Today, QAB discussed the MAE–Made in Africa Evaluation movement promoted by AfrEA. The meeting brought together evaluation experts from three countries: Abdoulaye Gounou (Benin), Sakina Mwuinyimkun (Tanzania), and Dugan Fraser (South Africa).
We were galvanized by how Jen Norins conducted the debate and how all the panelists presented their insightful approaches, thought-provoking ideas, and numerous avenues that will undoubtedly inspire further debate and research.
Let me share some thoughts on the topic and the speeches I’ve had the chance to hear:
1. Evaluation should be seen as a fundamental exercise and an active principle of citizenship. This perspective entails greater responsibility for each citizen and public servant in their commitment to optimize results, rationalize resources, and ensure the continuity of collective interests. However, it is often noted that practices limited to symbolic or procedural balances are adopted, mistakenly equating them with systematic and robust evaluations. Such an approach undermines not only the process of embracing small evaluation initiatives—which, being cumulative, foster learning—but also the establishment of a genuine culture of evaluation in our countries.
2. Another important aspect to consider is the diffusion of supranational policies or, alternatively, the transposition of cognitive frameworks. This is indeed one of the primary challenges — or even a barrier — to developing a sustainable approach to the decoloniality of evaluation processes in Africa.
Most of our countries’ policy measures and planning instruments depend on funding from international agencies. These entities define their interests and operational logics, setting up implementation committees, regularly drawing up ‘memory aids’, and often subliminally delimiting our States’ paths.
With these challenges, A. Gounou’s perspective is particularly relevant: creating Regional Evaluation Committees. This initiative can constitute a strategic platform for generating synergies and sharing knowledge, promoting a more autonomous evaluation model adapted to local realities and needs.
