ABSTRACT
Richard Gerster said he had become aware of the importance of participatory evaluations, when he evaluated a project to launch a buffalo milk cheese factory in the hills of Nepal. Gerster was also intrigued by the contradiction between Jackson's presentation of the costs incurred by citizens and Nicoletta Stame's statement that participatory evaluation should be mainstreamed. Mainstreaming participatory evaluation would probably also reduce costs. The issue of doing several participatory evaluations simultaneously is related to how a series of participatory evaluation exercises is linked to convergence in a comprehensive development framework. In reality there are some very human and financial constraints on participatory evaluation. One step forward would be to have a network of centres of excellence on participatory evaluation around the world. These centres could achieve substantial economies of scale, which might help moderate some of the costs of participatory evaluation.
