EvalVoices

EvalVoices is a space for evaluators, by evaluators – a platform driven by voices from the field to advance how we talk about and practise evaluation. Anchored in the EU’s commitment to an “evaluate first” culture, as highlighted in the  Evaluation Policy for EU External Action (10/06/2026) and the Better Regulation Guidelines, the EvalVoices initiative serves as an inclusive platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and insights amongst evaluation professionals and thought leaders. It explores what works, and what doesn’t under which circumstances – while sharing cutting-edge tools, methods and approaches that shape relevant, context sensitive, inclusive, and successful evaluation practices.

Launched by the European Commission, DG INTPA, DG ENEST, DG MENA, and FPI, EvalVoices builds on successful initiatives like EvalCrisis (2020) and Evaluation in Hard-to-Reach-Areas (2019). It serves both EC staff – including evaluation managers and M&E focal points – and the broader evaluation community. EvalVoices showcase first-hand learning and practical insights, and supports transparency, accountability, and collective learning in international cooperation and partnerships.

Join the Conversation:

Be part of EvalVoices’ events by clicking on the titles of the sessions below to register for different sessions. Each session includes a dedicated space for dialogue—giving you the opportunity to ask questions, challenge perspectives, and co-create knowledge that matters.

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📌 Session 6: Evaluating Relevance in a Changing World: Lessons from Applying the Revised OECD DAC Criterion in German Development Evaluation

🗣 Speaker: Martin Noltze 

📅 Date and Time: 30 September 2026 | 14:00 CET

About the topic: Relevance is one of the core OECD DAC evaluation criteria, but also one of the most conceptually and methodologically challenging to apply in practice. In a changing policy and development landscape, questions of relevance go beyond whether an intervention aligns with needs and priorities at a given moment. They require evaluators to consider whose needs matter, how priorities evolve over time, and how interventions remain appropriate in contexts shaped by uncertainty, crisis, institutional change, and shifting policy agendas. 

This EvalVoices session will explore how the Relevance criterion is understood and applied in evaluation practice. Drawing on recent experiences from German development evaluation, the session will reflect on conceptual and methodological lessons from both project-level and strategic evaluations. It will invite EU colleagues, evaluation commissioners, and practitioners from the wider evaluation community to consider how relevance can be assessed in a thoughtful, credible, and context-sensitive way. 

The session will offer practical reflections on how evaluators can move beyond a narrow or static understanding of relevance and instead examine the criterion as a dynamic lens for understanding the fit between interventions, stakeholder needs, policy priorities, and changing contexts. It will be of particular interest to those commissioning, managing, or conducting evaluations in international cooperation and public policy settings.

About the Speaker: Martin Noltze is a senior evaluator and team manager at the Competence Center for Methods at the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval). With 20 years of experience in evaluating international development cooperation, Martin works on the advancement of evaluation methods, standards, and criteria. At DEval, he is responsible for thematic evaluations in the areas of climate, environment, and sustainability. His methodological focus includes meta-evaluations and evidence syntheses, rigorous impact evaluations, and theory-based evaluation. 

🔔 Registration is open now! Follow or Bookmark EvalVoices' to ensure you receive notification once the registrations are opened.

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📌 Session 5: Evaluating for Democracy across Policy and Practice

🗣 Speaker: Peter van der Knaap, director of IOB, the independent Directorate of International Research & Policy Evaluation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and President of the European Evaluation Society

📅 Date and Time: 15 July 2026 | 14:00 CET

About the topic: In this EvalVoices webinar titled Evaluating for Democracy across Policy and Practice, Peter van der Knaap will explore the foundational relationship between evaluation and democratic governance. Building on his years of work, and influential essay 'Evaluation without democracy: learning for what, accountable to whom?', Peter will discuss why democratic values such as accountability, voice, representation, and participation should be central to evaluation systems and practice. He will examine how evaluation can contribute to deeper learning, enhance accountability to citizens, and strengthen democratic decision-making across policy contexts and why this matters. This session will invite participants to reflect on the purpose and use of evaluation in democratic societies and engage in dialogue about how evaluation practice can support democratic values in both theory and practice.

About the Speaker: Peter van der Knaap, PhD, is director of IOB, the Independent Evaluation Directorate of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and president of the European Evaluation Society. He is a respected voice in the evaluation field, known for his contributions to evaluation theory and practice, including critical reflections on the relationship between evaluation, learning, accountability, and democratic governance. His books and articles bridges academic perspectives and practical evaluation systems, advancing how evaluators think about purpose, use, and values in evaluation.

⏳ COMING SOON! 🔜 📂 Access the resources to:

• 📝 Read the article to uncover the key takeaways,
• 🎥 Watch or listen to the recording,
• 🎧 Listen to the podcast, or
• 📥 Download the presentation.

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About the topic: In this session, Megan explored:

✅ What it really means to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness in development interventions, 

✅ Why these dimensions matter for credibility and learning, and 

✅ How practitioners can approach them in a practical, methodologically sound way. 

Drawing on her OECD DAC experience, she discussed common challenges, useful tools, and emerging good practices, offering participants concrete insights to strengthen the quality and usability of their evaluations.

⏳ COMING SOON! 🔜 📂 Access the resources to:

• 📝 Read the article to uncover the key takeaways,
• 🎥 Watch or listen to the recording,
• 🎧 Listen to the podcast, or
• 📥 Download the presentation.

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📌 Topic: Outcome Harvesting & the Emerging Intersections with AI

🗣 Speaker: Goele Scheers

📅 Date and Time: 03 February 2026 | 14:00 CET

About the Topic: The third session in EvalVoices webinar series will explore how Outcome Harvesting as an evaluation method helps us capture and understand change in complex environments—and how Artificial Intelligence is beginning to transform this practice.

This interactive webinar will:

✅ Unpack the core ideas of Outcome Harvesting as a method for identifying and interpreting outcomes.

✅ Reflect on the opportunities and risks AI brings to evaluation, learning, and decision-making.

✅ Create space for dialogue on how practitioners and policymakers can harness these intersections to advance adaptive and evidence-based action.

📂Access the resources to:

• 📝 Read the article to uncover the key takeaways,
• 🎥 Watch or listen to the recording,
• 🎧 Listen to the podcast, or
• 📥 Download the presentation.

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📌 Topic: Process Tracing

🎤 Speaker: Derek Beach

📅 Date and Time: 30 September 2025 | 14:00 CET

About the Topic: Process tracing is a qualitative research method used to identify and test causal mechanisms in complex contexts. It enables evaluators to go beyond “what works” by systematically examining how and why interventions produce outcomes. In this session, Derek Beach will demonstrate how process tracing can be applied in evaluations to strengthen the credibility of findings and enhance understanding of causal pathways. Participants will gain practical insights into designing and conducting evaluations that are both methodologically sound and contextually grounded.

📂 Access the resources to: 

• 📝 Read the article to uncover the key takeaways,
• 🎥 Watch the recording,
• 🎧 Listen to the podcast, or
• 📥Download the presentation.

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📌 Topic: Evaluation Science

🎤 Speaker: Michael Quinn Patton

📅 Date and Time: 15 July 2025 | 14:00 CET

About the Topic: Evaluation Science addresses the evolving body of knowledge that underpins effective and credible evaluation practice. In this session, Michael Quinn Patton will explore the foundations of evaluation as a scientific discipline—what constitutes quality evidence, how methodological choices influence use, and why evaluation must adapt to complexity, uncertainty, and systems change.

📂 Access the resources to: 

• 📝 Read the article to uncover the key takeaways,
• 🎥 Watch the recording,
• 🎧 Listen to the podcast, or
• 📥Download the presentation.