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Improving Development Evaluation

Improving Development Evaluation

Written by: David Wand
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Join Dr. David Wand as he takes you on a provocative, investigative journey challenging Canadian & American international development organizations as well as international organizations to improve their performance measurement frameworks (PMFs) or Activity Monitoring and Evaluation (MEL) Plans. In Season 1, part 1 of the episode, Dr. Wand will introduce you to an international development organization and one of its projects where flaws in their PMF will be identified. In part 2 of the episode, the international development organization and evaluation experts will be invited to discuss Dr. Wand's critique and offer solutions to improving the evaluation of the project.

For Season 2, Dr. Wand expands the scope of his podcast to include USA government funded international development projects by acquiring Activity Monitoring Evaluation Learning Plans (MEL Plans) or their equivalent as well as continue acquiring Canada government funded international development projects that require PMFs or their equivalent. For Season 2 the focus of the podcast has also been improved whereby several projects from the same international development organization are covered in the same episode exposing how the international development organization fails to properly measure and evaluate whether its expected outcomes have been achieved. This is despite these organizations falsely claiming on their websites that they have achieved these outcomes at the expense of the taxpayer.

David Wand 2023
Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Failure of CUSO International to properly evaluate its 2 projects worth $7.5 Million
    Dec 17 2025

    Please sign the petition here https://www.change.org/EvaluateCanadaAid to have the Government of Canada require all Canadian taxpayer funded international development organizations release on their websites their Performance Measurement Frameworks (PMFs) or its equivalent and data for all output and outcome indicators listed in the PMF.

    CUSO International (www.cusointernational.org) has failed to properly measure and evaluate its 2 projects costing the Canadian taxpayer $7.5 Million. CUSO International cannot make the claim that it has achieved its outcomes for their 2 projects. This is based upon a review and critique of the Performance Measurement Frameworks (PMFs) for these 2 projects. This critique is explained for each outcome and outcome indicator from these 2 PMFs in this episode. These PMFs and PMF critique can be requested by emailing evaluatecanadaaid@gmail.com.

    Details on these 2 CUSO International projects is available here: Blueprints for Gender Equality https://w05.international.gc.ca/projectbrowser-banqueprojets/project-projet/details/p010478001 and Building Bricks Caribbean https://w05.international.gc.ca/projectbrowser-banqueprojets/project-projet/details/p013586001

    For the Blueprints for Gender Equality CUSO International project, the PMF had 9 Outcomes with 13 Outcome Indicators. Only 1 of those Outcome Indicators was properly designed to support the claim that the Outcome was achieved. Even if it was achieved, no data was provided to support that claim. The remaining 12 poorly designed Outcome Indicators were poorly designed due to either self-reporting bias or conflict of interest when an external consultant should have been used instead to objectively measure whether the outcome was achieved. They used an external consultant for the 1 good Outcome Indicator but oddly refused to do it for the other Outcome Indicators!! Other poorly designed Outcome Indicators were due to measures that had nothing to do with whether the Outcome was achieved.

    For the Building Bricks CUSO International project, the PMF had 8 Outcomes and 15 Outcome Indicators. 4 of those Outcome Indicators were properly designed to support the claim that some of the Outcomes were achieved. Even if they were achieved, no data was provided to support that claim. The remaining 11 poorly designed Outcome Indicators were poorly designed due to either self-reporting bias or due to measures that had nothing to do with whether the Outcome was achieved.

    CUSO International has been invited to attend the podcast to provide a response to this critique of their project PMFs. The PMF critique and PMFs have been sent to CUSO International as well as the Secretary of State for International Development and the shadow critics for International Development.

    For a 20/15% discount on sunhats, sunglasses, and cotton polo shirts when visiting the Global South use this discount link: https://mydeals.page/1hjl

    Donate here: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZAQD8888DEDXL

    Or at buymeacoffee.com/davidwand to help the podcast

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    51 mins
  • GCERF fails to show it is achieving its outcomes from spending $1.1 Million USD from Global Affairs Canada
    Nov 13 2025

    In this episode, the Global Community Engagement Resilience Fund (GCERF) (www.gcerf.org) fails to evaluate the effectiveness of its $ 1.1 Million USD received from Global Affairs Canada. GCERF claims to be achieving its 4 outcomes by funding organizations in developing countries to deliver services to achieve those outcomes. But GCERF provides no measures on these outcomes through outcome indicators nor any data related to those outcome indicators in the document they sent to Dr. Wand. This document was a response to his request for the outcome indicators and their data used to measure changes in these outcomes. The 4 outcomes that GCERF claims to be achieving with this $1.1 Million USD Government of Canada funding are:

    1. Increased social cohesion
    2. Increased ability to mobilize, organize, represent their own interests (agency)
    3. Increased knowledge, skills, and subsequent increases in income/livelihoods.
    4. Increased confidence, critical thinking, life skills, self-worth, resilience (sense of purpose).

    GCERF claims on its website, "At grant level, each project is guided by a theory of change and a results framework with outcome and output indicators, requiring grantees to collect baseline data, report quarterly, and conduct final assessments."

    GCERF is falsely claiming to Canadians that they have achieved these 4 outcomes because GCERF provides no outcome indicators nor data from these outcome indicators showing that social cohesion, agency, skills & income, or sense of purpose have increased.

    Dr. Wand has sent his critique of this GCERF document to the Secretary of State for International Development as well as the shadow critics for International Development. He has recommended that all funding to GCERF be suspended until outcome indicators and the data used to measure the achievement of these outcomes is provided on their website for all grants including this grant, if such outcome indicators and data exist.

    Sign the petition here to require GCERF to put all its PMFs and related data on its website:

    www.change.org/EvaluateCanadaAid

    GCERF has also been sent the critique of their response as well as an invitation to be on the podcast to respond and offer actions to address the absence of outcome measures for their expected outcomes or to respond in writing to evaluatecanadaaid@gmail.com.

    https://mydeals.page/1hjl

    Donate here to increase the number of organizations that receive performance audits like this one: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZAQD8888DEDXL

    Or at buymeacoffee.com/davidwand

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    22 mins
  • Oxfam Canada (www.oxfam.ca) fails to evaluate its 2 projects worth $13,140,000: Care Connect and Camino Verde
    Sep 19 2025

    Sign the petition here to require Oxfam to put all its PMFs and related data on its website:

    www.change.org/EvaluateCanadaAid

    In this episode, Dr. Wand reviews the Performance Measurement Frameworks (PMFs) for 2 Oxfam Canada (www.oxfam.ca) projects: Care Connect https://w05.international.gc.ca/projectbrowser-banqueprojets/project-projet/details/p012493001 at a cost of $5,950,000 and Camino Verde https://w05.international.gc.ca/projectbrowser-banqueprojets/project-projet/details/p005232001 at a cost of $7,190,000. He concludes from his review that Oxfam Canada has failed to design proper outcome indicators (with the exception of 2 outcome indicators out of 18 outcome indicators for the Care Connect project) to meet the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) criteria of achieving effectiveness or impact for these 2 projects. In addition, Oxfam Canada has failed to provide any outcome indicators in its PMF for 10 of the 14 outcomes listed in its Camino Verde project. Therefore, Oxfam Canada cannot make the claim that their projects are achieving their expected outcomes of effectiveness and impact.

    Dr. Wand has sent this episode along with his critique of the PMFs and the 2 original PMFs to the Secretary of State for International Development as well as the shadow critics for the Conservative party, the New Democratic Party, and the Bloc Quebecois party. He has recommended to all of these individuals that Government of Canada funding for these 2 projects be stopped immediately until proper outcome indicators are designed so that proper evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of these projects can be achieved.

    Oxfam Canada has also been sent this episode as well as the critique of the PMFs and the 2 original PMFs inviting them to respond to the critique, including an invitation to attend a future podcast to discuss their flaws in their project PMF outcome indicators as well as their proposed actions to address these flaws.

    If you wish to receive your discount on the purchase of sun hats, sunglasses, or polo shirts designed for the Global South, select the link below:

    https://mydeals.page/1hjl

    If you wish to make a donation to this podcast click on either of the links below:

    https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZAQD8888DEDXL

    https://buymeacoffee.com/davidwand

    Listeners can receive the PMFs and my critique of the PMFs by sending an email to: evaluatecanadaaid@gmail.com

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    45 mins
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