Strengthening Monitoring and Evaluation in Latin America: CLEAR-LAC’s Collaboration with Guatemala Advances
The Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Latin America and the Caribbean (CLEAR-LAC) continues to deepen its support for national monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems across the region. Since relocating to the Catholic University of Chile (UC Chile) in 2024, CLEAR-LAC has expanded its collaboration with regional and national stakeholders, including Guatemala’s Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Presidency (SEGEPLAN).
Guatemala has become a priority country for CLEAR-LAC, with several initiatives reinforcing this partnership. Initial efforts focused on building relationships with key institutions and aligning with regional actors such as the Office of Evaluation and Oversight of the Inter-American Development Bank (OVE-IDB), which has supported the development of Guatemala’s national M&E system (SINSE) since 2021.
This groundwork enabled CLEAR-LAC's participation in Grupo Impulsor, an inter-institutional group coordinated by SEGEPLAN and supported by OVE-IDB. The group is tasked with advancing the institutionalization of SINSE and includes representatives from multiple ministries —Communications, Public Finance, Public Health, Education, Social Development, and Environment and Natural Resources—as well as national institutions such as the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP), the National Institute of Statistics, the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security, the Secretariat of Food and Nutritional Security, and the Private Secretariat of the Presidency.
“These recurring meetings help us monitor evaluation work across sectors and foster a culture of evidence generation and use within government,” said Shantal Aragón, CLEAR-LAC’s Director of Evidence Use and lead for the Guatemala partnership.
To broaden the evaluation ecosystem, CLEAR-LAC co-launched the initiative “Hablemos de Evaluación” (Let’s talk about Evaluation) in partnership with SEGEPLAN and OVE-IDB. This platform facilitates the exchange of lessons learned and promotes an evaluation culture that includes civil society and academia.
CLEAR-LAC's participation in EVALAC 2024—organized by OVE-IDB and held in Guatemala—further reinforced its commitment to regional knowledge exchange. The forum provided an opportunity for public officials from across Latin America to share best practices and address common challenges in strengthening M&E systems.
In response to Guatemala’s specific needs, CLEAR-LAC designed a technical assistance plan based on the National Evaluation Capacities Index (INCE) and existing diagnostics. Working with SEGEPLAN, OVE-IDB, and J-PAL LAC, the team developed a tailored roadmap to guide the strengthening of SINSE in alignment with the goals of Grupo Impulsor.
To support the institutionalization of SINSE’s regulatory framework, an international consultancy was awarded to Gonzalo Hernández Licona, former Executive Secretary of Mexico’s CONEVAL, through a competitive selection process. His work includes drafting a regulatory proposal, conducting a benefits assessment, and developing a communication strategy to raise awareness and promote adoption.
In April 2025, Carlos Mendoza, SEGEPLAN’s highest authority, visited Chile to meet with the CLEAR-LAC team. The meeting, hosted by UC Chile’s Provost for Institutional Management Francisco Gallego and Ignacio Irarrázaval, Director of the UC Public Policy Center and a CLEAR-LAC board member, served to reaffirm the commitment to collaboration and mutual learning.
“We greatly value this alliance,” said Mendoza. “Previous administrations had neglected this issue, but CLEAR-LAC has become a key regional and international partner to advance this agenda technically. Working with UC Chile—a regional leader in teaching, research, and knowledge production—opens doors for new collaborations with other university programs and academic experts in public administration and policy, which can support our efforts in Guatemala.”
The visit also marked the launch of CLEAR-LAC’s first specialized training course in Guatemala, Public Policy Design and Design Evaluation, which was organized jointly with SEGEPLAN. The course, which began in April 2025, is training 38 government professionals.
“Promoting evidence use is essential,” said Gallego. “CLEAR-LAC reaches what we call ‘the last mile’ of public policies. While some approaches remain top-down, effective policy implementation—and the development of strong monitoring and evaluation systems—relies on people on the ground who are knowledgeable and committed.”
CLEAR-LAC’s ongoing work in Guatemala, carried out through its strategic alliance with OVE-IDB and the Guatemalan government, demonstrates its mission to strengthen M&E systems and promote evidence-informed governance through diagnostics, technical assistance, capacity building, and regional exchange.