The International Centre for Evaluation and Development (ICED) in conjunction with Tegemeo, Atai, BASIS and ISSER organized a five-day Africa Evidence Conference in Nairobi to enhance collaboration between researchers and stakeholders and outline clear recommendations on how to ensure Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and evidence-based research positively impacts regional and national priorities and contributes to the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Malabo Declaration. Through the convening, the organizers sought to to ensure increased uptake and utilization of research and innovation in evaluation for development to influence policy and drive change at the national, regional and global levels.
Over the past decade, Africa has witnessed a growing interest in research and evaluation for policy development. Many national governments and development practitioners are increasingly becoming aware of the critical role that research and evaluation can play in informing and shaping development of effective policy-making, governance, program design and implementation at national, regional, and global levels.
African governments and development organizations need credible evidence to inform policy and decision-making processes. However, while the value of research and evaluation is increasingly appreciated on the continent, determining what evidence to use for decision-making – and how to use it – has been a challenge. Despite the growing interest in and demand for research and evaluation (R&E), R&E has not yet reached its full potential. There continues to be a great disconnect between knowledge and evidence generation and the utilization of evidence- based intervention into action for policy decision-making and implementation processes.
There continues to be a great disconnect between knowledge and evidence generation and the utilization of evidence- based intervention into action for policy decision-making and implementation processes. This must now change, so that the role of research and evaluation is understood as an opportunity for organizational and individual learning, to improve performance and accountability for impact. There is an ardent need to translate research and evidence into policy relevant actions for decision- makers, including developing effective communication products and strategies for sharing and dissemination to a wider public. These challenges are not insurmountable. Addressing this disconnect is an achievable goal.
The conference theme was "Bridging the Gap: Strengthening the connections between research, evaluation, and evidence-based policies and practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is premised on the understanding that contextualizing research and evaluation for Africa has the potential to inform policy decision-making and the achievement of SDGs. The sub-themes of the conference were as follows:
The focus of the conference was on how evidence can be generated, analysed, presented and utilized for effective and impactful policy and program development. The objectives of the conference were:
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