Pact presents on locally embedded, sustainable solutions at the 11th AfrEA International Conference

The participation of local communities in the design and implementation of evaluation measures in international development is essential to ensuring that communities are empowered to collect, use and own their data. This concept is core to both the African Evaluation Association’s (AfrEA) Made in Africa Evaluation approach and Pact’s Engaged Communities approach, which aims to build solutions for human development by placing local communities at the helm to lead and own their own development. Five Pact staff members from four country offices and two projects, including the Adolescents and Children HIV Incidence Reduction, Empowerment and Virus Elimination project (ACHIEVE) project and the Mobilizing and Enhancing Local Actors for Peace (MELA-Peace) project in Ethiopia, were present at this year’s conference.

To raise awareness and strengthen partnerships around evaluation capacity building in Africa, AfrEA brought together 650 evaluation stakeholders representing 45 countries from Africa and around the world for the 11th AfrEA International Conference in partnership with the Rwanda Monitoring and Evaluation Organization (RMEO) in March in Kigali, Rwanda. This year’s conference theme was, “Technology and Innovation in Evaluation Practice in Africa: The Last Nail in the Coffin of Participatory Approaches?” 

To kick off the week, Kyaw Thura Tun, Senior M&E Officer for ACHIEVE in Washington, DC, and Tumainieli Mbwambo, Senior M&E Officer in Tanzania, co-facilitated a half-day workshop on the data visualization software Microsoft Power BI. 

“Enhancing the capacity of evaluators with the latest tools and techniques around evaluation is crucial,” said Kyaw Thura Tun. “By embracing access to innovative solutions like Microsoft Power BI, evaluators can visualize complex evaluation data in intuitive and interactive ways, enabling better decision-making and communication.”

The following day, Nemes Mallya, Senior Program Officer for Economic Strengthening in Tanzania, presented on ACHIEVE’s experience using tailored interventions to improve the economic status of families caring for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Tanzania. This included the use of a categorization methodology to identify economic strengthening interventions based on the unique needs of families.

“One of the most significant takeaways from our presentation was the importance of contextualization in program design,” said Mallya. “By deeply understanding the specific needs and circumstances of OVC caregivers in Tanzania, we were able to not only maximize the outcomes of our programs but also ensure sustainability by aligning interventions with the local context and resources available. This tailored approach…[led] to tangible improvements in economic status and overall well-being.”

He added: “The exchange of ideas and experiences with fellow practitioners at the conference highlighted the critical role of evidence-based strategies. Participants gained practical insights into how to adapt evaluation methodologies to diverse community contexts, empowering them to enhance their skills in program design and assessment.”

Eyuel Demisse, MERL Manager for Pact in Ethiopia, joined the discussions by sharing his experience implementing the participatory Outcome Mapping approach in the Mobilizing and Enhancing Local Actors for Peace project.

“As Participatory Outcome Mapping is a relatively new evaluation approach, sharing its findings at AfrEA enabled me to engage with a knowledgeable audience experienced in various evaluation methodologies,” Demisse said. “The diverse perspectives and experiences shared by professionals from different countries and organizations broadened my knowledge base and provided me with valuable insights to inform my own evaluation practice.” 

Thomas Mugala, System Strengthening Advisor (M&E/MIS) in Zambia, presented two sessions from ACHIEVE’s experience strengthening the capacity of Zambia’s Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) to improve health and social services outcomes among vulnerable children and adolescents (VCA) and their families. In his first session, Mugala discussed how ACHIEVE has effectively engaged the MCDSS to co-develop a management information system for VCA services. In his second presentation, he shared insights on ACHIEVE’s experience implementing outcome harvesting to evaluate the complex social welfare systems changes that have occurred within the MCDSS under ACHIEVE’s support. 

“AfrEA was a great opportunity to network with colleagues from other Pact country offices and other industry experts attending the conference,” said ACHIEVE Tanzania’s Mbwambo. Echoing this sentiment, Demisse noted that the connections gained hold the potential for future collaborations and partnerships, fostering the exchange of expertise and the advancement of evaluation practices. 

Overall, the Pact team agreed that the experience was truly enriching. As Mallya noted, “It reinforced our dedication to developing innovative solutions that bring about positive change for vulnerable populations.”

To learn more about the AfrEA Conference, visit the conference website.