Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

By Yatin Diwakar and Harish Koidala EvalYouth Asia This blog is part of the Eval4Action ‘Walk the Talk’ blog series. The series details six nominated actions for influential evaluation that were contributed during the Walk the Talk drive, held in October 2021. These lessons and reflections inspire greater action for influential evaluation in the Decade of Action. One of EvalYouth Asia’s (EYA) stated objectives is to build the capacities of Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs), in line with the Asia Pacific Regional Evaluation Strategy. When EYA and Asia Pacific Evaluation Association (APEA) brainstormed on how to provide quick career development and capacity building opportunities to YEEs, we realised the need for conducting some basic training programmes that can plug the supply gap in capacity development in the region. Currently there are very few training programmes targeting YEEs who need support in navigating the complex world of the M&E profession. YEEs need support in learning the basics as there are few academic programmes in the region which teach M&E. They also need support to understand how to best develop their career in this field. When youth enter the evaluation sector from different academic backgrounds, they lack access to networks which can be leveraged to get better M&E jobs or consultancy opportunities. This background led to the organisation of a short winter school where YEEs from different countries could come together, learn a few key concepts related to M&E and share their experiences. Unfortunately, as the global COVID-19 pandemic limited travel, this plan was shelved. But this challenge was turned into an opportunity with the planning of a virtual event. Thus, the first Asia Pacific Virtual Winter School for YEEs was held from 29 to 31 March 2021 and encouraged by its success, the second winter school was held from 17 to 19 December 2021. Now, we plan to annually hold this event virtually and hope to have separate offline events as well. These winter schools provide opportunities to selected YEEs in the region to become competent, experienced, and well-networked professionals who contribute to evaluation capacity at national, regional, and international levels. Expected outcome for YEEs from the Virtual Winter School These winter schools are organised by EYA and APEA, in partnership with all the EvalYouth national chapters in the region, Sri Lanka Evaluation Association (SLEvA), Evaluation Community of India (ECOI), EvalYouth Global Network, UNFPA, and the Center for Evaluation at University of Sri Jayewardenepura with outreach support by the Asia Pacific Communications Hub. Partners supporting the Virtual Winter School The transition to an online event removed physical barriers for participants, allowing a well represented, multi-country participation at no cost. The winter schools had speakers and resource persons from around the globe. It had participants from the Pacific in the East to Africa in the West, Kyrgyzstan in the North to Australia in the South. While in itself this was a groundbreaking initiative in the region, what made it special was the way it was organised - exclusively through volunteers dedicating their time for completing each aspect professionally. The first winter school received ZERO funding, while the second received a small grant providing for a coordinator. Even in the paucity of funds, a dedicated team of organising committee members that represented various partners, volunteered to organise the winter school. Except two advisory members, all were YEEs, including the leaders and the consultant. This brought in a different energy and ethics to the group, where everyone worked together making best use of the online tools: Google Meet for weekly meetings, writing quick emails, and relying on WhatsApp for most communication. Calendar invites and shared drive spaces allowed timely collaboration enhancing partnership amongst volunteers across national borders. Similarly, WhatsApp groups of the participants promoted networking amongst the participant YEEs. The main event effectively used the meeting platform to engage the participants and provide a class-room like experience. While any online programme or even offline events nowadays will do all these things, what we found special about the Winter School was the importance given to youth, who were not necessarily well versed with the different tools or the specifics of organising an event at this scale. Still, they came together, explored and learnt together from each other and delivered a very professional event, not once, but twice in the year. The volunteers learnt nuances of online meeting platforms and tricks for effective use of collaborative tools. They prepared detailed guidelines and template documents (moderator slides, producer guides, speaker guides, selection procedure, social media plans, etc.) which now can be used for any similar event. It also provided a sense of unity to these disparate volunteers from across the countries in the Asia Pacific. The two Winter Schools provided opportunities to over 100 YEEs to hone their skills in M&E, but we believe that it offered the volunteers an even better opportunity and gave us the confidence to execute such a large, virtual, volunteer driven event successfully. Over the past year, many participants of the Winter School have now taken up responsibilities in their EvalYouth national chapters (alumni of the first Winter School were crucial in setting up the second group of EvalYouth chapters in the region), some are active with their VOPEs and all are using the knowledge gained to effectively build their careers. One might say that the two Winter Schools provided opportunities to over 100 YEEs to hone their skills in M&E, but we believe that it offered the volunteers an even better opportunity and gave us the confidence to execute such a large, virtual, volunteer driven event successfully. We hope that a new team of volunteers, comprising alumni of the winter schools and new co-leaders of the EvalYouth chapters will come together to regularly hold this annual online event and it will be complemented with some offline training programmes as well. This will contribute greatly to building M&E capacity in the region and in continuing the VOPE structures. This is imperative to strengthen the call for Evaluation for Action towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Yatin Diwakar is a PhD Scholar at the Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas at IIT Bombay. He is a co-leader of EvalYouth Asia, co-founder and co-leader of EvalYouth India and a core group member of Evaluation Community of India. He is also the co-leader of the NEPS theme of Asia Pacific regional evaluation strategy and the co-author of the status report of NEPS in the Asia Pacific. Yatin is also working with the Government of India in the preparation of the National Evaluation Policy Framework. Follow Yatin on Twitter. Harish Koidala is pursuing Masters in Public Policy from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. He is the Mission Manager (Partnerships) with EvalYouth India and an active member of Evaluation Community of India. Harish was part of the team that organised the first Asia Pacific Winter school for young and emerging evaluators and the first ever Indian Evaluation Case Competition – 2021. Contact Harish via harishkoilada@gmail.com.

By Nazir Ul Haq Founding co-chair, EvalYouth Pakistan This blog is part of the Eval4Action ‘Walk the Talk’ blog series. The series details six nominated actions for influential evaluation that were contributed during the Walk the Talk drive, held in October 2021. These lessons and reflections inspire greater action for influential evaluation in the Decade of Action. On 23 March 2022, EvalYouth Pakistan marked its first anniversary with an event celebrating youth in evaluation in Pakistan. The event highlighted the experiences and learnings of Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs) from across Pakistan while conducting culturally responsive evaluations in indigenous and local communities. The event received great appreciation from participants who came from different parts of the world. The event also signified and encompassed the core values and guiding principles that EvalYouth Pakistan has set for itself in its strategy including diversity and inclusion, participation, equity, and innovation. As a founding co-chair of EvalYouth Pakistan, I am writing this reflective piece to highlight some of the good practices that worked for us and the important lessons that we learned along the way. 1. Finding your eval mates: While planning to establish a new EvalYouth national or regional chapter, you have to find people who share the same passion and are willing to join hands. But it is not always easy. When we set out, we learned from the IOCE’s website that there is a national VOPE in Pakistan, Pakistan Evaluation Association (PEA). We reached out to the president of PEA and as expected, we received wonderful support and encouragement and got linked with the young members of PEA. We also reached out to a group of young evaluators through the EvalYouth Asia regional chapter who immediately agreed to join hands for the initiative. And soon we were able to form a team of committed young evaluators who dedicated their time and energies and spearheaded the establishment of EvalYouth Pakistan. 2. Capitalizing on existing resources, knowledge and experiences: When we were planning for EvalYouth Pakistan, EvalYouth chapters in Afghanistan and India had just been launched with the support of EvalYouth Asia. The regional chapter had also documented the process that was followed in establishing the new chapters in the region. EvalYouth Asia not only made those important documents available to us, but its co-leaders also shared their experiences and lessons in establishing the new chapters in their own countries. This knowledge turned out to be invaluable for us as we established EvalYouth Pakistan. 3. Socializing the initiative: Although a lot of work is being done by EvalYouth Global Network, and the different regional and national chapters, the idea of EvalYouth national chapters is still not well known in many developing countries. So when starting out, it is essential to explain it well to get your eval mates as well as potential supporters on board. Realizing this important need, we had developed a brief concept note explaining the main objectives of establishing the EvalYouth chapter in Pakistan, what to expect from it and how it will work. While developing the concept note, we took guidance from EvalYouth Global background document. With the concept note shared widely in our networks, we were able to get onboard truly interested and passionate YEEs who have become an integral part of the chapter. 4. Make the launch big: Based on our experience we learned that a proper launch is a big advocacy opportunity. We organized a virtual launch event supported by PEA, with participation of some of the bigwigs in the field of evaluation from across the globe and key public and private sector stakeholders in Pakistan. The event was streamed live on our social media pages and was published in a prominent newspaper as well, attracting a sizable audience and spreading awareness about the initiative. 5. Developing a shared purpose: The new chapter usually attracts young and interested people who are looking for a reliable professional community and a meaningful platform for learning, networking, and exchange. They also come with some expectations. Therefore, it is essential to develop a shared purpose based on their needs and expectations and by considering what the chapter can deliver as a voluntary professional network. Before our official launch, we developed a strategy document in consultation with YEEs and PEA, and based on the review of the EvalYouth Global Strategy. The strategy highlights the shared purpose of EvalYouth Pakistan including its vision, mission, strategic goals, and key action areas. This also serves to drive the commitment of its members. Diversity and inclusion are key to the success of the new chapter, just as for any other initiative. There should be intentional efforts to ensure diversity and inclusion in the chapter’s governance, management as well as in its outreach efforts. 6. Diversity and inclusivity: Diversity and inclusion are key to the success of the new chapter, just as for any other initiative. There should be intentional efforts to ensure diversity and inclusion in the chapter’s governance, management as well as in its outreach efforts. Considering the diversity of the population in Pakistan, EvalYouth Pakistan’s governance and management strategy has been structured in a way that ensures YEEs belonging to each province have a seat in the Management Group. The chapter’s Executive Committee consists of one male and one female co-chair who are selected through self-nomination, then shortlisted by an independent committee and virtual voting, facilitated by PEA. Task forces have been developed by EvalYouth Pakistan around its four key action areas on capacity strengthening, engagement, networking, and institutional strengthening. The leadership of the task forces was determined through self-nominations, ensuring equal representation for each gender. The increased diversity and inclusion within EvalYouth Pakistan has ensured equitable representation and also contributed to more creative thinking within the chapter. 7. Promoting accessibility: Being a member of an EvalYouth chapter provides opportunities for learning, engagement, and networking. The EvalYouth chapters are also recognized as representatives’ bodies of YEEs by some of the key players in evaluation. In our first year, several of our members were able to avail scholarship opportunities to attend training by Encompass Learning Center and the Asia Pacific Winter School. Members also received bursaries to attend the Asia Pacific Evaluation Association (APEA) conferences and Evalfest. Several members were also invited to facilitate and moderate sessions in P2p+ Career Advisory and webinars organized by the Sri Lankan Evaluation Association (SLEVA) and APEA. To ensure that more YEEs get access to such opportunities, membership to the EvalYouth chapter should be widely promoted. For this purpose, EvalYouth Pakistan has a dedicated Task Force responsible for expanding the network and engaging those who join the chapter. Although it was a bit tough to find partners during the initial months, eventually partnerships did form, as EvalYouth Chapters offer such a huge potential for promoting evaluation. 8. Developing partnerships: Building partnerships with relevant organizations helps to achieve strategic objectives of the chapter. EvalYouth chapters in different regions and countries have been able to develop partnerships with different organizations and enjoy their institutional support including with UN agencies. EvalYouth Pakistan has developed a partnership strategy outlining the key priorities for partnerships and has identified potential partners. Although it was a bit tough to find partners during the initial months, eventually partnerships did form, as EvalYouth Chapters offer such a huge potential for promoting evaluation. EvalYouth Pakistan officially welcomed UNICEF Pakistan as its first partner two weeks before its first anniversary. 9. Fostering networking: Networking is of great value to a new EvalYouth Chapter. We have been encouraging our members to participate in various evaluation networks and initiatives in the region and across the globe. EvalYouth Pakistan’s members serve in EvalYouth Global, EvalYouth Asia, EVALSDGs network, APEA, and P2p+ Career Advisory Initiative. EvalYouth Pakistan’s members serve as volunteers, organizers, moderators, and facilitators in events and activities organized by other EvalYouth chapters and VOPEs. Based on these engagements and networks, they gain experience and bring their learning back to EvalYouth Pakistan which has proved to be valuable for us. With the new chapter, we have to be patient and focus our energies because the first year of the EvalYouth Chapter is usually the year of giving! 10. From shared purpose to shared responsibility: Working for EvalYouth Pakistan so far and serving as its first co-chair has been truly rewarding for me. I have learned a lot, met some amazing people, and made great friends. But I have also found it a bit challenging at times to balance my role as a co-chair together with my job, personal life, and other voluntary work. With the new chapter, we have to be patient and focus our energies because the first year of the EvalYouth Chapter is usually the year of giving! A few committed young people have to keep it running while developing a strong foundation for its continuity and sustainability. With a strong foundation in place, there should be intentional efforts to empower more leaders by delegating responsibilities, and by engaging more volunteers. I believe that in the first year of EvalYouth Pakistan, we have been able to create a shared purpose within the network and have set a strong foundation with a well-defined structure, roles and responsibilities, and a strategic framework. From now onwards, our focus will be on fostering shared responsibility. Nazir Ul Haq is an experienced planning, monitoring, evaluation, and learning (PMEL) professional with around eight years of diverse experience working in Pakistan and in Southeast Asia. As a PMEL expert, Nazir has worked on various development themes including health equity, humanitarian assistance, economic development, governance, regional cooperation, agricultural development, and education. He is co-chair of EvalYouth Pakistan, a co-leader in EvalYouth Asia, and a member of the Pakistan Evaluation Association, Asia Pacific Evaluation Association and EVALSDGs group. Follow Nazir on Twitter and contact him via nhaqcl@gmail.com.

How do we harness the potential of 1.21 billion young people in evaluation? It begins by recognizing, including, committing and investing in Youth in Evaluation. If you are part of the global evaluation community in any way, here are 6 ways you can champion Youth in Evaluation: 1. Adopt the Youth in Evaluation manifesto About 100 organizations and 300 people have already signed the manifesto. If you have not done so, sign the manifesto available in six languages here. Mobilize your partners and other organizations to sign it as well. Customize and use this email template to support this mobilization. 2. Implement your commitment Whether you are an international agency, government organization, a VOPE, academic institution, youth organization, private sector institution or an NGO, take an active role in delivering your commitment to Youth in Evaluation. Start by making a plan together with your local or regional EvalYouth chapter. Launch Youth in Evaluation in your country or region in partnership with other actors. 3. Join the co-creation of standards on meaningful engagement of youth in evaluation To support the implementation of the manifesto, standards on enhancing meaningful youth engagement in evaluation are being co-created for different stakeholder groups such as international agencies, governments, VOPEs, academia, youth organizations, private sector and NGOs. Join the relevant task force and make a contribution to developing the standards for your stakeholder group. Write to contact@eval4action.org to express your interest. 4. Support Youth in Evaluation communication and outreach Regularly spread the word on your digital channels using the communication assets available here. This includes social media materials, FAQ sheet, branding and translation guides. Use relevant international, regional and national advocacy days to advance the importance of youth in evaluation. Find the social media pack for International Youth Day here. 5. Spotlight the Youth in Evaluation logo and badge In your communications, in conferences and meetings, on your website, on your social channels, in your email signature, use the Youth in Evaluation logo to demonstrate your support and commitment. Find all logo related resources here, including the logo in seven languages. If you have signed the manifesto, place the received Champion badge on all your communications. 6. Break the language barrier To spread the word on Youth in Evaluation far and wide, take the lead in translating the Youth in Evaluation manifesto and logo in local, national and regional languages. To begin, have a look at this logo translation guide. To translate the manifesto in your language, reach out to contact@eval4action.org. Do you have other ideas to champion Youth in Evaluation? We invite you to join this growing movement.

Advancing Youth in Evaluation is a growing movement worldwide. With the launch of the Youth in Evaluation manifesto in May 2022, 140 organizations and 482 individuals have committed to undertake strategic and concerted efforts to build capacities of young and emerging evaluators and engage youth and young evaluators meaningfully in all stages of evaluation. To translate this vision and commitment into reality, co-created ‘standards on enhancing meaningful youth engagement in evaluation’ will provide a roadmap to step up the practice and accountability towards engaging youth in evaluation. The standards are organized around six dimensions: leadership and accountability; practice; advocacy and capacity development; knowledge management and communications; human resources; and financial resources. Tailored standards have been developed for specific target groups such as international agencies, VOPEs, governments, youth organizations, academia, and the private sector. The development of the standards has been led by the respective task forces via intergenerational and inclusive consultations and dialogue. Further details on the co-creation of the standards are available in this concept note. Everyone is invited to join the launch of the standards during the the Youth in Evaluation week in April 2023. The launch schedule is as follows: 25 April: Launch of standards for governments and academia 26 April: Launch of standards for international organizations and the private sector 28 April: Launch of standards for youth organizations and VOPEs Access the standards

By Shelby Corley Co-founder, Three Hive Consulting and Eval Academy This blog is part of the Eval4Action ‘Walk the Talk’ blog series. The series details six nominated actions for influential evaluation that were contributed during the Walk the Talk drive, held in October 2021. These lessons and reflections inspire greater action for influential evaluation in the Decade of Action. It was a pleasure to be invited to contribute a blog about using evaluation as an accelerator to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs.) “This blog will write itself,” I told myself smugly. But then I thought more about the topic and came to a somewhat guilty admission: I never reference the SDGs in my work as an evaluator. My work is based almost entirely in western Canada, and my clients rarely, if ever, connect their efforts to the SDGs. They do, however, set goals and work to end poverty, improve health and well-being, and advance gender equality in the regions they serve. My thoughts here are based on my work as an evaluation consultant and as an evaluation capacity builder and are grounded in the experiences that I have had in my career and life to this point. I have arrived in evaluation as a career unintentionally, but appropriately. When I see governments and organizations sharing their goals, I cannot help but question – how will you know when you get there? Where did that goal come from? Are those strategies really leading you to achieve that goal? To me, these are obvious questions to ask, but I am regularly surprised at how infrequently or poorly they are addressed. What if we didn’t evaluate? When I kick off a new evaluation project or provide evaluation training, I like to explore the value of evaluation by asking people to imagine it didn’t exist. Imagine you didn’t reflect on progress and process. Imagine you had no data to guide decisions. How would you know if you’re doing the right things, the right way, at the right time, with the right people? You simply wouldn’t. Your decisions would be made on best guesses and recent memories of standout experiences. Without evaluation, we obviously would not know if we have achieved the SDGs, or if we are making progress toward them. Evaluation encourages reflection Evaluation makes us consider our current state and ask ourselves if that’s what we want. If we then want to do better, evaluation helps us understand how. By asking questions about quality, safety, efficiency, and equity, it helps us identify high-value activities that advance our goals, or see where we may be missing opportunities to do better. When we evaluate, we can learn from our history and better position ourselves to create the future we want for the world. It is incumbent on evaluators to help those around us understand the great value that comes with systematic reflection on progress and process. Evaluators need to both talk the talk and walk the talk. Problem: Evaluation isn’t well understood Evaluators will know what it’s like to have a new acquaintance not understand your job. Many people have experienced evaluation as an onerous task, if at all. Our field is not well known, and our value is not well understood. It is incumbent on evaluators to help those around us understand the great value that comes with systematic reflection on progress and process. Evaluators need to both talk the talk and walk the talk. We need strong voices to amplify our message across all levels of systems, all around the world. Opportunity: Evaluation can be more accessible Sometimes, evaluation is very hard. But many aspects of evaluation are relatively straightforward. The basic principle of why we evaluate – to learn and do better — is easy to understand. And many of the tasks involved are entirely doable by non-evaluators. Evaluation can’t be left solely to expensive consultants. Organizational leaders, programme managers and operational staff need to understand the value of evaluation and be empowered to contribute. Evaluation training, once a niche offering, is now easily accessible for those with internet access. Entry-level information about evaluation is abundant, including on our Eval Academy website. It has never been easier for anyone to learn about evaluation and integrate simple practices into their work. So how can evaluation help accelerate the SDGs? Evaluation can help accelerate the SDGs by being everywhere, all the time. Evaluation needs to grow and be prioritized. Evaluation tasks need to be embedded in everyone’s roles and throughout the entire life of a programme. The principles of reflection and improvement that are so fundamental to evaluation can permeate the world and accelerate the SDGs when evaluation tasks are understood and undertaken by everyone who designs and runs programmes and when policy makers understand the imperative to evaluate the world their policies create. For those of us whose work does not explicitly reference the SDGs, we can take opportunities to point out how the initiatives we support are aligned with the SDGs during our planning discussion and in our reporting. Remember that evaluators have a unique role in which we are often able to encourage our clients to reflect, to share new ideas and suggest different ways of thinking about initiatives—why not help our clients to see how their work relates to the SDGs? Calls to action Policy and grant makers: prioritize effective evaluation and strategic learning. Build in meaningful evaluation requirements so you know if your efforts are helping to achieve goals. Managers: train your staff. Empower them to learn about evaluation and integrate it into their work, even through small actions. Evaluators: talk about evaluation. Be great at what you do and demonstrate the value of your craft. Help your friends and colleagues learn about evaluation. How I Walk the Talk Having witnessed the need to grow awareness of evaluation and capacity to undertake it, my partner and I founded Eval Academy. We believe that evaluation has the power to uncover insights, change behaviours and transform how organizations and systems work – so everyone should evaluate! At Eval Academy, our team shares our experience of evaluation in relatively plain language, offering an introduction to evaluation for those who are unfamiliar with it, and more intermediate-level explorations of evaluation topics for those with some experience. With trustworthy articles and useful resource downloads, we are providing thousands of monthly visitors a simple way to learn about evaluation and integrate it into their work. In this way, Eval Academy is empowering people to accelerate their progress toward their goals – SDGs included. Shelby Corley is CEO of Three Hive Consulting, an evaluation consultancy, and Eval Academy, a website dedicated to building evaluation capacity. Shelby leads a small team of skilled and thoughtful evaluators who serve Canadian clients in the non-profit and healthcare sectors. Her evaluation and research experience includes primary health care, mental health and addictions, health innovation and virtual care, children and youth, housing and homelessness, and immigrant and refugee-serving organizations. Follow Sheldy on Twitter and LinkedIn.

By Leticia Taimo, Margie Roper and Zamokuhle Thwala Khulisa Management Services This blog is part of the Eval4Action ‘Walk the Talk’ blog series. The series details six nominated actions for influential evaluation that were contributed during the Walk the Talk drive, held in October 2021. These lessons and reflections inspire greater action for influential evaluation in the Decade of Action. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, South Africa’s education system was facing tremendous challenges in providing quality education in the majority of the country’s schools. As Khulisa has reported in early grade reading evaluation reports, the basic education system in South Africa (Grade 1 to 12) consistently performs poorly on international ratings. In 2016, the Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study (PIRLS) indicated that 78% of South African Grade 4 learners were not reading for meaning. This means that 8 out of 10 South African children do not learn to read for meaning in the early years of school. [1] The COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing series of lockdowns, school closures, and the necessity to rotate learners and observe strict social distancing protocols have intensified these challenges tremendously. In the wake of the pandemic, evaluating teaching methods and learner outcomes has become more critical than ever to address learning losses and build back better. At the same time, evaluations have become more difficult to conduct during the pandemic. More so than ever before, evaluations must be flexible and adaptable in order to be effective. The circumstances of the pandemic, while challenging, have created unique opportunities for innovation and accelerated the demand for, and immediate use of, evaluation data. Conducting actionable evaluations during a pandemic: What we’ve learned Khulisa and its partners undertook an assignment focused on evaluating early grade reading; creating language benchmarks for learners in two languages; and researching the social-emotional effects of COVID-19 on early grade reading, learning, and teaching. The circumstances of the pandemic, while challenging, have created unique opportunities for innovation and accelerated the demand for, and immediate use of, evaluation data. The bulk of the data collection took place in September 2021, between two devastating waves of COVID-19. Conducting this work during such a difficult time for the South African education system taught us several important lessons about how to make our evaluations accessible and immediately useful to policymakers: While conducting a high-stakes evaluation, it is crucial to build and maintain a strong relationship with the client/partner, in this case, the South African Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The DBE was very interested in the results of these evaluations and played a crucial role in evaluation design, instrument development, and training and selecting fieldworkers. Constant communication and joint planning with DBE led to more trust and buy-in, which increased the chances DBE would adopt the recommendations that emerged from our evaluations. For example, in February 2022, due to the recommendations provided in Khulisa’s research and other studies, the DBE and the Government of South Africa changed COVID-19 regulations to allow learners to return to school full-time and ended rotational learning. Evaluators must be agile and flexible in choosing the data collection methods that are responsive to their client’s needs. While in the proposal-writing stage, since it was uncertain when and how schools would reopen, Khulisa intentionally included a data collection method that did not require physical presence in schools. Khulisa contracted Geopoll to conduct Computer Assisted Telephonic Interviews (CATI) with school management teams, teachers, and parents, which ensured we were able to collect the data we needed amidst the uncertainty of pandemic school closures. Breaking data collection into multiple points within the span of the evaluation helps increase the data’s usability. In our case, we broke the data collection into three phases: 1) collecting data from school leaders; 2) collecting data in schools (whenever we were allowed back in schools); and 3) collecting data from parents. This approach helped us be strategic about which questions to ask when and to whom, avoiding duplication of effort and maximizing our evaluation insights. Our phased data collection approach also allowed the client to receive evidence in a timely fashion and take action in the moments that mattered most. Moving forward This project was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the lessons learned are useful for all evaluations – not only those conducted during a crisis. Constant engagement with key stakeholders and flexibility in project implementation are important for dealing with unexpected challenges in every project. Thus, it’s essential to build in sufficient time for flexibility when budgeting for the evaluation, and to be intentional about creating opportunities for key stakeholders to be involved in the evaluation process and take action on the results. In the case of the COVID-19 research portion of Khulisa’s project with DBE and USAID, which has now been concluded, our team was successful in accelerating demand for the use of evidence by policy makers. We also learned that, as evaluators, we should always consider innovative ways to be responsive to client needs and provide timely data, which leads to increased interest in the evaluation findings and ultimate use of the evidence. We will be taking these lessons forward in our evaluations in the future. The other component of this project (the language benchmarks and two impact evaluations) are still underway, and we are looking forward to seeing how evidence emerging from this project phase is used for action. [1] Spaull, N. 2017, The unfolding reading crisis: the new PIRLS 2016 results. Available from: https://nicspaull.com/2017/12/05/the-unfolding-reading-crisis-the-new-pirls-2016-results/ Leticia Taimo works at Khulisa Management Services as Senior Associate Evaluator. She has worked on several evaluation, research and assessment projects for a variety of stakeholders (private sector, NGOs, government and international donors). Ms Taimo was awarded the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship in 2013 and the Commonwealth Scholarship in 2014 as recognition of her commitment to social change in the African continent. Follow Leticia on LinkedIn and contact her via ltaimo@khulisa.com. Margaret Roper leads Khulisa’s Education and Development Division, supporting clients such as USAID, UN agencies and the LEGO Foundation. She provides technical expertise and leadership on programme development, monitoring, evaluation and knowledge sharing in education, human trafficking and social development. Ms Roper is a PhD candidate at Lancaster University, United Kingdom (UK). Follow Margaret on LinkedIn. Zamokuhle Thwala is a Junior Project Manager at Khulisa Management Services focusing primarily on providing project and fieldwork management support. Ms Thwala has strong project management skills, data quality assurance, as well as project administration. Prior to joining Khulisa, Ms Thwala worked for the University of the Witwatersrand. She has also worked in other community-based projects, mostly focusing on young people. Follow Zamokuhle on LinkedIn.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.

By Dana Cristina Repede Member, Young and Emerging Evaluators group of the European Evaluation Society (yEES!) This blog is part of the Eval4Action ‘Walk the Talk’ blog series. The series details six nominated actions for influential evaluation that were contributed during the Walk the Talk drive, held in October 2021. These lessons and reflections inspire greater action for influential evaluation in the Decade of Action. Dana Cristina Repede interviewed Virgil Pamfil, the acting President of RoSE (Romanian Society of Evaluators) to unpack the VOPE’s efforts to professionalize evaluation in Romania, notably through developing occupational standards and implementing a code of conduct for evaluators. Professionalizing evaluation Dana: In your video for Eval4Action’s Walk the Talk you speak about RoSE’s endeavor to professionalize evaluation in Romania. What does professionalization of evaluation mean and what are the few steps that RoSE took to that end? Virgil: On one hand, the discussion about the professionalization of evaluation should be put in terms of developing an appropriate enabling environment. This may involve designing, adopting and implementing legislation and/or policies to institutionalize national evaluation systems, but also institutionalizing the profession through different elements such as developing occupational standards, codes of conduct etc. In Romania, the occupational standards for evaluators were thought to make a major contribution to the development of the profession because they participate in the design of a large array of activities within evaluation: performance, workforce design, etc. through standardizing them. Occupational standards have implications not only on productivity, but also on the development of human capital. Therefore, by enabling the basis for the development of educational schemes, such as initial and continuous learning for evaluators, the standards ensure that there is a link between human capital investment and productivity, the market’s needs, etc. In line with this, RoSE has been certified as a training provider since 2013 and delivers training and mentoring to evaluators. On the other hand, professionalization has to be developed at individual level through strengthening the capacities of individuals’ knowledge and skills. In other words, the personal drive of an individual to continuously improve, and to be responsible or accountable for actions taken, is especially significant in the evaluation profession. RoSE considers itself as an active actor that participates in building an evaluation culture because of its two-tier strategy of taking action at institutional and individual level. RoSE has been a catalyst for action through its activity of knowledge sharing and networking. In this respect, the three projects implemented in partnership with VOPEs from North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo under the peer to peer programme supported by International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE) is a key milestone in RoSE interventions. Dana: What is RoSE’s roadmap for continuing to professionalize evaluation in the future? Virgil: This is difficult to say because it is still a long way from building an evaluation culture in Romania as the National Policy, Strategy, and Action Plan are still pending. However, as a EU Member State and a beneficiary of EU Funding Instruments, Romania has to comply with a complex regulatory framework that defines requirements to evaluate impacts of the EU programmes. While on one hand, the evaluation is driven by the EU level law, on the other hand, the Member States can make use of their national approaches. It is therefore up to each country to support the evaluators’ job market and profession in accordance with market needs. In Romania, there is an increasing need for evaluators to cover various areas of interventions in sustainable development to measure the achievement and performance of policies, programmes and projects. However, not having specific evaluators profiles that cover these areas included in the Code of Occupations prevents Romanian evaluators from participating in certain calls for experts as they would not comply with the requirements. Dana: Is evaluation in Romania recognized as an established profession (shared purpose, common identity, common agreement of the practitioners on the responsibilities and characteristics of the profession)? Virgil: More or less! In Romania evaluation is very much considered as a cross-cutting occupation. The evaluators come from different fields of expertise. Therefore, they are assigned in most cases on a short-term basis to do a job that complies with their previous work records. It is like the problem with the chicken and the egg – who was first? Without having specific previous working experience an applicant evaluator won’t win the assignment, and if they don’t get assignments an evaluator cannot gain working experience. The academic and continuing education opportunities for evaluators are leading to higher competition and fewer roles. A framework for defining occupational standards Dana: How do you do an Occupational Standard framework for the field of evaluation? Please share your experience and recommendations. Virgil: In Romania, the process of establishing the Occupational Standards was rather long because of the many stages that had to be followed in accordance with the law and the standard procedure enforced by the Romanian Authority of Qualifications. It took about one year, and fortunately it was fast-tracked thanks to RoSE’s internal expertise for drafting occupational standards. The first step was to collect data on the occupation and process them under an occupational analysis in order to convince the national authorities of the importance of our action. Once the occupational analysis was endorsed, the next step was to identify the necessary key competencies structured by elements of competence, knowledge, skills, and behaviours, working contexts, and the range of variables. Afterwards, the Draft Occupational Standard was subject to audit and assessment by several authorities, such as the Government's Sectoral Committee and the National Authority of Qualifications. Finally, after about 12 months of work, in 2012, the Occupational Standard was published online by the National Register of Qualifications, as a reference for education and certification of competencies for project evaluators. Dana: Which are the evaluator competencies included in the Occupational Standard for Project Evaluators (OSPE)? Virgil: These were structured into three categories, namely: key competencies, competencies that cover related occupations and specific competencies. There are five specific competence units as follows: individual preparation for evaluation, organization of evaluation process, project evaluation, validation of evaluation results and provision of technical assistance for selecting the projects. Each competence unit has set the level of responsibility and autonomy, and it is structured by elements of competence, criteria for achievement of the associated results and tasks. They also provide specific information on the working conditions, range of variables and compulsory knowledge. It is worth highlighting that the OSPE designed by RoSE refers to evaluators of projects, due to limitations in the Code of Occupations of Romania (COR), which does not include the positions of Evaluator of Programmes and Evaluator of Policies. Even though it is the Government’s responsibility to include these occupations in the COR, there is a lack of awareness about the different profiles of evaluation professionals. With effective lobbying, the occupational framework could be diversified with a larger array of evaluators profiles. Code of professional conduct Dana: Why is a Code of Professional Conduct important for the evaluation profession? Virgil: In Romania, when selecting a person to provide evaluation services, only a statement of no conflict is requested. Unfortunately, it does not include rules about behaviours, values, and decision-making skills. Therefore, RoSE as a professional organization has decided to define its own Code of Professional Conduct to set standards and expectations for its members. We consider that the Code of Conduct of evaluators is a mandatory addition to the competency framework. Dana: How difficult is it in Romania for an evaluator to adhere to the Code of Professional Conduct? Virgil: There is no obligation in Romania for an evaluator to adhere to a Code of Professional Conduct. As far as I know, no other organization formally requires the evaluators to adhere to a Code of Conduct, but only to sign a statement of no conflict of interest. As a professional VOPE, RoSE’s priority was to define its professional culture quickly, to set standards and expectations to enable its customers and partners to know its values,and to create a level of transparency for a healthy business relationship. Evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Dana: How can the professionalization of evaluation be beneficial in the national review system of SDGs? Virgil: It is indisputable that professionalization of evaluation is beneficial and it is a must for the national review system of SDGs. Two elements are necessary for an effective SDG implementation and monitoring: good coordination at the level of government because the process is expected to be country-led evaluation work, and a multi-level perspective with functional interlinkages and coordination between all actors. The importance of evaluation in the process is that it generates evidence and evidence can contribute to strategies to operationalize the SDGs and inform policy and management decisions. However, adequate evaluation capacity is needed to ensure the quality of measuring SDG targets. This means that each country, and Romania in particular, must develop an effective professional framework for evaluators with clear profiles that cover the entire Policy Intervention Level (policy, programme, project, activity) at the government and civil society levels. Dana Cristina Repede has a Masters in Monitoring and Evaluation from the University of Saarland and Masters in Sociology from the Université Libré de Bruxelles. Currently she works as an M&E consultant with Ann-Murray Brown consultancy. Dana has worked for the European Commission holding various positions such as Programme Manager, Policy Officer and External Auditor. Follow Dana on LinkedIn and contact her via derepede@gmail.com. Virgil Pamfil has 30+ years of experience in the area of public administration and civil service reform, socio-economic development, education, democracy and rule of law, capacity building, decentralization and governance programmes. With a master’s degree in economics, postgraduate studies and certifications in project management, he has been assigned as a key expert in projects in various countries. In 2015 Virgil received an IOCE Regional Award for his contributions to evaluation in Europe. Follow Virgil on LinkedIn and contact him via vpamfil@evaluatoriasociati.ro.

By Tessie Tzavaras Catsambas Founder and CEO/CFO, EnCompass LLC This blog is part of the Eval4Action ‘Walk the Talk’ blog series. The series details six nominated actions for influential evaluation that were contributed during the Walk the Talk drive, held in October 2021. These lessons and reflections inspire greater action for influential evaluation in the Decade of Action. When EvalYouth Global Network, Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation and the UNFPA Evaluation Office announced the Eval4Action campaign, the EnCompass team immediately signed on for three reasons: Evaluation. We believe in the role of evaluation in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leaving no one behind. As Marco Segone (Director, UNFPA Evaluation Office) said in the introductory video for Eval4Action, evaluation is well-positioned to have “the highest multiplier effect on sustainable development.” We agree, as evidenced in EnCompass’ mission: to support organizations through evidence, engagement, and learning to harness their strengths and diversity for sustainable positive impact. Values. Our values of celebrating diversity and co-creation align well with Eval4Action’s values of inclusion and partnership. The focus on action resonates with us as an inclusive invitation to every person and organization to contribute based on their strengths. Youth. Sustainable change must involve young people, because they should have a role in shaping the future that belongs to them and future generations. They bring energy, passion, ideas, confidence, and impatience. Participating in the Eval4Action campaign gave EnCompass the opportunity to focus action on these important values, to see the link between actions already taking place across our company, and to find new ways to support the SDGs. Let me share briefly what we learned through our participation in the Eval4Action campaign: Lesson 1: An openness to younger people opens the mind, invites curiosity, and energizes communities. Young people are invested in the future in a more immediate way than those of us who have been around for a while. Things that older people had to unlearn and or learn later in life, young people know, because they grew up with them. They have instincts informed by that knowledge and fresh ways of seeing possibilities. In action: Hosting a GEDI scholar. For a long time, we hoped to get to a place where we could host a scholar from the American Evaluation Association’s Graduate Evaluation Diversity Initiative (GEDI). In 2020, we were able to host our first GEDI scholar, and hope to continue to be a participating host organization for the programme in the future. Our excitement when we welcomed our first GEDI intern was palpable and the experience was rewarding for all of us. Participating in the Eval4Action campaign gave EnCompass the opportunity to focus action on these important values, to see the link between actions already taking place across our company, and to find new ways to support the SDGs. Lesson 2: Action builds confidence and renews commitment. You can surprise yourself with what your own action can achieve, especially when others are engaging in similar action. You can be inspired by yourself and your colleagues and be optimistic about what is possible, and you can take action to bring that possibility to life. In action: Developing the Gender Transformative Design and Evaluation Learning Programme. EnCompass has been working in gender since the earlier days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and conducted some of the earliest gender-based violence (GBV) research under the United States Agency for International Development’s AIDSTAR One Project. Since then, we have refined and integrated new approaches and tools such as an Appreciative Gender Assessment, the Gender Integration Continuum, the Toolkit for GBV Integration in the Transport Sector, and many others. Inspired by the Eval4Action campaign, we decided to launch a new online learning programme in the EnCompass Learning Center (ELC) that brings together some of the things we have learned over the years. This was harder to organize than you would think; with staff members working all over the world, we had to put in extra effort to make people available for pulling this course together. The result has been rewarding, both because of our own learning, and because of the enthusiastic response by the broader learning community. We have now set new goals for ourselves to expand our gender programme with additional modules such as gender budgeting, gender indicators, integrating LGBTIQ+ communities, and intersectionality with race and ethnicity. Being part of the Eval4Action campaign gave us a lift in these efforts, knowing we are not alone, and fired us up by the shared intensity of commitment to a vision where no one is left behind and our planet is protected and cherished for future generations. Lesson 3: Focusing on and engaging in action becomes a mindset. The focus for action invited participants to turn their good intentions into reality, showing us that we can each contribute toward the SDGs. The motivation and confidence that is built from focused and intentional action develops a new muscle in the brain and the way we approach our work. Yes, we were intentional before, but now, we have become more so. The SDGs offer standards through which we review our broader success and progress, and they call us to tackle complex international development questions in new ways. As a company, we are discussing how to move more effectively toward racial and ethnic equity, how to build more equity and mutuality in our relationships with partners in the countries where we work, and how to enact inclusion inside our company and with our clients’ communities. Being part of the Eval4Action campaign gave us a lift in these efforts, knowing we are not alone, and fired us up by the shared intensity of commitment to a vision where no one is left behind and our planet is protected and cherished for future generations. In action: Volunteering time to support the Eval4Action launch and offering free slots to EvalYouth in ELC classes. The COVID-19 pandemic had just hit when Eval4Action launched, so when in-person regional launches became impossible, EnCompass enthusiastically agreed to host and emcee the online launches. It ended up being a bigger endeavor than anticipated because of the enthusiasm generated by the campaign in every region! For our staff, participating in Eval4Action was one of the most exciting things we were doing, and colleagues eagerly awaited news of each new launch. For those most closely involved in the regional launches, the most exciting part was working closely with EvalYouth leaders in different regions. These EvalYouth leaders brought an unrestrained vision of what was possible, and were undaunted by obstacles. For example, when we wanted to have language interpretation, EvalYouth leaders found volunteers among themselves; they organized group facilitators and preparation meetings, created communication material in different languages, and found quick avenues to disseminate the news. Inspired by these young leaders, EnCompass decided to offer a series of free spots in ELC classes when the regional launches ended, so we could do our small part in supporting this incredible, awesome network called EvalYouth. So, Eval4Action colleagues, what’s next? We have no doubt that EvalYouth will lead the way, and EnCompass is ready to be by their side. Tessie Catsambas has 30 years of experience in planning, evaluation and organizational development. She was the 2019 president of the American Evaluation Association. She is an innovator in appreciative evaluation methods, authored the first published research on appreciative evaluation (Journal for International Health Care Quality, Volume 14, Supplement I, December 2002), and co-authored Reframing Evaluation Through Appreciative Inquiry (Sage Publications 2006). Follow Tessie on Twitter and contact her via tcatsambas@encompassworld.com.

Read updates on the campaign activities and news from partners around the world. If you would like to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up to receive Eval4Action updates here. As an individual advocate or a partner network, if you have news or information to share with the Eval4Action community, please write to contact@eval4action.org.