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.

To step up capacities and networks on evaluation communications, Eval4Action with regional VOPEs and EvalYouth regional chapters, have launched volunteer-driven communication hubs in all seven regions. The hubs comprise of nearly 50 volunteers, with young and emerging evaluators in the lead. The regional communication hubs will provide communication and outreach support to Eval4Action’s global advocacy initiatives. They will also provide communication support to the regional partners to implement the regional evaluation action plan and expand evaluation advocacy at regional, national and grass-root levels. The regional communication hubs were launched following the success of the pilot Asia Pacific Communications (APC) Hub, established in 2020. The APC Hub was initiated by the Asia Pacific Evaluation Association in the context of the Eval4Action campaign, to support regional communication and outreach on influential evaluation. A global meeting to kick off the regional communication hubs took place on 10 March 2022. A communications training for the hubs, based on a needs assessment survey, took place on 25 April 2022. These efforts will help build greater communication capacities among regional evaluation networks and Eval4Action partners, to increase strategic communication, mobilization and advocacy for national evaluation capacities. For further information on the hubs, 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.

The year-end newsletter showcases Eval4Action's progress and achievements in 2021. 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 Ayabulela Dlakavu and Tebogo Fish CLEAR - Anglophone Africa (CLEAR-AA) It is generally accepted that evaluation theory and practice originates from the Global North. These origins mean that evaluation has not escaped neoliberal ideology which dominates the economic, political and social organisation of the developed Global North. Voluntary Organisations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) likewise are a Global North invention, tasked with a mandate of advancing evaluation practice as a vehicle of improving development planning, decision-making, policy and programme formulation and implementation. As with evaluation theory and practice, the form and structure of African VOPEs are also based on the Global North model of national evaluation associations or societies. Having studied and worked with VOPEs in Africa, we are of the view that the unique challenges and barriers faced by VOPEs in developing regions and countries warrant the development of a new VOPE model for the Global South. For instance, African countries generally experience widespread development challenges such as high levels of poverty, unemployment, inequality and political instability. The reality of low demand for evaluation and the limited use of monitoring data by public sector institutions minimizes the effectiveness of interventions aimed at addressing these challenges. The limited human and financial resources dedicated to evaluation practice, as well as monitoring for compliance only, are common challenges that impede the use of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) evidence for decision-making. Therefore, a western VOPE model, which has largely emerged from a context of high demand for evaluations from national and subnational governments, adequate evaluation capacity, funding, as well as citizens’ demand for transparency and accountability of government operations, is not suitable for the African context. An enabling environment, therefore, does not exist for the Global North VOPE model that is stimulated by existing evaluation capacity among practitioners, a significant demand for evaluation from the state, civil society and the citizenry. This Afro-centric evaluative paradigm should therefore drive the indigenisation and innovation in M&E practice on the continent. The macro-environment within which African VOPEs operate is as follows: challenges with regards to evaluation capacity, the nascent nature of evaluation practice (evaluation agenda generally driven by bilateral and multilateral donors/development partners), lack of demand for evaluation from governments and national legislatures, the dominance of performance reporting (monitoring), lack of citizen demand for evaluation (although citizens hold the state accountable in certain procedural and substantive democracies). This context is not similar to the enabling environment present in the Global North. It, therefore, follows that African VOPEs need to be structured in a manner that is responsive to the challenges posed by the macro-environment described above. It is the duty of African VOPEs and evaluators to develop Afro-centric research and evaluation methodologies that will enable the adequate participation of all intended African beneficiaries of development intervention irrespective of race, gender, age and class. There is a need for African VOPEs to build a cadre of evaluators that is able to theorise and apply a nuanced evaluation paradigm that seeks to highlight and address issues relating to high unemployment, poverty, inequality and political instability. An Afro-centric evaluation paradigm should not seek to impose neoliberal ideology such as demanding democratisation but should rather advocate for governance that is responsive to the socio-economic challenges described above. An Afro-centric evaluative paradigm should seek to measure the degree to which development interventions in Africa are able to incrementally address poverty, unemployment and inequality which often trigger political instability in the form of civil unrest, unconstitutional changes in government and revolutions. This Afro-centric evaluative paradigm should therefore drive the indigenisation and innovation in M&E practise on the continent. Scientific revolutions are partly induced by methodological innovation that challenges traditional methods of inquiry. It is the duty of African VOPEs and evaluators to develop Afro-centric research and evaluation methodologies that will enable the adequate participation of all intended African beneficiaries of development intervention irrespective of race, gender, age and class. Afro-centric evaluative methodologies should be routed in indigenous modes of knowledge generation such as storytelling. Furthermore, anthropological methodologies that are routed in participant observation, such as ethnography, should be advanced by African VOPEs and affiliated evaluators. African VOPEs and evaluators have a historic mission of not only charting an independent and alternative evaluative path for Africa, but also defining development indicators that are relevant to the African context. Through such a rigorous and strategic repositioning of African VOPEs and evaluators, national VOPEs will be able to influence policymakers and development practitioners due to an enhanced ability to measure and articulate the development needs and demands of African populations. The African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) has gone in the right direction by placing the Made in Africa Evaluation (MAE) approach at the top of Africa’s evaluation discourse agenda. This MAE paradigm is the Afro-centric evaluation approach that we have advocated for in the preceding section above. Through AfrEA’s advocacy, the macro-environment also presents opportunities for the advancement of Afro-centricity in evaluation scholarships and practice on the continent. It is this African character that will also strengthen Afro-centric conceptualisation of what development should look like in an African socio-economic and political context that has proven that neoliberal socio-economic policy and political systems are not necessarily suited to Africa. African VOPEs and evaluators have a historic mission of not only charting an independent and alternative evaluative path for Africa but also defining development indicators that are relevant to the African context. While VOPEs are central to building strong and sustainable Afro-centric national evaluation systems, other evaluation stakeholders such as governments, evaluation capacity development stakeholders, civil society organisations, and bilateral and multilateral donors/development partners must also play a part. While VOPEs are central to building strong and sustainable Afro-centric national evaluation systems, other evaluation stakeholders such as governments, evaluation capacity development stakeholders, civil society organisations, and bilateral and multilateral donors/development partners must also play a part. Evaluation capacity development (ECD) stakeholders such as the Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results – Anglophone Africa (CLEAR-AA), the Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results – Francophone Africa (CLEAR-FA) and other ECD stakeholders must provide technical and financial assistance to the endeavour of developing Afro-centric evaluation methodologies, working side-by-side with African VOPEs. It is only through an Afro-centric evaluative lens that African evaluators will be able to accurately capture the extent to which this continent has achieved the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, African Union Agenda 2063 and national development plans and visions. This is the intellectual and professional challenge to which African evaluation practitioners must respond. Ayabulela Dlakavu is an M&E practitioner, analyst of public and foreign policy and political economist based at the Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results-Anglophone Africa (CLEAR-AA). He is also a PhD candidate and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg. Ayabulela is also a member of the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA) and African Evaluation Association (AfrEA). Follow Ayabulela on Twitter and LinkedIn. Contact him via ayabulela.dlakavu@wits.ac.za. Tebogo Fish is a researcher working at CLEAR-AA in Johannesburg, South Africa. She holds a Master’s Degree in Research Psychology with research interests in M&E and development issues in Africa. Tebogo is also a member of SAMEA and AfrEA. Follow Tebogo on LinkedIn. Contact her via tebogo.fish1@wits.ac.za.

The Asia Pacific Regional Evaluation Strategy launched by Asia Pacific Evaluation Association, EvalYouth Asia and the Parliamentarians Forum for Development Evaluation – South Asia is implementing eight themes led by volunteers. The eight themes are focused on professionalization of evaluation, partnership, community ownership, strengthening evaluation associations, capacity building of young and emerging evaluators, engaging parliamentarians, promoting national evaluation policies and systems and use of evaluation for delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. Four thematic groups involved with the strategy implementation have released resource materials and a survey report that will help to further professionalize evaluation and promote national evaluation policies and systems. These resource materials were released as part of the Eval4Action Walk The Talk video drive, as a concrete action to advance influential evaluation. The resource materials are available for free use. Professionalization of evaluation Competency framework for evaluators Pathway for assessment of competencies of evaluators Career mentor guide: Case of career development in monitoring and evaluation Using evaluation to report on the SDGs A Guide: Use of evaluation for SDG monitoring and reporting Promoting national evaluation policies and systems Study on the status of national evaluation policies and systems in the Asia Pacific 2021 For further details, please contact apea.coordinator@gmail.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.

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 Stefano D’Errico International Institute for Environment and Development In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and soon after, in December that year, countries signed the Paris Agreement on climate change. Seven years later, the world has changed dramatically. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit economies and health systems across countries, while the climate emergency has caused environmental disruption and hazards threatening our existence on the planet. It is worth asking ourselves whether the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become unreachable targets and whether the 2030 Agenda gives us the right tools to tackle the massive challenges ahead. This blog looks at SDG 2 on ending hunger as an example of the challenges that are currently affecting follow-up and review processes of the SDGs and proposes a few ideas on how evaluation could help to overcome them. Statistics without evaluation There is no doubt that so far the most significant result achieved by the 2030 Agenda is the production of sustainable development data. Many countries, regional and international organizations are reporting impressive efforts to further develop their statistical capacity; and the number of monitoring platforms reporting sustainable development indicators is growing exponentially. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same about sustainable development evaluation. So far, only three countries – Costa Rica, Finland and Nigeria - have attempted to assess their national policies and programmes against the principles of the 2030 Agenda. Apart from political will, there are some practical challenges to evaluating sustainable development. Defining the evaluand is often the first stumbling block that evaluation commissioners need to tackle. The guidebook Evaluation to connect national priorities with the SDGs (D’Errico S. et al 2019) provides guidance on how to choose the scope by presenting the practical experience of Costa Rica, Finland and Nigeria. The second challenge relates to assessing the effects of policies and programmes across the different areas of sustainable development. How can evaluators conduct a meaningful inquiry and keep the exercise feasible at the same time? So far, only three countries – Costa Rica, Finland and Nigeria - have attempted to assess their national policies and programmes against the principles of the 2030 Agenda. Ending hunger: an example Let’s look more closely at one of the goals: SDG 2, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture. The UN Food System Summit that took place in July 2021 and the current estimates suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on how people access nutritious food. The pandemic has exacerbated an already alarming situation. In the last three years, the numbers of chronically malnourished people have grown to 821 million, while two billion people have been experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity. In the near future, the number of malnourished people may increase by over 130 million because of the COVID-19 crisis. Undernutrition often coexists with overweight and obesity, which are growing in all regions of the world. It is currently estimated that at least 2.28 billion adults and children are overweight. This explosive mix has been referred to as the double burden of malnutrition. The irony is that in the world there is enough food to feed 10 billion people. But the food system is under pressure from many stresses, among them: population and income growth, unsustainable agricultural expansion and production which erodes soil productivity and threatens forests, and increasing demand for animal-sourced products (IPCC chapter 5 on food security). To evaluate food security policies and programmes, we should look at food systems from the perspectives of those left behind. But policymaking narratives have often failed to include access to affordable food for low income urban and rural consumers (Cecilia Tacoli, Bill Vorley, 2015). The global debate has usually prioritised agricultural production and access to global value chains for smallholders and other producers instead of focusing on consumption, access to affordable food and sustainable agriculture. To evaluate food security policies and programmes, we should look at food systems from the perspectives of those left behind. As suggested by SDG 2 targets and by the literature on the topic, the adoption of sustainable agriculture and access to affordable food is critical to the achievement of other goals. Lessons from previous programmes and research suggest that the promotion of sustainable agriculture is key for a number of SDGs and indicators, including SDG 13 (to take urgent action to tackle climate change) and SDG 15 (to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems). Access to affordable food is key for achieving SDG 1 (to end poverty in all its form everywhere); SDG 3 (to ensure healthy lives and promote well-​being for all at all ages); and SDG 11 (to make cities and human settlements inclusive, resilient and sustainable). The good news is that the statisticians have developed useful indicators to track food prices, the presence of subsidies favouring export and the adoption of sustainable agriculture. However, while the two indicators related to consumption have an international methodology and data, the indicator tracking adoption for sustainable agriculture is still classified as tier II, which means that despite the presence of an internationally recognised methodology, data currently does not exist (SDG indicator 2.4.1). What can evaluation teach us? This lack of monitoring data shouldn’t leave us in despair, in fact, that’s where evaluation can help through a holistic assessment of food systems and their impacts on other SDGs by investigating the foundations of sustainable development (see figure 1). Figure 1: The foundations of sustainable development SDG evaluation looking at food security from the perspective of people living in poverty and exclusion can help shed light on a number of goals, and identify lessons to promote sustainable practices for food production and affordable access to food. Evaluation can fill the monitoring gap by triangulating and debating different sources of evidence. Unlike monitoring, which relies on a limited number of indicators, evaluation can look more in-depth at the coherence of policies and programmes aiming to encourage affordable sustainable agriculture. It can also draw on the knowledge of sector experts and local communities. Furthermore, to be faithful to the 2030 Agenda principles, SDG evaluation should be an opportunity to give voice to local communities who can use it as an opportunity to demand their rights to food and agroecology. SDG evaluation looking at food security from the perspective of people living in poverty and exclusion can help shed light on a number of goals, and identify lessons to promote sustainable practices for food production and affordable access to food. Most importantly a participatory evaluation can be a learning opportunity where ministries and organizations working on different issues can all learn together how to manage trade-offs between sectors and build synergies for a more sustainable and equitable future. Stefano D’Errico is head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). He is the lead author of the guidebook, Evaluation to connect national priorities with the SDGs: a guide for evaluation commissioners and managers. Follow Stefano on Twitter or contact him via email at stefano.derrico@iied.org. If you are interested to know more about food security, follow the new blog series recently launched by IIED.

What is Eval4Action Walk the Talk? The Eval4Action Walk the Talk drive is a platform to showcase ACTIONS you have taken by October 2021 and their RESULTS, to accelerate influential evaluation to support equitable and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Why is Eval4Action Walk the Talk important? At the Eval4Action Commitment Drive in October 2020, 125 commitments were made to accelerate action for influential evaluation. It’s now time to showcase the delivery of these voluntary promises. All actions for influential evaluation (even those without a prior commitment) are vital to get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In line with Eval4Action objectives, this initiative hopes to inspire the evaluation community and beyond to energize evaluation advocacy at all levels, to move from promises to action and to motivate others to do the same. Learn more Who should join the Eval4Action Walk the Talk? EVERYONE. Whether you are a VOPE, evaluation professional, young and emerging evaluator, parliamentarian, government, evaluation user, academic, supporting the achievement of the SDGs and the advancement of influential evaluation in any way, you are invited to join the drive. If you made a commitment at the Commitment Drive, join Walk the Talk to show the world how you delivered your promise. If you did not make a commitment, you can join the drive too by showcasing your action. How can you get prepared? 1. Take action now Now is the opportune time to take new actions and/or accelerate your existing actions for influential evaluation. In September 2021, record a 1-minute video showcasing actions you have already taken (not actions you plan to take in the future) and their results as far as possible. In October 2021, post your video on Twitter during the drive. There is no limit to the number of videos you can post. The videos can be in any language. Read the video guide for a few tips. 2. Raise the momentum on Walk the Talk Start mobilizing your networks! If you are a global Eval4Action partner, mobilize your regional and national networks and other partners... If you are a regional Eval4Action partner, mobilize other regional stakeholders and national partners... If you are a national Eval4Action partner, mobilize your members, young and emerging evaluators, government counterparts and other actors... If you are an individual Eval4Action supporter, share this information with your networks... ...and invite them all to take action NOW to accelerate influential evaluation and post videos on their actions and results during the Walk the Talk drive in October 2021. For further information, read the FAQ sheet. Access the communications pack to prepare your contribution video for the Walk the Talk drive. It also includes communication assets to promote the drive. If you have questions, please reach out 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.

The fourth Eval4Action sub-regional consultation was held in East and South East Asia on 25 June 2021, marking one year of the launch of the Eval4Action campaign in the Asia Pacific. The consultation was organized by MONEV Studio, Indonesian Development Evaluation Community, Philippines Evaluators for Development, Mongolian Evaluation Network in partnership with Asia Pacific Evaluation Association, EvalYouth Asia, SPINE and the Asia Pacific Communication Hub. At the consultation, eight commitments were made by evaluation stakeholders to accelerate influential evaluation. The consultation concluded with specific actions required to strengthen national evaluation capacities, such as: Promote National Evaluation Policies and use of evaluation in national policy making Capacity building of evaluators and governments in the region in order to conduct evaluations on the issues of national importance Support the academia to develop and conduct M&E courses Enhance country-led evaluations by increasing the ownership and involvement of local partners These prioritized actions will shape the development of a sub-regional evaluation action plan. The speakers at the event included Benedictus Dwiagus Stepantoro (Chair, InDEC), Iwan Febryanto (Head, Social Outreach and Capacity Building, MONEV Studio), Marco Segone (Director, UNFPA Evaluation Office), Gabriela Renteria Flores (Chair, EvalYouth Global Network), Andrea Cook (Co-chair, EvalPartners) and Dorothy Mae Albiento (Co-leader, EvalYouth Asia). This consultation, together with the sub-regional consultation in South Asia, have ushered in a new phase of evaluation advocacy in the region which is enhancing local action for influential evaluation. For further details, watch the consultation recording.

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.

On 16 June 2021, the Eval4Action third sub-regional consultation was held in South Asia to accelerate influential evaluation to support the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This sub-regional consultation is a follow up to the Eval4Action Asia regional consultation held in June 2020. The consultation provided a platform to VOPE leaders, evaluators, parliamentarians, public officials, young and emerging evaluators and other stakeholders to discuss evaluation priorities that can support the achievement of the SDGs in South Asia. The priorities emerging from the sub-regional consultation will input to the South Asian evaluation action plan for SDG delivery. The main priorities emerging from the consultation include: Ensure timely delivery of SDGs in South Asia through robust M&E systems Ensure use of evidence in Voluntary National Reviews Enhance communication of evaluation results to promote the use of evaluation Strengthen capacities and competencies of evaluators The consultation was organized by the Community of Evaluators–South Asia (CoE-SA) in partnership with the Eval4Action campaign. The speakers at the event included Chelladurai Solomon (Chairperson, CoE-SA), AK Shiva Kumar (Development Economist and Policy Advisor, India), Marco Segone (Director, UNFPA Evaluation Office), Gabriela Renteria Flores (Chair, EvalYouth Global Network), Sonal Zaveri (Board Member, CoE-SA), Jigmi Rinzin (former Member of Parliament, Bhutan) and Antony Cyriac (Deputy Director General, NITI Aayog India). For further details, watch the sub-regional consultation recording.

In full alignment with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Decade of Action, the Decade of EVALUATION for Action (Eval4Action) is mobilizing all stakeholders to scale up action for influential evaluation to support the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDG Good Practice Initiative by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), has recognized Eval4Action’s evaluation advocacy as a SDG Good Practice. The specific Eval4Action initiatives selected as a SDG Good Practice include: Regional advocacy to accelerate action towards influential evaluation to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda The regional advocacy kickstarted by the seven regional consultations has paved the way for sub-regional and national consultations to mobilize local action for influential evaluation. Learn more Co-creation of the first regional evaluation strategy in the Asia Pacific to accelerate the progress towards the achievement of the SDGs The implementation of the strategy is underway. Any organization or entity can also use and implement the strategy based on their resources. Learn more More about the SDG Good Practice Initiative: In the second open call for SDG Good Practices, success stories and lessons learned, more than 700 submissions were reviewed by a team of experts from United Nations entities. The results are available in an online database of more than 450 SDG good practices from all over the world, that are implemented by governments and stakeholders from different sectors and address the 17 SDGs.

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.