The Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) at the African Development Bank (AfDB) immersed its staff in a two-day training to hone their communication and presentation skills.
The training took place from 20 to 21 November 2017 at AfDB headquarters in Abidjan and was led by Intermedia Communications Training Inc., who has previously delivered customized workshops for the AfDB, the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The training included individual as well as group activities and interactive/role play sessions with on the spot coaching being provided to participants. The group learned quickly and progress could already be seen on the second day.
IDEV’s evaluations provide compelling lessons for the direction of future Bank policies and projects, and IDEV staff now have the knowledge and skills to clearly and effectively inform their audience by stressing what’s important and articulating compelling arguments to support the findings of their research and evaluations. They will have an opportunity to practice their skills when making presentations to the Board, to Bank staff and at knowledge events.
The training was strongly backed by IDEV management who actively participated in some of the sessions. It was also a great opportunity for IDEV to self-reflect on the department’s key messages and its positioning statement.
When asked to provide feedback about the overall quality of the training, Daniel Andoh, IDEV evaluation capacity development consultant, summarized his sentiments in three words: interactive, relevant and fun.