EvalPartners is a global movement that shapes the international agenda for evaluation by encouraging the evaluation profession to take a more global approach in addressing world problems and creating a platform for evaluation capacity development.
EvalPartners was established in 2012, by the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE) and the United Nations as an innovative partnership whose members are Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs). Together, these partners strive to influence policymakers, public opinion, and other key stakeholders into recognizing the need on effective evaluation as necessary to any important decision.
This quote from the Global Evaluation Agenda 2016-2020 (the EvalAgenda) summarizes the paradigm shift that occurred in the global evaluation community in the early days of EvalPartners:
At that time, the evaluation community was mostly inward-looking and interested in technical aspects of the professional practice. The idea that evaluators should become global advocates for their profession seemed incredibly daring but proved to be very effective.
The history of EvalPartners, since its founding in 2012, is characterized by a series of milestone events, including:
- The development of the Global Evaluation Agenda 2016-2020 (EvalAgenda)
- The passing of a UNGA Resolution to build the capacity of country-level evaluations
- The hosting of three Global Evaluation Forums in 2012, 2015 and 2017
- The launch of five EvalPartners Networks that became the key operational vehicles of EvalPartners
- The launch of two EvalPartners Flagship Programs to drive forward the EvalAgenda
Combined with financial support from several donors, EvalPartners ignited a host of volunteer activities around the world led by national and regional VOPEs, UN Agencies, and civil society organizations. Since then other partners have come on board which include the Swiss Development Cooperation, the United States Department of State, the World Food Programme, and the United Nations Population Fund among others.
Download the Organizational Timeline for a chronological overview of key milestone events in the EvalPartners story.