Organizing participatory self-evaluations at UNHCR Guidelines

Central to building consensus on ways in which to improve learning and
accountability is the effective management of UNHCR’s evaluation function. As a
platform for sharing lessons, learning from persons of concern, identifying common
approaches, and addressing good and poor practices, evaluation is the barometer for
the health of an organization. UNHCR is committed to ensuring that it develops and
implements effective evaluation management policies and practice.
This handbook aims to advance understanding and practice in the management of
evaluations of UNHCR operations, programmes, themes, and policies. The
handbook contains a set of guidelines intended to help UNHCR staff design and
implement evaluations, with some handy checklists included. Both new and
advanced evaluation specialists should find it useful. Users of this guide are
encouraged to submit comments on its usefulness or suggest improvements to the
Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit (EPAU) at hqep00 [at] unhcr [dot] orgAn organization that can learn and change on the basis of systematic examination
and in conjunction with its stakeholders is likely to be a healthy and effective one.
As such, UNHCR is committed to developing an effective evaluation function, and to
consulting refugees on decisions that affect their lives. The participatory selfevaluation
(PSE) technique is one means of combining these objectives.
This handbook contains a set of draft guidelines intended to help UNHCR staff
design and implement PSEs. PSEs can take many different forms; as such, the
contents of this publication raise issues and present options, but are not intended to
serve as a blueprint for all PSE exercises. This handbook is in draft format, and is
undergoing field-testing before finalization. Users of this guide are encouraged to
submit comments to the Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit (EPAU) at
hqep00 [at] unhcr [dot] org
This handbook is based on UNHCR planning documents, EPAU’s experiences with
self-evaluation, inputs from EPAU staff, and the work of consultants. It has been
recently revised and reviewed.