EvalSouth/Evaluation
Evaluation
Evaluation is the systematic assessment of programmes, policies and initiatives: what works, for whom and why. In the Global South it carries particular weight, as states pursue sustainable development while respecting local contexts, indigenous knowledge systems and the realities of more than six billion people.
Understanding evaluation
Evaluation in the Global South
Evaluation is the systematic assessment of programmes, policies and initiatives: what works, for whom and why. In the Global South it carries particular weight, as states pursue sustainable development while respecting local contexts, indigenous knowledge systems and the realities of more than six billion people.
EvalSouth champions evaluation that is culturally responsive, equity-focused and grounded in the realities of developing regions.
Focus areas
National evaluation systems and governance
How governments institutionalise evaluation through laws, units, budgets and the use of findings in policy and accountability.
Why it matters
Evaluation becomes part of how the state governs only when it is anchored in rules, organisations and budgets, and when findings reach cabinets, parliaments and audit bodies.
EvalSouth priorities
- National evaluation policies and legal frameworks
- Evaluation units in centres of government
- Use of findings in budgeting and oversight
Culturally responsive and indigenous evaluation
Methods that respect local values, languages and indigenous knowledge systems in the design and conduct of evaluations.
Why it matters
Evaluations designed elsewhere often miss the values, languages and forms of knowledge through which communities judge whether a programme has worked.
EvalSouth priorities
- Methods grounded in local and indigenous knowledge
- Evaluation in national languages
- Community ownership of evaluative judgement
Gender-responsive and feminist evaluation
Evaluation that examines power, gender relations and the distribution of benefits across women, men and marginalised groups.
Why it matters
Programmes that ignore gender relations can reproduce inequality even when their average results appear positive.
EvalSouth priorities
- Gender analysis in every evaluation design
- Feminist and intersectional frameworks
- Evidence on who benefits and who is left out
Climate and environmental evaluation
Assessing climate adaptation, mitigation and environmental programmes in the regions most exposed to climate risk.
Why it matters
The Global South carries the heaviest climate risks, and evaluation must show which adaptation and transition policies protect people and ecosystems.
EvalSouth priorities
- Evaluating adaptation and resilience
- Measuring just transition outcomes
- Long-term and systems-level methods
AI, big data and digital methods
The responsible use of artificial intelligence, big data and digital tools in evaluation, and the governance of their risks.
Why it matters
Digital data and AI are changing how evidence is produced, and evaluators need standards that protect privacy, fairness and accountability.
EvalSouth priorities
- Responsible AI in evaluation practice
- Data governance and ethics
- Digital skills for evaluators
Decolonising evaluation methodologies
Questioning whose knowledge counts and building evaluation theory and practice from Southern perspectives.
Why it matters
Evaluation theory and standards have been written mainly in the Global North; decolonising evaluation means recognising Southern authorship of the field.
EvalSouth priorities
- Southern theories and standards
- Equitable research partnerships
- Recognition of Southern scholarship
Health systems and post-pandemic evaluation
Evaluating health systems, resilience and service delivery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why it matters
The pandemic exposed gaps in how health systems learn from evidence and adapt service delivery under pressure.
EvalSouth priorities
- Evaluation capacity in health ministries
- Real-time and developmental evaluation
- Learning from crisis response
Youth-led and participatory approaches
Young and emerging evaluators leading participatory designs that give communities a voice in evaluation.
Why it matters
Young and emerging evaluators bring new methods and legitimacy with communities, and their leadership sustains the profession.
EvalSouth priorities
- Mentoring and career pathways
- Youth-led participatory evaluation
- EvalYouth partnerships
Timeline
Milestones across the regions
- November 2023EvalSouth inaugural conference, Driving Progress, Doha
- June 2025AfrEA marks 25 years of Africa-rooted evaluation
- November 20255th APEA Conference, Tokyo: institutionalisation of evaluation and capacity building
- November 2027EvalSouth 2027 Global Conference, Doha
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