classification of rigorous evaluation designs. Part two will cover the major quantitative evaluation designs, ranging from surveys to a variety of quasi-experimental designs such as propensity score matching, difference in difference, regression discontinuity and instrumental variable approaches. Part three will focus on qualitative evaluation approaches and especially how to achieve rigour, similar to quantitative approaches. Approaches such as contribution analysis, realistic evaluation, theory of change and general elimination method will be discussed from this perspective.

At the end of the seminar, participants will be able to choose and formulate the most appropriate evaluation design, as well as being able to assess the quality of an executed evaluation.  

** Registrations are welcomed until 12 November 2013 or for as long as places are available**

For more information, please contact Ms Ann Stoffels, Programme Organiser (tel.: +31.43.3296317, e-mail: a.stoffels@eipa.eu) or visit our web site:  http://www.eipa.eu/caf/