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 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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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 Eval4Action MENA Consultation was held on 10 July 2020 with approximately 100 participants from across the region and beyond. The consultation was organized in collaboration between the EvalMENA Network, EvalYouth MENA chapter, and UNFPA Arab States Regional Office (ASRO). The three regional partners are working together on developing the Eval4Action MENA Action Plan for the SDGs, building on the discussions and priority areas identified by leaders and participants representing multiple stakeholder groups (evaluators, VOPEs, lawmakers, policymakers, private sector, and NGOs) during the consultation. Check this space for updates on the finalization and implementation of the Action Plan. Follow @Eval_MENA, @EvalYouthMENA, and @UNFPA_Arabic (UNFPA ASRO) on Twitter! Read more about Eval4Action regional consultations here.

Get ready for the official High Level launch of the Eval4Action campaign by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem and United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake. Learn directly from the campaign co-leaders about the design, intent and next steps of the campaign. Join the Eval4Action global, regional and national partners in making a motivational statement to engage with the campaign. The interactive event will be moderated by Tessie Catsambas, Past President, American Evaluation Association. Join the Marathon today. Click here for free registration. If you are an Eval4Action partner or supporter, please help us spread the word about the event. Share this web page with your network and promote the event on your social channels. Social media assets are available here.

European Evaluation Society (ESS) releases an article highlighting the relevance of Eval4Action to EES's agenda. As the regional Voluntary Organization for Professional Evaluation (VOPE) in Europe, EES is an official partner of the campaign and is at the forefront of leading Eval4Action initiatives in Europe.

The Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation (GPFE) joins UNFPA Evaluation Office and EvalYouth Global Network to co-lead the Eval4Action campaign. As key stakeholders in demanding for and using evaluations to inform national decision-making, parliamentarians are strategic actors in advocating for evaluation. Parliaments can allocate resources for evaluation from national budgets, establish strong national evaluation policy directions, and debate, shape and enforce evaluation-focused laws and policies that ensure the fulfillment  of citizens' human rights. This makes parliamentarians a strong leader in the campaign, that can provide strategic direction to Eval4Action to bolster its advocacy for influential evaluation towards accelerating progress toward SDGs, especially in the context of the COVID19 pandemic. About GPFE GPFE was launched in 2015 at the Parliament of Nepal. It seeks to advance the enabling environment for evaluation by promoting national evaluation policies and systems. GPFE is committed to the delivery of the Colombo Declaration on Evaluation signed at the EvalColombo2018, global evaluation event for parliamentarians.