The Network of Evaluation Societies in Europe (NESE) conducted a comparative study with contribution of 14 European Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) that provided a practical approach for streamlining the evaluation of the 10 Key Horizontal Principles (KHP): Equity, Gender equality, Social Justice, Partnership, Good governance, Innovation, Inclusivity, Democracy, Human rights, and Sustainable development. This study aimed to develop a “Common Reference Framework” (CRF), a tool that supports VOPEs in advocating for the implementation of KHPs’ evaluation. This project was funded by the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE) and EvalPartners (formed by the IOCE and the UN). 

Although the need for integrating KHPs into the evaluation of all interventions and policies is widely acknowledged, in the case of the vast majority of the countries surveyed, there is a lack of clear perception of KHPs and limited visibility of their promotion in evaluation practices. Fragmentation was also identified in VOPEs’ activities, possibly due to the lack of documents and/or guidelines developed to support advocacy for the broader use of evaluation evidence in policy-making processes or to assist national evaluators in addressing various contemporary challenges. Integration of KHPs in evaluation standards and the professionalization framework was found to be extremely limited. More significant progress has been made on principles related to methodological guidance documents, including gender, inclusivity, partnership, and sustainable development. Accordingly, the need for streamlining the KHPs’ evaluation, increasing their awareness, and growing visibility activities is immense, as the KHP and adoption of the CRF can contribute to more transformational and influential evaluation. 

During the session, the main results of the study and its update will be presented along with the CRF and the good practices shared by the selected countries/VOPEs.

moderacja: Monika Bartosiewicz-Niziołek, Polish Evaluation Society / NESE