Evaluation Insights from Brazil and Lusophone Africa During Glocal Evaluation Week 2025

A wide range of topics — from climate change and human rights to mental health and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacity building—took center stage in Brazil and Lusophone Africa during Glocal Evaluation Week 2025. 

Held from June 2 to 6, this year’s edition featured 36 events throughout the region, coordinated by the Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Lusophone Africa and Brazil (CLEAR-LAB), an implementing partner of the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI). 

Climate Action Through Rapid Evaluation  

Several sessions focused on sustainability and climate change—two of the most pressing global challenges today. 

One session, “Monitoring and Evaluation: Actions and Strategies in the Challenge of Climate Transition,” highlighted Espírito Santo’s state-level climate mitigation plan in Brazil. The discussion explored policy monitoring challenges and the state’s use of rapid evaluations—short-cycle studies designed to generate timely, actionable insights. 

 “We start by training public managers, but there are many other steps, such as building logic models that include inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and expected impacts. All of this aims to build a society that is both aware of and mobilized to reduce carbon emissions,” said Pablo Jabor, coordinator of Executive Analysis for the Capixaba Climate Change Program.

Institutionalizing M&E in Public Policy  

Institutionalization of M&E emerged as a recurring theme during Glocal 2025. 

In a webinar organized as part of Glocal, Francisca Pereira, Head of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department for Local Government Bodies in Mozambique, shared insights on the country’s efforts to embed M&E into policy systems. 

“We were working to improve the quality of statistical data, which is crucial for evidence-based policy making. We also aimed to encourage universities to integrate M&E into their academic curricula,” she said. 

Strengthening M&E Capacity 

M&E capacity building in the CLEAR-LAB region was another key theme explored during Glocal 2025. 

In the session, “Where to Start? Resources to Learn and Deepen Your Knowledge in Monitoring and Evaluation,” CLEAR-LAB researcher Lycia Lima presented a series of publications launched by the Center, including a practical guide for evidence-based policymaking.. 

“Evaluation is a vast field, with many different approaches and methodologies. One of our biggest challenges is getting people from outside economics involved in the conversation. We also need to find better strategies for sharing this knowledge beyond our usual circles,” she said. 

During the “Skills for Evaluation Practice in the Public Sector” event, Daniel Grimaldi, Deputy Secretary for Public Policy Evaluation and Economic Affairs at Brazil’s Ministry of Planning and Budget, emphasized the need for conceptual alignment across disciplines. 

“Evaluation is a system—and for it to work, all parts need to be in sync. When we talk about impact evaluation, everyone must understand the same thing. The same goes for concepts like program design, causal inference, and others. Creating that shared culture is a major challenge,” he said. 

A Platform for Connection 

Despite covering diverse topics, methodologies, and perspectives, Glocal 2025 revealed a strong sense of community and commitment to experience-sharing. 

“We know organizing an event is not always easy, given people’s day-to-day workloads and routines. That’s why we’re honored and thrilled to see how much the M&E community values these spaces for dialogue,” said Amanda Arabage, Deputy Director of CLEAR-LAB. 

“As some events showed clearly, evaluation is a broad and nuanced field. Glocal, with its diversity of themes and approaches, makes that richness even more visible,” she concluded.