The year-end newsletter showcases Eval4Action's progress and achievements in 2020. 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.

Eval4Action partners in Asia Pacific have launched the regional evaluation strategy in order to advance the use of influential evaluation in the region toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. The strategy was launched during the ongoing EvalVision Asia events. This is the first regional strategy among Eval4Action partners, emerging as a follow up to the Eval4Action regional consultation held in the Asia Pacific on 25 June 2020. The consultative strategy development process was led by Asia Pacific Evaluation Association, EvalYouth Asia and the Parliamentarians Forum for Development Evaluation. Following the regional consultation, a committee and an advisory group were established comprising of VOPEs, young and emerging evaluators, parliamentarians, evaluation network leaders, business community and development partners that contributed to the strategy development. The regional evaluation strategy is focused on advancing eight areas: professionalizing evaluation; building partnerships to strengthen evaluation capacity; strengthen community engagement in evaluation; promoting young and emerging evaluators; strengthening VOPEs; engaging parliamentarians for demand and use of evaluation; promoting national evaluation policies and systems and using evaluation in reporting of the SDGs. The strategy does not belong to any particular organization. Rather any organization or entity can use and implement the strategy based on their resources. Eval4Action regional partners will continue to coordinate partnerships and synergies in the implementation of the strategy. Check out the regional evaluation strategy and its related presentations. For further information, please email apea.secretariat@gmail.com

Eval4Action regional partners in Asia Pacific, have launched EvalVision Asia, a series of events to celebrate the regional evaluation communities' accomplishments in 2020 and to plan for 2021. EvalVision Asia is led by Asia Pacific Evaluation Association, EvalYouth Asia, the Parliamentarians Forum for Development Evaluation - South Asia, and supported by the Asia Pacific Communication Hub. EvalVision Asia takes place from 10 to 22 December 2020. EvalVision Asia will also mark the release of key evaluation resources such as the launch of the regional evaluation strategy emerging from the Eval4Action regional consultation process, including the launch of the evaluation professionalization network with other regions. The details of the various events at EvalVision Asia are as follows: 10 December 2020 Launch of Asia Pacific regional evaluation strategy 11 December 2020 Asia Pacific regional dialogue on national evaluation policies and systems | Register 15 December 2020 Launch of Inter-Regional Initiative for Professionalization of Evaluation (IRIPE) and webinar on competencies for evaluators | Details | Register 18 December 2020 Webinar on introduction to the guide on use of evaluation for SDGs implementation, monitoring and reporting | Details | Register 19 December 2020 APEA General Assembly (for APEA members) 21 December 2020 First anniversary of EvalYouth Sri Lanka | Details | Register 22 December 2020 Launch of evaluation products following the regional strategy: Guide on use of evaluation for SDGs implementation, monitoring and reporting Virtual training course on managing evaluations Competencies for evaluators and guide for assessment Training module on career development in M&E, together with mentors' guide See the events flyer. To add all events directly to your google calendar, click here. Please reach out to apea.secretariat@gmail.com with any questions.

The Eval4Action sixth regional consultation will take place in Africa on 19 December 2020, organized by African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) and AfrEA YEE Network, in partnership with the UNFPA Evaluation Office, the EvalYouth Global Network, African Parliamentarians’ Network on Development Evaluation (APNODE) and Réseau Francophone de l'Evaluation (RFE). The regional consultation seeks to provide a platform for regional and national evaluators (and all interested stakeholders) to discuss synergy and partnerships to promote influential evaluations for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Made in Africa Evaluation (MAE). The event also marks the launch of Eval4Action in Africa. UPDATE: The regional consultation recording is available here. For further information, please reach out to afreayee@gmail.com

The fifth Eval4Action regional consultation will take place in Eurasia on 16 December 2020 on the theme “Promoting Evaluation in the World of Uncertainty”. The event is organized by the Eurasian Alliance for National Evaluation Associations and the EvalYouth Network in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EvalYouth ECA). The consultation seeks to provide a platform to regional and national evaluators and other stakeholders in the region to strengthen partnership and dialogue towards influential evaluation, in the context of COVID-19 and the Sustainable Development Goals. The speakers at the regional consultation include Dmytro Kondratenko (Chairman of the Coordination Council of Eurasian Alliance of National Evaluation Associations); Antonina Rishko-Porcescu (Co-chair, EvalYouth ECA); Natalia Nikitenko (Member of Parliament, Kyrgyzstan); Iryna Kravchuk (Ukrainian Evaluation Association) and Eval4Action co-leaders, Khalil Bitar (Chair, EvalYouth Global Network) and Marco Segone (Director, UNFPA Evaluation Office). Watch the event invitation video in Russian. The video invite in English is available below. UPDATE: The regional consultation recording is available here. For further details, please write to dmytro.kondratenko@gmail.com

The Asia Pacific regional dialogue on national evaluation policies and systems will be virtually held on 11 December 2020 from 11.00-14.00 IST. The event is jointly organized by Asia Pacific Evaluation Association, EvalYouth Asia and the Parliamentarians Forum for Development Evaluation - South Asia with support from UNFPA Asia Pacific Regional Office. Strengthening national evaluation policies and systems (NEPS) is one of the eight themes of the Asia Pacific Regional Evaluation Strategy, that was developed as a follow up to the Eval4Action consultation in the region in June 2020. The event seeks to accelerate NEPS in the region, while building upon the South Asia regional consultation (in 2014) and Asia Pacific regional consultation (in 2016) on this theme. The virtual forum will include insights from NEPS specialists, short technical sessions and presentations from countries that are preparing for NEPS. Watch the address by Marco Segone (Director, UNFPA Evaluation Office) at the event, detailing the importance of national evaluation policies & systems in the SDGs era. For additional information, contact apea.secretariat@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.

By Michelle Ruiz Valdes Independent consultant, Member of the National Academy of Evaluators of Mexico (ACEVAL) In our practice, we are often faced with serious challenges in evaluating interventions in increasingly complex and uncertain contexts. A case in point is what we are experiencing at the beginning of this decade, the Decade of Action coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although evaluation criteria framework of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is seen as one of the key evaluation benchmarks (that were recently updated in an inclusive process), we need today – perhaps more than any other time - methodologies that can guide evaluators on how to apply the criteria to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To manage complexity, we also need guidelines to identify the social, environmental and economic results of actions undertaken to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Complementing the DAC criteria with the principles of the 2030 Agenda While the 2030 Agenda explicitly states the need to develop effective, efficient, sustainable, and impactful interventions, it does not detail how DAC criteria can be articulated within the guidelines of the universal development agenda. In response, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Mexico has proposed a matrix that incorporates the DAC criteria (vertically) and the principles of the 2030 Agenda (horizontally). See Figure 1 below. Figure 1. Complementary approach - DAC Criteria with the principles of the 2030 Agenda Source: Adapted from El enfoque de la Agenda 2030 en planes y programas públicos en México (2019, p. 61). Incorporating the co-benefits approach The Government of Mexico, in cooperation with the Government of Germany, has coordinated studies that take into account the co-benefits approach in the efforts to articulate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the Paris Agreement for Climate Change. The co-benefit approach is a win-win strategy that assesses the direct, indirect and multi-directional outcomes of a single policy, measure or action (for more information, see Akiko Miyatsuka and Eric Zusman, What are Co-benefits? 2010). From a sustainable perspective, the results should have social, environmental and economic dimensions and benefits. Based on Spinning the Web: The Co-benefits Approach to an Integrated Implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement in Mexico, a catalogue of criteria and co-benefits is proposed for evaluating interventions to ensure sustainable dimensions. See Figure 2 below. Figure 2. A multidimensional approach - Catalogue of criteria and co-benefits Source: Author’s elaboration based on Spinning the Web (2018, p. 24 and 35). This catalogue allows evaluating the interrelation between two agendas such as the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement on Climate Change at the national level in Mexico. Through the use of strategic planning tools, actors from different sectors share their knowledge, skills, and experiences to forecast future scenarios that explain what benefits result from this integration in a real life situation. Such knowledge, skills, and experiences have the potential to generate joint identification of necessary integrality conditions (norms, practices and incentives), and give recommendations or practical guidelines to try to achieve the potential scenarios in the short, medium and long terms. Weaving bridges between experiences: Practical tips Taking into account experiences presented above, it is important to understand that actions are not spontaneous. It is necessary to develop competencies that empower sustainability-oriented Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs). For this, I propose an approach based on involving actors to work together to clarify realities and communicate the potential benefits of including voices of sustainability-oriented YEEs in methodological approaches during the Decade of Action. This includes undertaking an action oriented approach, as detailed in Figure 3. Figure 3. Action oriented approach Source: Author’s own elaboration. - Articulate: Complement criteria with approaches that promote the integration of sustainable development (policy coherence for sustainable development, co-benefits, human rights, gender, among others). - Communicate: Disseminate the results of the actions under the principle of “leaving no one behind” and the benefits obtained from involving actors both in the development of strategies and methodological tools and in their application. - Translate: Adapt strategies and methodological tools relevant to the capacities of actors and to the regional, national, subnational and local contexts. This also means, as Spinning the Web indicates, to “translate the results […] into practical guidelines, for public officials in relevant sectors” (2018, p. 35) and for other actors, because the sustainable development implies the co-responsibility of all at different levels. - Involve: Encourage collaboration between actors and sectors to recognize and strengthen capacities, identify needs and prioritize actions (hard or soft) based on potential social, environmental and economic co-benefits and in the short, medium and long terms to "leave no one behind” . - Own: Give meaning to the elements of the 2030 Agenda through the prospection of potential scenarios in the short, medium and long terms and, develop competencies for a coherent adoption of its principles in our practices. - Nuance: Show that the results of actions are not subject to binary judgements; these can be positive, negative, inhibitory, catalytic, collateral and unconscious or unexpected. Under a co-benefits approach, the results of an action can be very different both between dimensions and within them. The usefulness of this approach is that it could encourage complementarity with the global agenda and, in the same way, it calls for integrated actions in the short, medium, and long terms. The paths to action are neither homogeneous nor linear; they depend on how evaluators define their role as “agents of change”, “promoters of sustainability” and, for those starting an evaluative practice, as "sustainability-oriented YEEs.” To define ourselves as evaluators in the complex world of a comprehensive global development agenda, it is important that in our work we acquire the competencies to promote approaches and methodologies that do not replace the past ones, but complement them and provide feedback on what has already been built to influence the actions of the present and the changes of the future. Figure 4. Competency approach Source: Author’s own elaboration based on the Eval4Action logo and Education for Sustainable Development Goals: Learning objectives (2017, p. 10). Michelle Ruiz Valdes has a BA in International Relations and a Masters in international Development Cooperation. She worked as a consultant for the Dr. José María Luis Mora Research Institute and UNDP Mexico. She currently works as an independent consultant and is a member of the National Academy of Evaluators of Mexico (ACEVAL). Follow Michelle on Twitter and LinkedIn or contact via michrv9228@gmail.com.

The 5th EvalYouth Virtual Conferenc, organized by EvalYouth Task Force III, took place on 21 November 2020 on the theme "Evaluation for Transformation and Social Change". The event was attended by about 170 participants. The virtual conference aimed to build the evaluation capabilities of young and emerging evaluators, and at the same time provide a relevant forum for the evaluation community and interested professionals at large. The conference included contributions from prominent thought leaders, scholars, and experts in the evaluation field including Marco Segone, Andrea Cook, Rakesh Mohan, Alison Evans, Donna Mertens, Thomas Archibald, Michele Tarsilla, Florencia Tateossian, Jyotsna Puri, and others. The conference also marked the 5th anniversary of the EvalYouth Global Network. The event concluded with the announcement of the first EvalYouth 'Transformative Evaluator' Award that was received by Marco Segone and Michael Quinn Patton. Real time translation in Arabic, French, Spanish and Russian were available at the virtual conference. The event recording can be viewed in five languages: English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Russian. Event programme

To achieve the SDGs by 2030, innovative and influential M&E practices that capture progress and learning in complex change processes are critical. Towards this end, ACEVAL, the Mexican Evaluation Society, with support from EvalPartners’ Flagship Program and Eval4Action campaign, launched a competition to identify and disseminate innovative M&E practices for the SDGs in Mexico and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. This initiative seeks to contribute to knowledge exchange, capacity building in M&E and increased visibility to the region's contributions to the practice of evaluation at the subnational, national, and regional levels. The competition received 20 practices from six countries (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Nicaragua) including from a variety of organizations (subnational and national governments, NGOs, CSOs, foundations, academia, consulting firms and an international organization). These practices were evaluated based on their relevance, clarity, methodological rigor, innovation and use. The winners of the award were announced on 18 November 2020. The jury was composed of evaluation experts from UNDP, EvalYouth LAC and the University of Guadalajara. The winners in each category are as follows: 1. Participatory, gender and/or human rights approaches for monitoring and evaluating the SDGs Winner: “Evaluability Strategy for Sustainable Development”, State Government of Yucatán, Mexico Honorary mention: ”Indicator 5.a.2 for the Agenda 2030: A methodology to help countries monitor and report on progress in protecting women's land rights”, FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean 2. Evaluations of an intervention that contributes to one or more SDGs, finalized in 2018 or later Winner: Municipal Evaluation "How We Are Doing, Mayor?”, Cómo Vamos Nuevo León, Mexico 3. Evaluations of the contribution of an organization, a sector or a government towards one or more SDGs, finalized in 2018 or later Winner: "Strategic Evaluation of National Climate Change Policy at Subnational Level", National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change, Mexico 4. Planning, monitoring and evaluation systems for the SDGs under implementation Winner: “Sustainable Monitoring and Evaluation System 2030”, State Government of Yucatán, Mexico Additional details are available in the (Spanish) video below. For further information, please write to eval.sdg@aceval.org

How is Eval4Action contributing to accelerate the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including during the COVID-19 crisis? How are young evaluators involved in Eval4Action? Why is it important to build national evaluation capacities to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs? In the latest edition of the #EvalCrisis podcast, listen to Eval4Action co-leaders, Marco Segone (Director, UNFPA Evaluation Office) and Khalil Bitar (Chair, EvalYouth Global Network), answer these questions and more. Evaluation provides decision makers with evidence and lessons showing what solutions work and what did not work, why, for whom and under what circumstances. Decision makers should use this knowledge to inform the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and get back on track to achieve the SDGs. In this pursuit, the Eval4Action campaign invites all stakeholders to commit and advocate for influential evaluation and stronger evaluation capacities and evidence-based policies. As Marco Segone says, it is up to each of us to accelerate the realization of the SDGs. The podcast is part of the broader Evaluation in Crisis initiative, led by EU-DEVCO and the Evaluation Support Service.

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.

Sri Lanka Evaluation Association, an Eval4Action partner and the Institute for Participatory Interaction in Development have jointly initiated a mentorship and career development programme for young and emerging evaluators in Sri Lanka. As part of this programme, senior professionals in the private sector will mentor emerging monitoring and evaluation professionals for three months. This initiative expands career opportunities for emerging evaluators and creates a platform for them to network with other senior monitoring and evaluation professionals. This effort is part of Sri Lanka Evaluation Association’s efforts to professionalize the evaluation function in the country by developing a cadre of evaluation professionals that can deliver high quality evaluation. These efforts are critical to build stronger evaluation capacities to support the acceleration of the SDGs in Sri Lanka. To register for this opportunity, fill this form For details contact, sleva.coordinator@gmail.com

The fourth Eval4Action regional consultation will take place in Europe on 21 October 2020 at 9 am EDT, 3 pm CEST. The event is organised by the European Evaluation Society (EES), the Network of Evaluation Societies in Europe (NESE) and EvalYouth Europe. This event will mark the launch of the Eval4Action campaign in Europe. The consultation will include interactive sessions to bring together diverse ideas and voices that will shape the regional evaluation agenda to accelerate the achievement of SDGs in the region. The speakers at the regional consultation include Daniele Lamarque (President, EES), Vlatko Danilov (Chair, Advisory Board, NESE), Alena Lappo (Chair, EvalYouth Europe) and Eval4Action co-leaders, Khalil Bitar (Chair, EvalYouth Global Network) and Marco Segone (Director, UNFPA Evaluation Office). Read EES’s latest blog for details on the consultation. UPDATE: The regional consultation recording is available here. For any questions, please email secretariat@europeanevaluation.org

The third Eval4Action regional consultation will take place in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) on 1 October 2020 at 8 am (Mexico City), 10 am (Buenos Aires) and 9 am EDT. The interactive event is organized by the Monitoring, Evaluation and Systematization Network of Latin America and the Caribbean (ReLAC), EvalYouth LAC, UNFPA LACRO and FOCELAC. The event also marks the launch of the Eval4Action campaign in LAC, following which the campaign partners will drive a participatory process to create a shared regional evaluation agenda to accelerate the achievement of SDGs in the region. The speakers at the regional consultation include Marco Segone (Director, UNFPA Evaluation Office), Josette Arevalo (EvalYouth, Vice Chair), Silvia Salinas (ReLAC Coordinator, IOCE President), Florita Azofeifa (Evaluation Manager, MIDEPLAN) and Harold Robinson (Regional Director, UNFPA LAC). UPDATE: Access the consultation report (En, Sp), a short article (En, Sp, Pt), infographic on the consultation (En, Sp, Pt) and its deliberations (En, Sp, Pt). The regional consultation recording is available here. For any questions, please email evalyouthlac@gmail.com

The first Eval4Action regional consultation took place in the Asia Pacific region on 25 June 2020. This interactive event with over 170 participants led to rich discussions on actions required to strengthen evaluation in the region towards the achievement of the SDGs. As a follow up to the consultation, Asia Pacific Evaluation Association (APEA), EvalYouth Asia and the Parliamentarians Forum for Development Evaluation established a committee and an advisory group to develop a Regional Evaluation Strategy based on inputs received at the consultation. The committee includes VOPEs, young and emerging evaluators, parliamentarians, evaluation network leaders, business community and development partners. The committee further engaged with stakeholders and potential partners to co-create the draft Regional Evaluation Strategy around eight themes. The eight themes are: Professionalizing evaluation Building partnerships to strengthen evaluation capacity Strengthen community engagement in evaluation Promoting Young and Emerging Evaluators Strengthening VOPEs Engaging parliamentarians for demand and use of evaluation Promoting national evaluation policies and systems Using evaluation in reporting of SDGs The draft Strategy will be presented to stakeholders in the region on 9 October 2020 and will be finalized with their inputs. A regional coalition will be developed to implement the Strategy to advance the evaluation agenda in the region towards the achievement of the SDGs. If you would like to provide inputs to the draft Asia Pacific Regional Evaluation Strategy, read the flyer for more information. Register for the event here. For further information please contact apea.secretariat@gmail.com and evalyouth.asia@gmail.com. Follow @APEAeval and @EvalyouthAsia on Twitter! Read more about Eval4Action regional consultations here.

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 Clement Mensah Consultant, Independent Development Evaluation, African Development Bank On 18 July 2020, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, in an address delivered in honour of Nelson Mandela International Day, bemoaned the growing global inequalities, charging world leaders to step up action in order to realize the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed, various reports – including Oxfam’s Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index 2018, World Inequality Lab’s World Inequality Report 2018, and the Bill and Melinda Gates’ Goalkeepers Examining Inequality 2019 – have similarly raised alarms about growing inequalities in the areas of income, gender, and access to social services and more. Besides, subnational inequalities between rural and urban areas or regions are also widening. For example, northern territories in West African countries such as Benin, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire are poorer compared to their southern counterparts. Unsurprisingly, the onset of the novel COVID-19 pandemic has come to exacerbate territorial inequalities. For example, a territorial assessment of the impact of the pandemic in some OECD countries revealed a disproportionate health and economic impact on poor urban areas and regions[1]. This clearly exposes the huge regional development disparities that exist within countries. And in some countries, these disparities have persisted for decades, with national development agendas favouring some people and places over others. Unsurprisingly, the onset of the novel COVID-19 pandemic has come to exacerbate territorial inequalities. Indeed, these territorial inequalities don’t just happen. They are the result of non-inclusive policies, weak institutional arrangements, and poor development governance processes including how governments set national policy priorities. This certainly calls for a rethink of regional development policies with broader national development agendas. But, do these rising regional inequalities mean anything for development evaluation? Can evaluators – through their evaluations – inform better regional development policies? I dare say yes! Territorial inequalities don’t just happen. They are the result of non-inclusive policies, weak institutional arrangements, and poor development governance processes. Leveraging the power of development evaluation In July 2019, I remotely participated in a side event jointly organized by EVALSDGs, UNICEF and UNITAR during the 2019 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The event, which had a mix of senior evaluators and policy-makers as panellists, discussed pertinent issues regarding the evaluation imperatives for a successful implementation of the SDGs at the country level. What actually stood out for me though was a terse discussion on the power of evaluation. Not only did the panellists reinforce the accountability-promoting function of evaluations, but they also talked about how evaluation lessons could be leveraged to shape and bring about improvements in government policies and development interventions in general. And that for governments and their development partners, investing more in evaluation is a win-win for better inclusive development policies. Hence, I believe the development evaluation community stands in a very good position to help governments and development partners design as well as implement the right policies and interventions using the most effective institutional arrangements and processes so as to correct these growing subnational inequalities. Of course, by the nature of their work, evaluators do not have the luxury of choosing which interventions to evaluate. But as a community, they can be a critical force in shaping conversations and debates on topical developmental issues including for instance, pointing out areas where evidence is lacking regarding what works and what doesn’t in the fight against regional development inequalities. Evaluators do not have the luxury of choosing which interventions to evaluate. But as a community, they can be a critical force in shaping conversations and debates on topical developmental issues. How can the evaluation community be a part of the solution? There are a number of ways by which the evaluation community can help governments tackle growing inequalities. First, a renewed evaluation agenda that specifically targets territorially-focused inclusive development policies and interventions is needed. There is a dearth of evidence on the effectiveness of regional development policies – especially in developing countries – even though many countries continue to try out place-based and regional policies aimed at revitalizing historically disadvantaged territories. Stepping up evaluation efforts in this regard is crucial. Of course, such an agenda should also prioritize the policy-making design processes and development structures. For example, as part of country-focused evaluations, it may be vital to examine how national policy priority setting happens. Also, in some countries, meso-level, territorially-focused development authorities have been established to augment traditional local government structures. We need to understand whether such parallel arrangements are more effective in addressing subnational inequalities or otherwise. Second, we need to develop new tools for measuring efforts towards leaving no place behind. For governments and development partners alike, having in place some form of validation tools that are able to flag how their policies and programmes are sensitive to regional disparities in-country is important. Specific to multilateral development banks (MDBs), including a specific benchmark in validation tools – in addition to other thematic areas such as gender and green growth – can help flag whether a country support programme adequately guarantees equitable regional development. By doing this, evaluation offices will afford MDBs the opportunity to have a deliberate approach to addressing subnational inequalities. Developing complementary tools specifically dedicated to tracking and measuring governments efforts and or readiness to bridging territorial disparities is key. In addition, tools such as the multidimensional poverty index continue to provide useful insights into subnational patterns in the area of poverty for example. But developing complementary tools specifically dedicated to tracking and measuring governments efforts and or readiness to bridging territorial disparities is key. By nature, regional development programmes are complex and so is their evaluation. Having some sort of an index or dashboard with a granular insight into in-country disparities is a good start. Such tool can be comparable across countries. One of the benefits of such a tool is that it will elevate issues of subnational disparities and demonstrate how governments across the world are addressing them, allowing for sharing of best practice. Third, there is a need to build evaluation capacities for regional development. This may include the development and dissemination of contemporary guidelines for conducting evaluations for regional development policies and programmes. In addition, deepening regional development-evaluation dialogues using platforms such as a community of practice may be helpful. These recommendations are not exhaustive but provide good entry points for the development evaluation community to proactively engage in discourses on subnational inequalities. But, this cannot happen without the support of governments themselves. It is only in such collaborative spirit that the development evaluation community can support them win the inequality battle and eventually make significant strides towards leaving no place behind by 2030. [1] OECD. 2020. The territorial impact of COVID-19: Managing the crisis across levels of government. https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/view/?ref=128_128287-5agkkojaaa&title=The-territorial-impact-of-covid-19-managing-the-crisis-across-levels-of-government Clement Mensah is a researcher and an emerging evaluator currently working as a consultant with the Independent Development Evaluation Unit of the African Development Bank. He is a member of the South African Monitoring & Evaluation Association and a doctoral candidate at the Institute for Social Development, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Follow Clement on Twitter and LinkedIn or contact via mcashine@gmail.com.

By Jayathma Wickramanayake United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth In recent years, ‘youth’ has become a bit of a buzzword in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – this is great, of course, but too often the involvement of young people is limited to one-off consultations or being tasked with the responsibilities of implementation without any follow up. As the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, promoting youth-led accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is at the core of my mandate, along with ensuring that young people are included in all phases of our work – from allocating budgets, designing programmes, monitoring implementation and critically reviewing progress. Although championing the critical involvement of youth is part of my professional mission, it is also my genuine belief that the only way to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is if all partners work towards it as equal partners. Achieving the 2030 Agenda with and for young people Youth are recognized as torchbearers for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [1] Currently our world is the youngest it has ever been, with over 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24. The success or failure in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will directly affect the empowerment and opportunities of this generation of young people, the majority of whom call the global south their home; close to 90 per cent. Even though they are undoubtedly the generation most impacted by the delivery of the 2030 Agenda, young people are not passively waiting for change to happen. They are taking matters into their own hands; leading initiatives in their communities, countries and at the global level to advance, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the SDGs. Not only is the Eval4Action campaign aligned with Youth2030: The UN Youth Strategy and the Decade of Action, but the EvalYouth Global Network is co-founder and co-leader of the campaign. This campaign sets a good example of how the UN can be working not only for, but with young people. With 10 years to go until 2030, accelerated action in speed and scope is needed to meet the Goals – and young people must be at the forefront. We need to strengthen youth-led accountability processes at global, regional and national levels, building capacity of young evaluators and advocating for strengthening national evaluation systems and capacities together with other stakeholders. The launch of the “Decade of EVALUATION of Action” brings me incredible joy because of its proactive initiative to ensure the space for meaningful youth participation at all levels. Not only is the Eval4Action campaign aligned with Youth2030: The UN Youth Strategy and the Decade of Action, but the EvalYouth Global Network is co-founder and co-leader of the campaign. This campaign sets a good example of how the UN can be working not only for, but with young people. ‘Believe in Better’ In my work, I am privileged to meet young people from all over the world leading action in their local communities. One thing is clear; although young people often do not have a seat at the decision-making table and structural barriers prevent their participation, they still find creative and innovative informal ways to take the lead. Whether this is through their own work, campaigns to improve meaningful youth participation, shadow reporting, providing citizen-generated data, designing their own youth-led monitoring and evaluation frameworks or championing awareness of the SDGs at the local and national level – they are committed to making the 2030 Agenda a success. Enhanced and more inclusive evaluation provides evidence, lessons and pathways to strengthen equality for all, including the most disadvantaged youth. To capture some of these stories and good examples of youth-led accountability, my Office – in partnership with Action Aid Denmark, Restless Development and the Major Group for Children and Youth – recently launched a working paper titled ‘Believe in Better’. This paper provides concrete recommendations for governments, civil society and international organizations on how to make accountability processes more inclusive of young people in all their diversity. While I encourage you all to read it, I also want to highlight a few of its main findings: We need to strengthen meaningful youth inclusion in the accountability processes and in the Voluntary National Review’s presented annually by Member States to the High level Political Forum; To avoid ‘consultation fatigue’ we must focus on bringing ‘accountability back’ to young partners, monitors or reviewers who do a great job contributing with data, but who are rarely included in all steps of a process, including presentation of results and decision making; We need to strengthen ownership of the SDG agenda at all levels by creating accountability processes that are embedded, localized and transparent, leaving no one behind. In strengthening capacities of young evaluators, we must enable spaces and build inclusive processes where young people in all their diversity, especially young women and girls, indigenous youth, young people with disabilities, young people who identify as LGBTIQ and other marginalized groups can participate in a meaningful and safe way. Enhanced and more inclusive evaluation provides evidence, lessons and pathways to strengthen equality for all, including the most disadvantaged youth. We cannot afford to leave young people behind If young people are not part of measuring the progress of the SDGs and adjusting our policies and strategies accordingly, we will be leaving the most vulnerable groups behind. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic – which has affected all our lives – this conversation is more important than ever. Still around the world, youth are at the forefront demanding accountability from decision makers. Now is the time to even further strengthen their meaningful and inclusive participation in the formal processes that lead to actual change. The global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has widened social and economic inequalities, and its socioeconomic consequences disproportionately affects the future and present of young people. Still around the world, youth are at the forefront demanding accountability from decision makers. Now is the time to even further strengthen their meaningful and inclusive participation in the formal processes that lead to actual change. I want to welcome the launch of the Eval4Action campaign and congratulate all partners. I am convinced that this will be an important platform to enhance our common advocacy to put youth-led accountability front and center of the Decade of Action and the 10 years left to deliver on the SDGs. [1] UNDESA. 2018. World Youth Report. youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2018/12/WorldYouthReport-2030Agenda.pdf Jayathma Wickramanayake was appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in June 2017 at the age of 26. In this role, Jayathma Wickramanayake works to expand the UN’s work with and for young people and advocacy efforts across all four pillars of work – sustainable development, human rights, peace and security and humanitarian action – and serves as a representative of and advisor to the Secretary-General. Follow Jayathma on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook via @UNYouthEnvoy. For more information, visit un.org/youthenvoy.

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.