The Government of India and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, are co-organizing a learning event to discuss findings of a recent impact evaluation of IFAD-funded Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh Tribal Development Programme (JCTDP). The event will take place on 11 June 2015 in New Delhi. An inception workshop on the forthcoming country programme evaluation (CPE) will take place on the same day.

The learning event will include a presentation  of results and recommendations from the evaluation, as well as sharing the methodology, challenges and lessons learned in applying rigorous quantitative methods to evaluate the impact of IFAD-funded rural development operations.

In the afternoon, the inception workshop for the CPE will facilitate an exchange of information and produce key evaluative questions from participants. It will be an opportunity to confirm the objectives, methodology, process and proposed time line of the CPE. The evaluation is set to take place this year and be released in 2016.

Both events will be attended by representatives from ministries, governmental departments, development organizations, think tanks, foundations and representatives from IFAD's Independent Office of Evaluation, Programme Management Department and project staff. It will be chaired by the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance of India. The Secretary of the Welfare Department of Jharkhand and the Secretary of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs of Chhattisgarh will also be invited to deliver introductory remarks for the learning event on the impact evaluation.

Media Advisory No: IFAD/03/2015

IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided over US$16.3 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached about 438 million people.IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN's food and agriculture hub.

About the Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE): IOE conducts evaluations of IFAD-financed policies, strategies and operations to promote accountability and learning. The main purpose is to contribute to improving IFAD's and its partners' performance in reducing rural poverty in recipient countries. IOE's independent evaluations assess the impact of IFAD-funded activities and give an analysis of successes and shortcomings – to tell it the way it is – as well as identify factors affecting performance. Based on the key insights and recommendations drawn from evaluation findings, IOE also communicates and shares IFAD's knowledge and experience in agriculture and rural development with a wider audience.