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After a first meeting held in Saly in October 2021, members of the impact evaluation community of practice from some of the National Agricultural Research Institutes (INRA) within the CORAF perimeter met again in Cotonou recently from April 25 to 29, 2022, to further strengthen their skills in impact evaluation of development projects.

The workshop was organized within the framework of the Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development in West Africa(PAIRED), with the aim of deepening the knowledge of some thirty (30) participants in impact assessment through case studies and the use of appropriate tools and software.

"Impact assessment is a crucial phase, as it enables us to assess whether the efforts made to implement a project have borne fruit or not", declared Dr Hippolyte AFFOGNON, PAIRED Coordinator, who went on to point out that it is for this reason that CORAF places particular emphasis on mastering best practices in this field. 

Apart from a few program managers and monitoring-evaluation specialists from the PAIRED and CORAF teams, the workshop participants were exclusively members of the impact evaluation community of practice previously set up by CORAF. 

The community of practice is a network set up by the organization, which it can activate to help monitor and evaluate projects in the field.

"CORAF wants to be able to rely on the community, and above all change the paradigm for assessing the impact of the various projects it implements in West and Central Africa. It is therefore important that the members of this community are equipped with skills that meet the standards and expectations of CORAF and its partners, hence the importance of this second phase of capacity building", emphasized Dr. AFFOGNON. 

Learning by doing

The second phase of capacity building for impact assessment practitioners focused much more on practice. 

Thanks to an appropriate methodological approach, participants had the opportunity to take part in interactive exchanges and to put into practice the notions previously acquired, with case studies. 

"Practice makes theoretical concepts easier to assimilate. This time, the mentoring approach enabled participants to refresh their knowledge and master advanced impact evaluation techniques", said Mr. Zinsou Ellénite KPAVODÉ, CORAF Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. 

According to the participants, the meeting was a resounding success and the objectives were achieved. 

"The fact that we had a lot more hands-on experience really helped us to get to grips with the concepts and software. At the end of this second workshop, I can confirm that our working methods in terms of impact assessment will improve considerably", concluded Dr Léonard Cossi HINNOU, Researcher at the Institut national de recherches agricoles du Bénin (INRAB).

Read also:

• Second phase of capacity building for CORAF's Community of Practice in Impact Assessment
• CORAF trains INRA experts on best practices in impact assessment
• In pictures: Regional capacity-building workshop for CORAF's network of impact evaluation practitioners
• [Video] Regional capacity-building workshop for INRA experts in impact assessment