In spite of being a complex topic, the reality is that most people learn about evaluation from their hands-on experience in doing evaluations.

Strengthening an evaluation culture, however, requires a proactive approach. On 23 January, a delegation from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Independent Evaluation Office (IOE) visited PAHO to discuss their experience on building an evaluation function to improve transparency and accountability. The team was led by Indran Naidoo, director of IFAD’s evaluation. Prior to the current role, Mr. Naidoo was the director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) evaluation office.

The meeting provided a sounding board for the several PAHO participants who attended, including Deputy Director Lou Valdez and colleagues from different departments. This was a first opportunity to learn from UN agencies that are at different stages of strengthening their evaluation functions, and to sharing experiences with them.

Topics

Discussion topics included the critical importance of ensuring independence, funding, and organizational placement of the evaluation function; synergies and balance between external and self-evaluation; transparency, approval, and external publication of evaluation reports, particularly when they reveal controversial findings; and the appropriate size of an evaluation office to meet evolving organizational demands.

The IFAD delegation also visited the Incident Management System Team (IMST) facilities on the ground floor of the HQ building to get a practical sense of the operational center from where all PAHO health emergency responses are coordinated, including the COVID-19 pandemic.