Strengthening evaluation capabilities—anchoring evaluation into the machinery of government

Moderator  

• Denis Jobin, Co-Chair, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) EvalSDGs—EvalPartners, and Senior Evaluation Specialist

Panelists

• Emmanuel Jimenez, Asian Development Bank, Director General, Independent Evaluation Department
• Gonzalo Hernández Licona, GEI, Mexico, Evaluation Specialist
• Patrick Duong, Governance (Public Goods and Services), UNDP Global Lead
• Sohini Mookherjee, CLEAR South Asia, India, Lead

Small Group Panelists

• Ibrahima Ndiaye, Bureau of Methods and Organization, Sénégal, Directeur Général
• Kazim Shah, Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, Pakistan Director-Head of Evaluation Section
• Lisa Goonai-Nanan, Ministry of Planning and Development, Trinidad and Tobago, Senior M&E Specialist
• Sakina Mwinyimkuu, Prime Minister’s Office—Policy, Parliament and Coordination, Tanzania, Director of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
• Wu Hongmei, Zhejiang Development & Planning Institute, President
• Wang Luo, Institute of International Development Cooperation, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, China Director and Researcher

Discussion Themes

• Effective evaluation requires not only building skills and policies (capacity) but also fostering the ability to implement and utilize evaluations in decision-making (capability).
• Success in evaluation system strengthening relies on engaging multiple government branches, especially finance ministries, to align evaluations with policy and budget priorities.
• It means embedding evaluation within government systems—planning, budgeting and policymaking—which supports its consistent and impactful use. Shifting to a comprehensive system where evaluation is an internal part of government operations supports both accountability and informed policy decisions.
• Common barriers to effective evaluation include limited political support and awareness about the importance of evaluation, lack of coordination and inclusiveness, funding constraints and weak M&E policies.
• Common enablers include strong leadership, recognition of evaluation functions as independent entities, legal frameworks, and broad stakeholder involvement, collaboration and partnership. Greater cross-country collaboration enables sharing of best practices, diverse perspectives and support for developing robust national evaluation systems.