Embracing Sustainability-Inclusive Evaluation at the 2024 NEC Conference

The Footprint Evaluation Initiative (FEI) and the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval) conducted a workshop on sustainability-inclusive evaluation at the 2024 National Evaluation Capacities (NEC) Conference, which was held from October 14 to 18 in Beijing, China. The workshop, led by Andy Rowe from FEI and Anna Warnholz from Deval, presented a practical approach to incorporating environmental sustainability as a central element into evaluation processes. Participants explored key concepts and essential tools for ensuring that evaluations of any intervention consider the environment.

In view of pressing global challenges, the workshop emphasized the urgent need for evaluation practices to consider both human-made and natural systems to address complex issues more effectively. “Sustainability-inclusive evaluation is a new approach that contributes to a better understanding of whether development efforts effectively contribute to the long-term well-being of people and the planet, and are equitable, environmentally sound, and viable,” said workshop participant Serdar Bayryyev, Senior Evaluation Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The  session presented practical frameworks, strategies, and guidelines from the FEI, which aims to embed consideration of environmental sustainability in all evaluations and monitoring systems, not only those with explicit environmental objectives. Participants learned how to include sustainability into evaluation questions and terms of references, identify relevant evidence, and assess the effects of interventions on the environment.

“We left the workshop equipped with practical tools and techniques we could immediately implement in our own contexts. The hands-on activities provided real-world applications of the concepts discussed, making the learning experience both relevant and actionable,” noted Mr. Bayryyev.

Experiences shared by Global Affairs Canada and the Department of National Planning in Colombia provided concrete examples of sustainability-inclusive evaluation, demonstrating its feasibility and practicality.

Gonzalo Hernández Licona, Director of the Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network (MPPN) and one of the workshop participants, shared his personal reflection: “I have a confession to make. I have been working on evaluations for a little over 15 years, but I had never seriously thought about applying elements of sustainability in the many evaluations in which I have participated. [...] When we design public policy, it often happens that we harm the environment and most of the time we don't take this into account as part of the net results on the populations. [...] We usually don't measure this, but we need to do it!”

Mr. Licona concluded by stressing the importance of including sustainability into evaluations. “Through the evaluation of the effect of public policies on the environment, we can help our planet a great deal,” he said.

By adopting improved practices, workshop participants will be better equipped to drive change within their institutions, ensuring that initiatives have a positive impact on both people's lives and the planet.

“Attending the Sustainability-Inclusive Evaluation workshop was one of my highlights of the NEC," said Erdenechimeg (Chimgee) Ulziisuren, Founder and President of the Mongolian Evaluation Association. "The business as usual type of approach in evaluation is no longer acceptable. Rather, we need to employ a coupled systems approach which looks at the nexus of human systems and nature systems. […] I am very much excited to put all this knowledge into my evaluation practice."

Contributors:

Anna Warnholz, Evaluator at the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval)

Andy Rowe, Founding Member of the Footprint Evaluation Initiative