Portuguese-Speaking gLOCAL Events Help Expand M&E Culture in Brazil and Lusophone Africa

Each year, gLOCAL Evaluation Week offers events in several languages including English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. This year, GEI Partner, the Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Lusophone Africa and Brazil (CLEAR-LAB), helped to curate and organize more than 30 events in Portuguese, most of which are available on the CLEAR-LAB YouTube channel playlist. 

One of the events organized by CLEAR-LAB was in partnership with the recently created Secretariat of Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Policies and Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Planning in Brazil. The event was a roundtable that facilitated the exchange of M&E experiences between Brazilian ministries. The event sought to help foster an evaluation culture in the federal government.  

Moderated by Lycia Lima, Deputy Director of CLEAR-LAB, the opening remarks were made by Sergio Firpo, Secretary of the new Secretariat, and Alexandre Gomide, Director of High Studies at National School of Public Administration (Enap). Isabel Chagas, from the Ministry of Education, Joana Simões, from the Ministry of Social Development, and professor and public policy expert, Ricardo Paes de Barros, presented sectoral experiences in M&E.  

Secretary Firpo emphasized the importance of the event for improving public policies, as his Secretariat aims to coordinate M&E actions in the federal government. He stated, "In order for this evaluation to have results on the ground, it is important for us to be close to those who conduct the evaluation. Thus, today's experience is very valuable and marks a movement to deepen and embed the culture of evaluation within the government."  

Other Portuguese language events brought valuable insights to the field of M&E. For example, in the event organized by the Planning Office of the City of Rio de Janeiro, participants from subnational governments, in Brazil and abroad, shared their experiences on M&E in support of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Additionally, the Planning Institute of the City of Fortaleza contributed by presenting international experiences and engaging in discussions on effective methods for scaling public policies. Furthermore, the Brazilian Monitoring and Evaluation Network and EvalYouth Brazil organized an event that aimed to inspire young and emerging evaluators (YEEs) by presenting and discussing competencies required for evaluative practices in Brazil.