Voices of Children in Evaluation

1. Voices of Children in Evaluation Presented by Mallika R. Samaranayake President - Community of Evaluators, South Asia In collaboration with BetterEvaluation February 5, 2014 1

2. Why Children’s voices matter • A part of their right to participate • Hold their own views and should have the right to express • Their insights vary from those of adults • Children’s views, are their reality • Participation gives recognition and feed into an evolutionary process of capacity building • Their views need to be taken into account in decisions that affect them 2

3. What matters in enabling children’s participation • A child friendly environment • Confidence and credibility of the facilitator • Respect for ethics and values • Role and skills of the facilitator and ability to adapt to the socio cultural context • Simple and child friendly tools with the flexibility to adapt to the subject under discussion and the age group of the children participating 3

4. Some experiences with children during evaluations • Attitudes, behavior and values as perceived by children • Children’s participation in designing projects / infrastructure • Evaluation of project interventions by children • Children evaluate change overtime after project interventions • Children evaluate water & sanitation needs in their own school, come up with suggestions for improvement and participate in implementation

5. Attitudes, behavior and values as perceived by children Draw & Write Tool 5

6. Children’s participation in designing projects / infrastructure Present School & Pavilion Pavilion earlier planned location 6

7. Evaluation of project interventions by children An Example: Tool: Brainstorming and priority ranking Source: Columbia Group for Children in Adversity (CGCA) 2010 – Sri Lanka Study 7

8. Children Identify needs in their schools An Example: Tool: Brainstorming and priority ranking Source: Columbia Group for Children in Adversity (CGCA) 2010 – Sri Lanka Study 8

9. Children evaluate change overtime after project interventions Tool: Criteria based scoring in Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) Source: Columbia Group for Children in Adversity (CGCA) 2010 – Sri Lanka Study 14

10. Children participate in identifying water & sanitation needs in their own school 9

11. Needs identified by children • Water shortages • The water storage tanks do not get filled • No water to clean the toilets • No water for gardening • Water taps broken • Some toilets damaged • Soil erosion on the hill slopes • Garbage disposal problems 10

12. Based on needs children identified solutions and communicated through role play and art No problem don’t worry// Have a big tank of water No water everywhere // More dirty everywhere // What can we do for you // Nothing to do my darling// What kind of a tank of water Tank of rain water // 11

13. Based on needs children identified solutions Follow up on suggestions Environment & Conservation 12

14. Children participate in implementation of solutions and monitoring & Evaluation 13

15. How children can express themselves – Tools used • Mapping • Draw & write • Brainstorming and listing by themselves • Scoring and ranking • Role play • Art • Interactive discussion with visualization 15

16. Lessons Learnt • Be informal and spend time for rapport building • Use a participatory approach and relevant tools appropriate for the age group of children • Visualization helps interactive discussions with wider participation • Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) allow for triangulation within the group and reach consensus • Children may speak out of point but the facilitator must be patient and listen and bring them on track at the appropriate time • Allow for creativity in expressing ideas • Children have better insights as users of facilities if allowed to “speak / voice their opinions” • Children can identify the signs of success or failure (indicators) • Follow evaluation ethics and maintain confidentiality of information

17. References • Children and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami - An evaluation of UNICEF’s response in Sri Lanka (2005-2008) – UNICEF, 2009 • Child Protection Evaluation - Lessons Learned from the Tsunami Experience (2005-2008) Sri Lanka Study – Mallika R. Samaranayake, Neil Boothby and Team - March 2009 (unpublished) • Save Alliance Tsunami Response Program – Evaluation – Save the Children Sri Lanka, November 2009 – Mallika R. Samaranayake & Dilhara Gunawardena (unpublished) • Progress Evaluation of the UNICEF “EEPCT” : Education in Emergencies and Post Crisis Transition Program – Sri Lanka Study, August 2010 submitted to Columbia Group for Children in Adversity (CGCA), Mallika R. Samaranayake & Team (unpublished) • Child Protection Evaluation Plan, Sri Lanka - Neil Boothby, August 2008 • Monitoring and evaluating with children – Grazyna Bonati, Plan International • A kit of Tools for Participatory Research and Evaluation with Children, young people & adults – Save the Children, 2008 • Report on Sri Lanka Water Partnership – School Awareness Programe - Lanka Jalani-Sisu Jala Hamuwa Programme (un published), Mallika R. Samaranayake • http://plan-international.org/ , http://www.savethechildren.lk/ , http://www.childfund.org/ , http://www.unicef.org/srilanka/ , http://www.cpcnetwork.org/ 17

18. THANK YOU 18 mallikasamare@gmail.com