Insights from NEC: the CLEAR-LAC experience

Cristian Crespo
Shantal Aragón
31 October 2024
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The Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Latin America and the Caribbean at the 2024 NEC Conference in Beijing
Cristian Crespo and Shantal Aragón were among the 2024 NEC Conference speakers representing Latin America and the Caribbean. In this blog piece, they share the five most important lessons they learned from the conference.

Cristian Crespo is the Executive Director of the Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Latin America and the Caribbean (CLEAR-LAC). Shantal Aragón is CLEAR-LAC's Use of Evidence Manager.

 

Anyone who lives in a Latin American country could imagine how far China is from here. It’s literally on the other side of the world. But after returning from the National Evaluation Capacities Conference, we can say that the effort we made to reach Beijing was undoubtedly worth it. 

We had the invaluable opportunity to hear firsthand from policymakers from across the globe. During the session "Strengthening Evaluation Capabilities: Anchoring Evaluations into the Machinery of Government," I engaged in a productive exchange with the Chinese delegation on key aspects of integrating evaluations into government processes. Meanwhile, Shantal connected with representatives from Latin American and Caribbean countries—including Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago—to understand the unique challenges their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems face and the solutions they are implementing. We also shared insights with inspiring colleagues in the session “From Data to Decision – the Role of KM and Communication in Evidence-Based Decision-Making." Meanwhile, Shantal served as a panelist in the session “Gender Equality in National Evaluation Systems."

Now, we are eager to share the valuable insights we gained from this enriching experience: 

  1. Evaluations need to be useful for decision-making: One of the streams of the 2024 NEC Conference focused on developing the relationship between evaluations and the machinery of government. During my presentation in the session “From Data to Decision – the Role of KM and Communication in Evidence-Based Decision-Making," I covered one angle related to this topic, specifically about decisions related to public budgeting. Increasing the use of evaluations and connecting them to key government processes remains a major challenge. We certainly need to invest more energy in it. 

  2. The intersection between evaluation and innovation is becoming more relevant: The number of presentations, especially from the host country, where evaluation strengthening efforts were applied in the science and technology sectors caught our attention. Additionally, many presentations introduced the opportunities (and risks) of using artificial intelligence in evaluations. We may need to monitor these trends closely. 

  3. Incorporating diverse perspectives: Recognizing gender and vulnerable populations as active agents in shaping and refining evaluation processes is essential. This inclusive approach can greatly enhance the relevance and impact of evaluation systems, ensuring they effectively address the needs and priorities of those most affected. 

  4. Global efforts to strengthen evaluations exist: It's exhilarating to encounter delegations from different countries on every continent. It's also inspiring to meet multiple institutions working at the global or regional level to strengthen evaluation as a driver for improved decision-making in the public sphere. Special credit goes to UNDP-IEO, GEI, and the China International Development Cooperation Agency for all the hard work organizing the conference and for all the presentations. As well, our appreciation to our colleagues from the CLEAR Centers for their valuable contributions at the conference and all the hard work in their respective regions. 

  5. The region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is key in this global movement: Conferences like NEC provide a unique opportunity for the M&E community to gather. This is especially true for people working in LAC, either from specific governments, regional organizations, or in other roles. Our gratitude to all of you for the years invested in these efforts, your generosity, collaborative spirit, and for the enriching exchange of experience and knowledge in every conversation. We would like to highlight and value every individual and institution that makes it possible to have this vibrant community. 

After such an enriching trip, we are highly energized to keep contributing to strengthening M&E systems and to support the Beijing Action Plan, a collective commitment that was forged during the 2024 NEC Conference.