The MACBETH Approach for Multicriteria Evaluation of Rural Development Projects in face of Cross-Cutting Issues

The European Union effort towards poverty reduction is based on the principle of equitable and participatory Sustainable Human Development. Meeting the terms of this principle entails the consideration of the so called "cross-cutting issues" on development matters. Crosscutting issues are aspects of general interest that ought to be considered at all levels of intervention. They comprise, among others, issues like Human Rights, gender equity, the environmental concern, democracy as a social value, and the empowerment of the beneficiaries of development. Consequently, any evaluation process of development projects needs to take into account these issues at an operational level. Such a need, however, challenges the adequacy of traditional project appraisal methods, for instance Cost Benefit Analysis, to deal with the qualitative and even intangible nature of these new dimensions. This article describes how the MACBETH multicriteria approach was implemented in Bolivia, in order to help an important Programme for rural development build a new project evaluation system, taking into account cross-cutting issues through a series of interviews with individuals, as well as decision conferences attended by specialists and the Programme staff.