Fourth International Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Evaluation Network (ReLAC)

[Asela Kalugampitiya]

This  conference will highlight  the strategic role played by monitoring, evaluation, and systematization for decision-making, learning, and accountability of policies, programs, and projects within the development agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean, both during 2015 and afterwards.

We will celebrate the International Year of Evaluation, by convening more than 300 evaluators and policy makers from different Latin American countries and the rest of the world in Lima, Peru in March 2015. We will discuss approaches, practices, and methodologies that best apply in the Latin American context. The conference will also promote the institutionalization of monitoring, evaluation, and systematization as a policy to be followed from 2015, with the priority put on capacity building, training, stakeholder participation, equal opportunities, and human rights. This Fourth conference of ReLAC will improve the practice of evaluation – an important profession for strengthening civil society involvement and human rights.

Under the title "The Future of Evaluation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Development, Equity and Culture", the conference will include pre-conference training courses, seminars, panels, and keynote speakers. Main themes are (a) evaluation culture and organizational development, (b) gender equality, diversity, interculturality, and human rights in evaluation, (c) evaluation institutionalization, (d) participation, transparency, and use of evaluation, (e) outcome and impact evaluation, (f) professional development, training, and demand for evaluation, and (f) standards and competencies for professional evaluators.   

During the second week of March 2015, Latin America and the Caribbean will raise the evaluation torch to symbolically join the rest of the world in celebrating the EvalYear 2015 and advocating for major visibility, acceptance, and support for evaluation. . We hope you will join us.

Esteban Tapella

For ReLAC Executive Board.