For the South and by the South: Assessing social innovation projects in Colombia with the community.
Author
Torres Di Bello, Natalia
Term
4. Term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-06-03
Pages
44
Abstract
This thesis examines how internationally funded social innovation projects in Colombia are evaluated and how communities can be more meaningfully involved in defining success. Situated in Colombia’s complex aid landscape and the widespread use of OECD evaluation criteria within triangular cooperation, the study focuses on power relations in project evaluation. It draws on desk research of public reports and evaluations, stakeholder mapping, and semi-structured interviews with academics, practitioners, and community representatives, and is framed by Designs for the Pluriverse alongside sustainability and social innovation literature. Despite the constraints of remote research, the approach enabled closer insight through the case “Meaningful cycling actions with a gender focus in Bogotá” and perspectives from women cyclists. Findings indicate a lack of frameworks that actively include communities in designing evaluations and substantial variation in standards across organizations. The thesis proposes a conceptual contribution to support community participation in negotiating indicators that matter locally, complementing existing evaluation practices. In doing so, it adds to debates on social development metrics in the Global South and challenges default approaches to development.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan social innovationsprojekter i Colombia, der finansieres af internationale aktører, bliver vurderet, og hvordan lokalsamfund bedre kan inddrages i at definere succes. Med udgangspunkt i Colombias komplekse kontekst for udviklingssamarbejde og de udbredte OECD-kriterier for evaluering sætter projektet fokus på magtforhold i såkaldt trekantssamarbejde. Analysen bygger på desk research af offentlige rapporter og evalueringer, kortlægning af relevante aktører samt semistrukturerede interviews med akademikere, praktikere og repræsentanter fra lokalsamfund. Arbejdet er teoretisk forankret i Designs for the Pluriverse og trækker på bæredygtigheds- og social innovationslitteratur. På trods af udfordringer ved fjernforskning muliggjorde metoden en nærmere undersøgelse af praksis via casen “Meaningful cycling actions with a gender focus in Bogotá” og input fra kvindelige cyklister. Resultaterne peger på manglende rammer for at inddrage lokalsamfund aktivt i udformningen af evalueringer samt store variationer i standarder mellem organisationer. Specialet foreslår et begrebsligt bidrag, der hjælper lokalsamfund med at forhandle indikatorer, som er meningsfulde for dem, og dermed supplerer eksisterende evalueringspraksisser. Derved bidrager arbejdet til debatten om måling af social udvikling i det Globale Syd og udfordrer standardtilgange til udvikling.
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