Upcoming Events

The Evaluation Conclave, a biennial event organized by the Community of Evaluators – South Asia (CoE-SA), has progressively addressed evolving themes in the evaluation discourse. Previous conclaves have tackled critical issues such as Making Evaluation Matter (2020), Evaluation For Development (2013), the Use of Evaluation for Policy Influence (2015), New Frontiers in Evaluation (2017), and Equity and Transformation in Challenging Times (2022). Building on this rich history, the Evaluation Conclave 2025 will focus on “Integrating Voices by Localizing Evaluation for an Inclusive Change. The current evaluation discourse is undergoing a transformation that emphasizes inclusivity and equity. This transformation highlights the importance of integrating diverse voices, including those from communities, citizens, young people, and community-based organizations. By bringing local experiential knowledge to the forefront of evaluation practices, the Conclave aims to contribute to the discourse on the evaluation that is theoretically and evidentially responsive to the local culture and people’s ways of living. Integrating voices focusing on localizing evaluation involves generating context-relevant evidence to inform policymakers and people at large. The practice of evaluation informed by local knowledge is empowering as it enables people to understand and decide what is good for them. This practice encourages evaluations to be for the people and by the people, enabling an inclusive change. To facilitate the localization of evaluation, it is essential to change our mindsets and develop both institutional and individual capacities. Considering this perspective, recognizing and valuing local expertise is crucial in enriching evaluation practices. South Asia has emerged as one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. The region’s economic dynamism and promising prospects provide confidence in its ability to transform itself and build a sustainable future for all. However, the progress so far has been uneven across and within countries. Some key challenges remain in achieving an inclusive development and change in the region. These challenges include achieving food security and eradication of hunger that accounts for nearly two-thirds of the world’s undernourished people, lack of universal access to education and health in harnessing South Asia’s youthful population, lack of universal social protection, gender equality, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and environment sustainability. The relevance of the idea of localization in the context of South Asia today cannot be overstated, as many South Asian countries are still in the process of developing national evaluation policies. The advancement in evaluation education and training is also in its nascent stage. Evidence-based decision-making is not yet fully practiced, and the level of evaluative thinking is still weak. These circumstances can also be an opportunity to start thinking locally. Furthermore, the region is progressing rapidly with nations coming together to advance the evaluation discourse and practice through policy and people-centric development programs. For instance, Bhutan has made strides with its Gross National Happiness framework, integrating local culture and values into its development paradigm. In a similar vein, India’s NITI Aayog has been promoting evidence-based policymaking to drive sustainable development. On the other hand, Sri Lanka and Nepal made notable progress in enacting national evaluation policies, building evaluation capacities, and promoting evaluative thinking at various levels of governance. These efforts underscore the importance of localized evaluation practices that can address unique regional challenges and leverage local knowledge for more effective and inclusive development outcomes. The Evaluation Conclave 2025 emphasizes the importance of applying methods and techniques that are relevant and embedded in local contexts. In the current practice, local involvement is often tokenistic, primarily used only as recipients of program benefits and as primary data sources. This call for change to ensure meaningful and effective evaluation practices, with genuine local participation driving equitable and inclusive outcomes.