Rethinking Evaluation: Power, Equity, and Environmental Justice
Panel Discussion | Online
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Organized by:
International Evaluation Academy
About the Event
This presentation challenges the myth of neutrality in evaluation, highlighting how power, values, and dominant epistemologies shape practices. Using case studies from India, South Africa, and Colombia, it examines how evaluations can address social and environmental justice. It explores power dynamics in evaluation and calls for participatory, community-driven approaches. To advance equity, evaluation must embrace diverse worldviews, decolonized methodologies, and local knowledge systems, ensuring it serves as a tool for transformation rather than control.
Speakers
| Name | Title | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Sonal Zaveri | Board member, International Evaluation Academy (IEAc) | With 30+ years of experience, Sonal works at the intersection of rights, inclusion, gender, and local wisdom. She co-develops transformative, participatory, feminist, and decolonial evaluation approaches that challenge dominant paradigms. Based in India. |
| Sue Soal | Facilitator, evaluator, process consultant | Social and organizational practitioner supporting individuals and groups in change processes, strategic learning, and evaluation. Sue facilitate understanding, expression, and decision-making to foster engaged citizenship and more effective governance. |
| Jen Norins | South African monitoring and evaluation Association Chair | Jen is M&E specialist for regional programmes at MIET Africa, leading monitoring and internal evaluation of multi-country projects in the SADC region. She currently serves as Chairperson of SAMEA, supporting evaluation capacity and systems in Southern Africa. |
| Celeste Ghiano | Planning & Evaluation consultant. Founder of Alternative Evaluation. | Celeste is a political scientist and former ReLAC coordinator. With 20+ years of experience, she has led evaluation capacity-building across Latin America, trained 1,000+ officials yearly, and promoted context-relevant evaluations through leadership roles in global and regional VOPEs. |
Moderators
| Name | Title | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Ian Goldman | President, International Evaluation Academy |