Strengthening Regional Evaluation Capacity-Building through Local Partnerships

Abstract

CLEAR-AA’s regional strategy, completed at the end of 2018, details how CLEAR-AA will work with partners in Anglophone Africa to strengthen evaluation in the region. It also explores ways to strengthen the use of evaluative evidence in policy and programme planning to improve the quality of social policies. As part of the process for developing the strategy, CLEAR-AA held two workshops, in South Africa and Uganda, with representatives of invited organisations from countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. We wanted to test out our thinking with evaluation practitioners, policymakers and others who are working to develop evaluation capacity. The workshops helped CLEARAA to identify partner organisations that share our values and objectives. We also explored appropriate implementation approaches for our strategy, including identifying barriers and enablers. With this learning note, CLEAR-AA shares what we discussed and discovered about what is likely to strengthen regional capacity-building work and what makes it difficult. Much of what came up in the workshops is supported in the literature, and we include some key readings for readers who would like to explore the issues further.