Building a Culture of Evidence in South Asia: Highlights from Glocal Evaluation Week 2025
Every June, the global evaluation community comes together for one of the most anticipated events of the year: Glocal Evaluation Week. Since its inception in 2019, this global knowledge-sharing platform has convened thousands of practitioners, policy makers, and researchers to exchange ideas, forge collaborations, and deepen our collective commitment to evidence-informed decision-making and improved development outcomes.
In 2025, Glocal Evaluation Week returned with a powerful theme: “Evaluation for a Better Future: Environmental Sustainability, Inclusion, and Peace.” The Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for South Asia (CLEAR-SA)—a core implementing partner of the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI)—was proud to convene this year’s events to amplify the diverse voices and priorities in the region.
This year, more than 370 events were organized around the world—and South Asia made its mark with 44 dynamic sessions across 11 countries, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, South Korea, China, and Thailand.
“Glocal is where South Asia’s evaluation community comes alive in its full diversity, energy, and purpose,” said Sohini Mookherjee, Interim Director of CLEAR-SA. “We’re proud to help convene this space that doesn’t just spotlight local innovations, but connects them globally for smarter, more inclusive decision-making.”
These events brought together a powerful mix of stakeholders—leading international organizations like UNICEF, World Food Programme, research institutions including IIT Bombay and J-PAL South Asia, various EvalYouth chapters and national evaluation associations, consulting firms like Sattva and GenderSphere, independent experts, government bodies such as the Government of India’s Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), and multilateral development banks like the New Development Bank.
The conversations spanned a wide range of pressing themes:
- Gender & Feminist Approaches: From methodologies to application
- Climate Change & Environment: Covering resilience, adaptation, and evaluation for green skills
- AI & Technology Integration: Leveraging innovation for better evidence
- Participatory & Decolonial Methods: Shifting power and centering community voices
- Capacity Building & Institutionalization: Strengthening systems and skills
- Data & Evidence Systems: Connecting data producers and decision-makers
As part of the regional launch of Glocal Evaluation Week 2025, CLEAR-SA also hosted a flagship event titled “Building South Asian State Capacities for Evidence Use – Bridging the Gap Between Evaluation and Policy Action.”
Moderated by Sohini Mookherjee, the panel featured senior leaders including Vikram Kapur, from the Government of Tamil Nadu, Maaike Bijker of UNICEF India, Dr. Sven Harten from the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval), and Chao Sun from the Independent Evaluation Office of the New Development Bank.
The discussion focused on how South Asian countries can move beyond fragmented monitoring and evaluation systems toward fostering a stronger, institutionalized culture of evidence use in public decision-making. Panelists emphasized that evidence uptake relies not only on data quality or research design, but also on the people, institutions, and systems that enable or constrain its use.
As the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals approaches, this year’s Glocal Evaluation Week was a timely reminder that evidence matters more than ever—not only for accountability and efficiency, but for building a future that is equitable, inclusive, and sustainable.
At CLEAR-SA, we remain committed to championing regional knowledge exchange and supporting the institutions and individuals working to build a strong culture of evidence use.
Until Glocal Evaluation Week 2026, let’s keep evaluating for a better future.