ECDG was recently invited to join an important ECD initiative organized by The International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE) and UNICEF called EvalPartners.

EvalPartners’s aim is “to enhance the capacities of Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in general, and national and regional evaluation associations/networks (denominated Voluntary Organizations of Professional Evaluators – VOPEs) in particular, to influence policy makers, public opinion and other key stakeholders so that public policies are based on evidence, and incorporate considerations of equity and gender equality. The objective of the Initiative is to enhance the capacities of CSOs to engage in a strategic and meaningful manner in national evaluation processes, including by influencing country-led evaluation systems.

The initiative foresees the mapping, documentation and sharing of VOPE’s good practices and lessons learned; a peer to peer mutual support programme and triangular cooperation; and the use of social networking, social media and knowledge management systems. An International Forum on CSO’s evaluation capacities will be organized in late 2012 in East Asia.”

The current 16-member partnership includes the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG)’s Task Force on National Evaluation Capacities, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNWOMEN, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), African Evaluation Association (AfrEA), Canadian Evaluation Society (CES), European Evaluation Society (EES), the Middle East and North Africa Evaluation Network (EvalMENA), Latin American and Caribbean M&E Network (ReLAC), South Asia’s Community of Evaluators, Pact, Claremont Graduate University and Evaluation Capacity Development Group (ECDG).

For additional information, please visit www.mymande.org/evalpartners where you can subscribe to an e-emails notification service as well as follow them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.