Margaret Mitchell Biography | Humanitarian Diplomacy | Accomplishments
Evidence and knowledge in humanitarian action (John Mitchell, ALNAP)
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Transcript of Evidence and knowledge in humanitarian action (John Mitchell, ALNAP)
John Mitchell, ALNAP
E v i d e n c e & k n o w l e d g e
i n h u m a n i t a r i a n a c t i o n
5 March 2013 l 28th ALNAP Annual Meeting l Washington DC
EVIDENCE
IMPORTANT?
QualityAccountabilityUnderstanding
Why is
EVIDENCE?What do we mean by
E M P I R I C I S MThe wor ld ex is ts
as an object ive
real i ty, d is t inct
f rom the observer
Observat ion
Measurement
Exper iment
Hypothesis
DETRACTORSBut empir ic ism has i ts
EVIDENCEWhat do we want
FOR?Do we need to intervene?Will this work?Is this the best thing to do?
Is our evidence any good?Can we have common standards for evidence?
Humanitarianism is multidisciplinary.
FIVEWe came up wi th
CRITERIA
Truth/accuracyRepresentativenessSignificanceGeneralisabilityAttribution
T h e c o n t e x t
B a s e l i n e d a t a
o f t e n n o t p r e s e n t
T h e c o n t e x t
A c c e s s c h a l l e n g e s
T h e c o n t e x t
M o b i l e p o p u l a t i o n s
T h e c o n t e x t
S e n s i t i v i t y o f d a t a i n
c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s
T h e c o n t e x t
L a c k o f s t a n d a r d i n f o c o l l e c t i o n
a p p r o a c h e s a n d f o r m a t s
T h e c o n t e x t
A t o m i s e d s y s t e m : i n f o r m a t i o n i n
m a n y p l a c e s
T h e c o n t e x t
HOW ARE WEDOING?
Early warning: more
accurate, challenges of
analysis
Needs assessment:
variety of approaches,
reliance on expert
knowledge
Evaluation: mainly qualitative;
local voices absent;
challenges of attribution
USEDo we
EVIDENCE?
Early warning: not always used;
over-reliance on outcome indicators
Needs assessment: dependence on
unrelated factors; monitoring for update
Evaluations: selective use
Policymaking: evidence use
depends on ownership
QualityAccountabilityUnderstandingEVIDENCE
Empir ic is t and phenomenologica l
used to dec ide when and how to respond
Truth/accuracy Representativeness
Significance Generalisability Attribution
There are
MORE QUESTIONS
THAN ANSWERS
These include…
How can we determine when
evidence is ‘good enough’ in
humanitarian contexts?
Does our thinking around
evidence privilege or devalue
certain types of information?
What should the relative roles of
research and programme
functions be in building an
evidence base?
What can we learn from other
sectors about generation and
use of evidence?
What role should evidence play
in decision-making?
How can decision-makers
balance different types of
evidence?
Bringing people together
so conversat ions can happen
John Mitchell, ALNAP
THANK YOU
5 March 2013 l 28th ALNAP Annual Meeting l Washington DC