Assistant Director, Research Services Parliament Of Uganda Kampala, Kampala, Uganda
Abstract Information: Evaluation Capacity Development (ECD) is the process by which strategies are designed and implemented to assist individuals, groups, and organizations in the process of conducting effective, useful, and professional evaluation practice. To enhance their evaluation capacities, increasingly, evaluators have appreciated the need to belong and identify with professional organizations, commonly referred to as Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluations (VOPEs). VOPEs are key in advancing the field, discipline, and practice of evaluation. VOPEs include formally constituted associations or societies, as well as informal networks and communities of practice. However, many VOPEs across the globe are facing deep institutional challenges. In response, different players like the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE), EvalPartners, and Africa Evaluation Association (AFREA) initiated Peer-to-Peer (P2P) as a key strategy to strengthen VOPES. Peer learning is potentially a powerful way of sharing knowledge. This learning involves individuals exchanging knowledge and experience with each other, and diffusing this learning back to their organizations to ensure an impact. Peer learning advocates hold that people or organizations embarking on reforms can learn from peers who are also going through (or have experienced) similar reforms.
In order to build strong and resilient VOPEs driven by partnerships to support local and innovative approaches and practices within East Africa, the Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA) participated in P2P learning initiatives in the East African Region. This paper will share the story of the UEA engagements highlighting key lessons for ECD sustainability for VOPEs through P2P approaches.
Relevance Statement: The leadership and participation of VOPEs in supporting the national evaluation systems have now come to be well recognized and accepted. Globally, the reality on the ground, however, is that various VOPES still face enormous challenges that threaten their functionality and existence. Core among these is the inadequate capacity to engage in policy-making, limited financial and human resources, weak governance structures, limited ICT infrastructures and limited access to information, and limited involvement of members in the activities VOPES.
Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA) in 2016 won the bid to mentor the Burundi Evaluation Network (RNEB), in 2017 engaged in mentoring Tanzania Evaluation Association (TanEA) and 2021 undertook P2P for Rwanda Monitoring and Evaluation Organisation (RMEO). Through the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) project, UEA was able to draw various capacities of members, partnering with the Associations to sensitize their government departments. The learning came along with partnership through joint planning of events, mobilization of entities and resources, and more importantly social capital.
The main goal of UEA in the P2P initiative was to improve institutional and member capacities, collaborations, and networking approaches. The process started with a capacity needs assessment and against which interventions activities were mutually agreed upon, this included: peer to peer exchange visits structured into two phases: Phase I: Involving UEA team traveling to and implementing the mentoring program in Burundi and Tanzania; and Phase II where the two associations visited Uganda to learn from best practices of managing VOPES. The other methods used were: training workshops with evaluation students at universities in the respective countries; interactive field visits with think tanks, academia, and government departments; and group discussions with the membership of the VOPEs on capacity issues.
This paper shares the story of the Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA). It’s expected that the audience will be inspired to establish and maintain formidable VOPEs that can effectively accelerate global development but also attract more prioritization of resources to evaluation capacity building.
