This e-learning course was produced by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE). It accompanies the annex to the 2022 IFAD Evaluation Manual, titled ‘Communicating evaluation findings’. The main purpose of the course is to sensitize users on how to leverage neuroscience-based principles to enhance the effectiveness of communication efforts.

During the course, users will learn:

• What it means to communicate effectively.
• The role of neuroscience in constructive communications in the evaluation process.
• Harnessing the benefits of neuroscience-based communication principles in the evaluation process.    

The course may benefit IFAD and IOE staff and consultants, external evaluation and rural development practitioners, and national authorities and implementing agencies.

Highlights of the course include:

• First, why unconscious factors matter. During the evaluation process, it is important to speak and listen to what is heard and not heard in order to enhance the chances of a proposed change (such as the recommendations of an evaluation) to succeed.
• Second, why goals matter less than we think, while it is our intentions that matter the most. It is important to always be compassionate, acknowledge goal complexity, and encourage autonomy in thinking while being fully yourself.
• Third, how planning an evaluation with the brain in mind can enhance the evaluation process. It is beneficial to mainstream nine brain science-based principles into the design of an evaluation process.