Hand in Hand speaking at SEEP Annual Conference

06 Sep 2017

Delegates gather at a recent SEEP Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

Without feedback from beneficiaries and other stakeholders, job creation programmes are doomed to fail. That’s the message Hand in Hand is delivering next month at the SEEP Network Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., the world’s leading forum for NGOs, research organisations and private sector actors working in enterprise and market development.

With a membership that includes some 120 organisations representing 10.5 million Self-Help Group members just like ours, SEEP provides fertile ground for meeting potential partners.

Speaking at the conference for the first time, Hand in Hand is leading a session titled ‘Insights from Participatory Evaluation Processes – Adapting to Local Demands’, comparing two of our projects from Afghanistan and Kenya. Both were adapted according to local feedback – each in a markedly different direction.

VisionFund Global Head of Strategy Peter Harlock will also join, sharing insights from a project in Tanzania.

Session description from SEEP’s website:

Nothing gets in the way of a masterfully designed program quite like reality. Without structures for learning and adapting based on feedback from local stakeholders, staff, partners and, most importantly, beneficiaries – in our case rural women – Savings Group and enterprise development programs can suffer creeping dropout rates and reductions in credit uptake. Come learn about our package of feedback mechanisms and how it compelled us to redesign our theory of change and exit strategies. We’ll compare examples to reveal the challenges and rewards of a truly participatory approach and highlight how feedback from smallholder farmers at the pilot stage can – and must – be integrated as programs go to scale.

For more information on this year’s conference, including details on how to register, visit the SEEP Network website.