The Evaluation Marketplace and Entrepreneurship in Africa: A Literature Review

Abstract Information: Recent studies investigated the evaluation landscape and noted a need for an in-depth study of the market characteristics, dynamics of the evaluation marketplace, and implications on the professionalization of evaluation in Africa (Lemire, Nielsen & Christie, 2018; Mapitsa, Tirivanhu, Pophiwa, 2019). Worthy of study are the experiences and stories of african-based evaluators and entrepreneurs in the evaluation market of Africa and globally. The concept of “evalpreneurship” or “evaluation entrepreneurship” has potential to disrupt the business as usual and in dismantling white supremacy (Sabarre, 2021; Shallwani & Dossa, 2023)-a prevailing situation in the evaluation marketplace in Africa (Mapista et al., 2019). Drawing on this background the present review paper aims to: (1) use literature in examining to what extent, if at all, is evalpreneurship (either explicitly or implicitly) present in Africa; (2) understand the evaluation market in Africa; and then (3) develop a conceptual model to study and learn from the stories and experiences of the historically underrepresented evalpreneurs in Africa. Towards examining the extent to which evalpreneurship is present in Africa (either explicitly or implicitly), the study will analyze information from the African Evaluation Database (AfrED) that hosts evaluation projects, studies, agencies, and actors in 19 sub-Saharan African countries since 2000 till 2015 (Mapista et al., 2019). The analysis of the AfrED database will represent a valuable source of information about the supply and demand of evaluation services in the agriculture development sector in Sub Saharan Africa, and will be complemented by additional information search through the internet. This review will further use systems thinking perspective (Reynolds, Forss, Hummelbrunner, Marra & Perrin, 2012) and the emerging evaluation market framework (Lemire et al., 2018; Nielsen et al., 2018) to understand how buyers and sellers interact and trade evaluation services and how forces of supply and demand operate in Africa (Lemire et al., 2018). Furthermore, this review will put forth a conceptual model and assumptions that demonstrate an interplay between evaluation theories in the context of African culture (Gaotlhobogwe, Major, Koloi‐Keaikitse & Chilisa, 2018) and entrepreneurship as lived experience (Berglund, 2007). In our study, African culture will play a critical part because of its valuable methods for acquiring knowledge and learning (Elabor-Idemudia, 2002). Among such “means of knowing”(Zegeye & Vambe, 2006), is storytelling (Tuwe, 2016), rooted in African culture and serves as a significant and oldest means of transferring knowledge and preserving histories, traditions, acceptable behaviors, and values (Chinyowa, 2004; Vambe, 2004). Therefore this review paper will explore the salient literature on using storytelling and other methods to collect, study, and learn from the stories and experiences of the historically underrepresented evalpreneurs in Africa. In the long run, this study will contribute to the scholarship and practice of evaluation entrepreneurship, management of consultancy, business, and content analysis research methodology. Selected reference Sabarre, N. R. (2021). Evalpreneurship: The Role of entrepreneurship in the evaluation marketplace (Doctoral dissertation, The Claremont Graduate University)

Relevance Statement: The African evaluation marketplace has most of its clients as foreign agencies who serve as donors to development programs implemented within the region (Mapista et al., 2019). To have a paradigm shift, there is a need to learn more about the dynamics of the evaluation marketplace in Africa, the emerging roles of evaluation entrepreneurs (leadership in the evaluation marketplace) and implications for the professional practice and scholarship of evaluation. Henceforth, it becomes essential that the American Evaluation Society understand the perspective of evalpreneurs in Africa and learn through their stories. The present review paper will explore the innovative practices in place on how evaluators conduct their business in Africa, the experiences of historically underrepresented evalpreneurs in Africa, opportunities and barriers they face as well as how to address them more systematically. A critical concern in the evaluation market in Africa is to get clarity on the actors (independent evaluation consultants, firms, evaluation teams or other stakeholders) involved in the evaluation market in Africa. That’s why a systematic review of Scandinavian donors’ evaluation reports on interventions in Africa (Ngwabi & Wildschut, 2019) explored the identity of the evaluators carrying out the evaluations in Africa. Ngwabi and Wildschut (2019) found issues of power dynamics in the evaluations commissioned outside of Africa and the disparity in how donors choose to commission evaluators as independent consultants or evaluation companies. This less representation of the African evaluators (people and firms) in Africa-based evaluations is alarming and demands further inquiry on the experiences of evaluators in Africa. Our literature review paper will explore empirical evidence on power dynamics issues and the extent to which local and international evaluation teams and firms collaborate to provide evaluation services in Africa. Our proposed topic of study aligns with the recent conversation at the American Evaluation Association that localization of evaluation efforts is needed to address the issue of power imbalance in evaluation (i.e having people with local expertise (knowledge) bring to the table their experience in design and implementation of evaluation) (American Evaluation Association, AEA, 2022). This reality will be almost impossible if there are no fundamental questioning of the undergirding assumptions on the nature of reality (ontology), knowledge (epistemology) and values (axiology) that inform methodologies, worldviews, professional practice in African evaluations (Chilisa, Major, Gaotlhobogwe & Mokgolodi, 2015). The present study will introduce such kind of conversations drawing upon epistemic assumptions from literature on the evaluation marketplace in Africa. For example, one of the assumptions that this review paper will build on is, to study the status of the evaluation marketplace in Africa could be better understood only if African culture is understood and taken consideration throughout the research process. Selected reference AEA (2022). AEA Public Library—American Evaluation Association. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://comm.eval.org/viewdocument/virtual-pre-conference-presidential. Mapitsa, C. B., Tirivanhu, P., & Pophiwa, N. (Eds.). (2019). Evaluation Landscape in Africa. African Sun Media Ngwabi, N., & Wildschut, L. (2019). Scandinavian donors in Africa: A reflection on evaluation reporting standards. Evaluation landscape in Africa–context, methods and capacity, 89.