The importance of distinguishing between fact and fantasy, recognizing that there is no ‘one truth’ in development - IOE
Rome, 17 January 2023 – Students that are set to enter the multilateral development workforce will need to be critically minded in order to distinguish between facts and fantasies, and to recognize that there is no ‘one truth’ in this line of work. The ability to understand different perspectives, linking theory to practice and working in different contexts, is essential for navigating the present and foreseeable future job market. Dr Indran A. Naidoo, Director of the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) put these strong messages on the table during the ‘Food & Sustainability On-site Experience’ of the ‘Food and Sustainability Certificate Program’, on 17 January 2023.
IFAD and the European Institute of Innovation for Sustainability (EIIS) jointly organized the certificate programme, which counts with a community of 300 alumni from over 80 countries and is designed to provide students from around the world with a comprehensive understanding of food sustainability issues. The food & sustainability on-site experience represented the last step of the programme, on the eve of the graduation ceremony, and was held under the auspices of IFAD’s Change Delivery and Innovation Unit (CDI).
Coordinated by Gladys Herminia Morales Guevara, Senior Officer and Global Head of Innovation, the on-site experience welcomed at IFAD approximately 50 students from 30 different countries to give them an opportunity to learn more about the work of the Fund, and interact with some of their favourite faculty members. Dr Naidoo was joined by a group of distinguished experts who constituted a panel on ‘youth, climate and innovative approaches for food systems’. Presenters featured Ilaria Firmian, Senior Technical Specialist, Indigenous Peoples, Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division, IFAD; Thin Yu Mon, Global Indigenous Youth Caucus Representative, Asia; and Cortney Price, Lead for Behavioural Science, FAO. Ann-Kathrin Beck, Junior Adviser in the Office of the President and Vice President of IFAD provided closing remarks.
In his opening keynote address, Dr Naidoo noted the opportunities and challenges that the rapid rise of artificial intelligence will likely pose to employment prospects for young graduates. These may include a shift in jobs from urban and peri-urban realities to rural areas. This will call for a flexible workforce, equipped with an adaptive skillset. Equally important is the recognition of the permacrisis that we are living in, which presents the world with multiple challenges, including climate change, economic downturns and the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter are described in the recently published volume ‘Policy Evaluation in the Era of COVID-19’, co-authored and co-edited by Dr Naidoo.
In the midst of this complex and fluid global environment, Dr Naidoo explained how IOE has been proactive shifting organizational mindsets at IFAD, in an effort to move from evaluation phobia to evaluation embracing. To this end, the Office has mainstreamed neuroscience-based principles into its approach to communication – a strategy which has paid dividends, as engagement with stakeholders across the board is fast-improving in qualitative and quantitative terms.
The food and sustainability certificate program also afforded students the possibility to be protagonists of their very own innovation challenge, designed and coordinated by CDI. The challenge was aimed at fostering the identification of sub-sets of problems and potential food-value-chain solutions that contribute to building resilience in smallholders and indigenous people to climate change. Participants' proposals were presented on the occasion of the course Graduation Ceremony, which was held in Rome, at Palazzo Taverna, on 18 January.
The EIIS is an academic company that designs innovative solutions for companies, academia, institutions and entrepreneurs to facilitate and foster innovation for sustainability. In EIIS, people connect to reach environmental, social and economic sustainability, through education, research and continuous experimentation.
For further information, please contact Alexander Voccia [here].
RESOURCES
- To access the presentation delivered by Dr Indran A. Naidoo, IOE Director, please click here.
- To access the book ‘Policy Evaluation in the Era of COVID-19’, please click here.
- For more information on the post-graduate certificate programme on ‘Food and Sustainability’, please click here.
IOE 20th ANNIVERSARY
- To access the brochure ‘More than a journey | 20 years of independence, please click here.
- To access Fabrizio Felloni’s interview on the evolution of independence of IOE, please click here.
- To learn why independent evaluation makes IFAD a more credible institution, please click here.
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