Me, Myself and Evaluation

Hi there. My name is Benedictus Dwiagus Stepantoro, but you can call me Agus. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), there is a lot of people with the name Agus here in Indonesia. So, to differentiate me with other Agus you know, you may call me Dwiagus. A bit longer, but useful.

Yes, I live in in Indonesia. I grew up, spent my childhood, from kindergarten until high-school in Jakarta, but then left for Bandung for pursuing my undergraduate study. Now, I am home-based in Tangerang Selatan City, in a border near southern part of Jakarta.

I went to Bandung for my undergraduate study in the ITB (Institut Teknologi Bandung). I graduated there, earning my B.Eng. degree in Regional and City Planning (Teknik Planologi). Then, I started my career in Bappenas, as non-permanent (project-based) planning staff for almost 3 years. Afterwards, I took the opportunity to continue my study in Institute for Housing and Development Studies (IHS) of Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (EUR), the Netherlands, and get my M.A. degree on Urban Management. So as you can see, I am basically a planner, by training and education.

I have been in my journey in evaluation field since 2007. When I said evaluation field, it includes program/project monitoring, and performance management. I have been providing consultancy works around evaluation, program/project monitoring and performance management, to various organizations, including: bilateral development cooperation organizations (GTZ/GIZ, AusAID/DFAT, DFID, USAID, MCA-I, and SECO); multilateral agencies (the ASEAN Secretariat, UN-WFP, UNIDO, and ILO); multilateral development banks (World Bank, and ADB). I had been engaged with various Indonesian government agencies at central level (Bappenas/National Planning Board, Ministry of Village and Disadvantaged Area, Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, National Administrative Agency, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Works, TNP2K, BNPB/National Disaster Management Agency, etc.) and local level (Bappeda/Local Planning Board, District Health Office, etc.). I have been also facilitating capacity building for various NGOs and International NGOs in Indonesia.

I have been so fortunate with the experience mentioned above. I hope I can continue my journey in evaluation field (with some planning and performance management flavor here and there) and share with you all here.