ECDG is a U.S. 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created in 2004 with a mission “to bring together diverse perspectives dedicated to developing evaluation capacity within organizations through tools, resources, and communication that facilitate others meeting their mission.”
In response to gaps identified during the 17-21 October 2011 Workshop to draft an ISO Agreement on Evaluation Capacity Development, ECDG has evolved to expand its mission to include mobilizing resources for evaluation capacity development. The ECDG Board of Directors formulated a new vision, mission and strategy.
Vision
ECDG will establish itself as an “honest broker” between donors, ECD experts and practitioners in the field.
Mission Statement
ECDG will become an intermediary organization for regranting purposes in order to catalyse the ability of others to develop evaluation capacity, instead of actually doing ECD itself.
Strategies to Manage Strategic Issues
- More entrepreneurial mindset: “ECD will involve more risk taking” and “more tolerance for an occasional failure”
- More focus on seeking out and funding “outstanding people and organizations,” versus long drawn-out application processes, as the means to undertake due diligence
- More true partnering between donors, ECDG and practitioners: “More collegial relationships” between ECD stakeholders
- More trust-based relationships, resulting in more discretionary grant-making and faster grant-making processes
- More discretionary and flexible funding for the ECD component of projects and programmes
- A critical mass of young people engaged in ECD work, bringing new experiences, perspectives, and practices to shape the field
