CLEAR-FA Presents a Guide on Evidence Use to African Parliamentarians

CLEAR-FA Presents a Guide on Evidence Use to African Parliamentarians
The Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Francophone Africa (CLEAR-FA), an implementing partner of GEI, has developed a new guide to help African parliamentarians use evidence in reviewing national budgets and improving decisions on public spending.
news
08 May 2025

On April 17–18, 2025, a landmark workshop in Cotonou, Benin brought together African parliamentarians to explore how to strengthen the use of evidence in national budget reviews. 

Organized by the Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Francophone Africa (CLEAR-FA), an implementing partner of the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI), in partnership with the African Parliamentarians’ Network on Development Evaluation (APNODE) and the Independent Development Evaluation Office of the African Development Bank (IDEV), the workshop marked a major step forward in promoting evidence-informed legislative decision-making. 

At the heart of the discussions was a new guide developed by CLEAR-FA on the use of evidence in budget analysis and public policy oversight. Designed to support parliamentarians in their role as oversight actors, the guide offers practical approaches for integrating data and evaluation findings into the legislative review process. 

“Parliamentarians are a crucial link in the chain of evidence-based decision-making in Francophone Africa,” said Dr. Edoé Djimitri Agbodjan, Coordinator of CLEAR-FA. 

The event served as a platform for preliminary validation of the guide’s content. Through a participatory methodology, parliamentarians provided constructive feedback, contributing recommendations that will be incorporated into the final version of the guide. The inclusive approach helped ensure the tool is relevant, user-friendly, and aligned with the realities of parliamentary work across the continent. 

“As a next step, the guide should be simplified into a more operational format, accessible regardless of the user’s level of expertise,” recommended Abdoulaye Gounou, Director General of Evaluation and the Observatory of Social Change, Benin. 

This initiative reinforces ongoing regional efforts to promote transparent governance, strengthen performance management systems, and enhance the use of public resources. Once finalized, the guide is expected to serve as a practical resource to improve parliamentary oversight and drive better outcomes for citizens.