History

Launch of VOPE Leadership BootCamp.

VOPE Leadership Programme launched and BootCamp for VOPE Leadership created.

Given the challenges faced with the global COVID-19 pandemic, the proposed Global Forum did not proceed, but a series of on-line events were held.

EvalColombo in September 2019 brought together 200 plus delegates from 76 countries and all regions, including 112 Parliamentarians. The inauguration of the event was graced by His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka, Hon. Prime Minister and the Hon. Speaker of the Parliament.

The Colombo Declaration was signed at EvalColombo by participants to progress national evaluation systems worldwide.

In late 2019, EvalPartners commenced preparations towards a Global Evaluation Forum in 2020.

EvalPartners with the assistance of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the US State Department continued support for the P2P and Toolkit activities, with a particular focus on peace and equity.

Network activities across all networks expanded and each network developed its own workplan which was supported through EvalPartners funding, as well as support from other partners directly to each network.

The Third Global Evaluation Forum organized by EvalPartners took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic from April 25 to 28, 2017. It brought together government representatives, parliamentarians, development partners, foundations, the private sector, universities, the civil society, and the evaluation community.

EvalPartners networks reported on progress of the EvalAgenda 2020, particularly in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

 The Bishkek Partnership Statement was signed by partners in the presence of the Speaker and Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic.

EvalPartners established two Flagship Programmes 1. Support for National Evaluation Systems and 2. Evidence Matters campaign.

With the continuing assistance from the Government of Finland, EvalPartners offers further P2P grants to encourage VOPEs to work together, also for innovative approaches to evaluation through an Innovation Challenge.

Dynamic evaluators from developing countries were offered to opportunity for mobility grants to attend conferences to contribute to the evaluation sector and build their own, and their VOPE’s capacity.

Grants were made to Regional VOPEs to hold regional conferences to facilitate national evaluation capacity development.

IOCE and EvalPartners successfully implemented the Year of Evaluation that engaged thousands of organizations and individuals globally.

As a culmination of EvalYear, the EvalAgenda 2020 was prepared with wide input from many partners.

The concept of Eval networks was expanded with the creation of EvalYouth, EVALSDGs, EvalIndigenous. EvalGender broadened its scope to cover all forms of diversity through rebadging as EvalGender+.

The Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation (GPFE) was established with EvalPartners support.

These initiatives were all launched at the Global Evaluation Forum hosted by the Parliament of Nepal in Kathmandu.

IOCE and EvalPartners conceived the concept of the Year of Evaluation. EvalPartners was successful in having 2015 declared the International Year of Evaluation (EvalYear) during the Third International Conference on National Evaluation Capacities in São Paulo, Brazil. EvalYear aims to advocate and promote evaluation and evidence-based policy making at international, regional, national and local levels.

Taskforces continued to expand.

The concept of EvalGender and EvalParliament were initially discussed.

EvalPartners commits to two kinds of activities: (1) Conferences that promote the enabling environment with partners aiming to influence the agendas in favor of evaluation and for building evaluation in civil society. (2) Conferences that promote member VOPE engagement.

IOCE, under the Project Cooperative Agreement with UNICEF, launched EvalPartners Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Program, which encourages two or more VOPEs to form partnerships to strengthen their capacities. Thirty two national and six regional VOPEs formed 25 partnerships to design and implement P2P projects.

EvalPartners establishes joint TaskForces, largely rooted in IOCE membership with key UN partners and other stakeholders to engage in innovative projects such as upgrading of the mymande website to incorporate e-learning, development of a Toolkit, an Enabling Environment Task Force, a Knowledge Taskforce and a Gender Equity Task Force.

IOCE and UNICEF launched the EvalPartners Initiative to build and strengthen the global network of relationships between existing and emerging VOPEs. An EvalPartners Management Group was established.

EvalPartners’ International Forum on Civil Society’s Evaluation capacities in Chiang Mai, Thailand brought together more than 80 representatives of VOPEs, donors organizations and governments that are engaged in Evaluation Capacity Development (ECD). Participants signed the EvalPartners Chiang Mai Declaration, committing themselves to EvalPartners’ objectives and principles.

Representatives from 24 evaluation associations and networks from around the world launched IOCE at an Inaugural Assembly in Lima, Peru. 

The IOCE was formally endorsed.

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation awarded a grant enabling the presidents and official representatives from 15 regional and national evaluation organizations to attend a residency meeting in Barbados that led to the development of a framework for the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE).

Presidents of the American Evaluation Association, Associazione Italiana di Valutazione, Australasian Evaluation Society, Canadian Evaluation Society, Kenyan Evaluation Association, and the United Kingdom Evaluation Society discussed entering into partnership during a plenary session of the American Evaluation Association conference.

National evaluation associations formed a panel to discuss the international nature of evaluation and the creation of a worldwide evaluation community.