Plenary 3

Moderator

• Richard Jones, UNDP IEO, Deputy Director 

Panelists

• Furong Li, Deputy General Manager, China International Engineering Consulting Corporation, China  
• Joerg Faust, Director, German Institute for Development Evaluation and Professor of Political Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
• Sarah Saeed, Special Secretary, Establishment Division, Pakistan  
• Timothy Lubanga, Commissioner for Monitoring and Evaluation, Office of the Prime Minister, Uganda  
• Will Moy, CEO, Campbell Collaboration, UK 

Exploratory Statement

Evaluation and evidence empower us to build resilience in the face of key global issues. By integrating new technologies and innovative approaches, we can tackle these challenges more effectively, provided we understand their impacts.

Discussion Themes

• Evaluation serves as a critical tool for knowledge creation, learning and accountability, especially relevant in addressing global crises such as climate change and inequality.
• Effective evaluation requires a balance between connection with stakeholders (to stay relevant to policy needs) and independence (to ensure objectivity and credibility). This concept, referred to as ‘embedded autonomy’, helps evaluators maintain alignment with both policy goals and public needs while preserving their impartiality.
• Evaluations should consider the different objectives of diverse stakeholders—from government officials and policymakers to communities and youth. This approach ensures evaluations address varied expectations and contribute to stakeholder-aligned outcomes, which are meaningful and actionable for all involved parties.
• While evaluation methods need to be adaptable to local contexts, there is also a need for universal principles that allow for shared understanding, comparability and collaboration across borders. This dual approach supports both locally relevant insights and broader knowledge-sharing among evaluators worldwide.
• Evaluations should not only reflect past outcomes but also be anticipatory, designed to adapt to future trends and challenges. This adaptability is crucial because evaluation systems must respond to societal shifts, technological changes and emergent global issues rather than solely focus on retrospective assessments.
• Integrating evaluation into policy presents challenges such as political pressures, resource constraints and the need for institutional safeguards to maintain independence. However, effective integration enables evaluations to guide future-focused, sustainable policymaking.