Development professionals agree that impact evaluation is perhaps the most challenging task as reforming a sector may take longer then the life of a project. CIPE Pakistan has seen several instances where the impact of an initiative came long time after completion of a project. More astonishingly, impact could be a change that was never envisaged in the original deliverables of a project.
Most recent such example is the first ever Chamber President Conference organized by Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Thirteen elected Presidents from Northern Punjab got together and several participated via telephone link and debated on issues of economic importance.
Idea of this conference was floated by Irfan Mannan Khan, Deputy Secretary, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (RCCI). Ifran attended CIPE’s Secretary General’s Conference/workshop held in Lahore on 31st April and 1st May 2009 where over 32 secretary generals from allover Pakistan were assembled for the first time. Inspired by the effectiveness of the CIPE conference Irfan presented his idea for organizing a conference for chamber presidents to Mr. Asad Mashhadi, President, RCCI who agreed to host the conference (held on 26 May 2009).
This is a tangible impact that we did not visualize while conceiving the idea of Secretary General’s Conference.
Published Date: May 29, 2009