7th EvalMENA Conference - Key Messages

[Kassem El Saddik]

The

Moroccan Evaluation Association (AME) and the Arab Network for Evaluation (EvalMENA)
hosted the 7th Arab Evaluation Conference in Rabat from 27 to 30 November 2018.

The conference was attended by more than 200 participants from different sectors and sectors,
representing the various national evaluation societies, parliamentarians, government officials and
other partners, namely the United Nations Programs and other Development Partners in the region.
Over the course of the three days, many priorities were discussed about the national and regional
evaluation capacities, systems and policies, including the supply and demand dimensions. Various
national and local experiences were presented, as well as the experiences of young and emerging
evaluators. Effective ways of leveraging the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for the
Agenda 2030 of Sustainable Development were also discussed, while emphasizing the priority of
“no one left behind”.

The following messages emerged and were endorsed:
1) Emphasize the need to build and disseminate a culture of evaluation that is gender
responsive and equity focused in all stages of evaluation at the national and regional levels
2) Emphasize the need to develop and adopt EvalMENA Glossary of Evaluation Terms and
Definitions in Arabic
3) Emphasize the need to build on the existing efforts to develop the Evaluation Competencies
to be adopted by evaluators MENA region, s system of "accreditation" by EvalMENA and
further build the evaluation capacities at the national, local and regional levels.
4) Emphasize the importance of the processes to develop the Voluntary National Reviews
(VNRs) of Agenda 2030 in the Arab countries and the need to make them more
participatory in order to ensure that “no one is left behind”,
5) Emphasize the need for government to engage the national evaluation networks and
associations in all VNRs processes
6) The Moroccan experience in evaluation and the role of Parliament and the Council of
Counselors are shining examples to be showcased and replicated throughout the region.
EvalMENA will prepare "MENA Evaluation Papers/ Briefs" to disseminate good practices
in the region and share them widely with the governments and parliaments in the region
7) Emphasize the need to build and develop the capacities of young and emerging evaluators
in the region through cooperation between EvalMENA, other international networks and
our development partners,
8) Emphasize EvalMENA commitment to the Evaluation component in Agenda 2030,
provide the necessary support to build evaluation capacity at the national and local levels,
and emphasize the capacity of National associations to ensure the quality of the national
reviews supported by evidence
9) Emphasize the role of EvalMENA in various EvalPartners’ thematic networks (EvalSDGs,
EvalGender+, EvalYouth, EvalIndiginous and the emerging EvalForward.
10) Support all forms of bilateral and multilateral collaboration within EvalMENA to
contribute to the production of indigenous evaluation knowledge production