By Spy Uganda
The Office of the Prime Minister, Makerere University, International Center For Evaluation & Development (ICED) and Uganda Evaluation Association are in the final stages of preparing for the Evidence to Action Conference 2022 to be held at Makerere University from 26th – 30th September 2022.
The Conference is organized under the theme; ”Adapting and innovating evaluation practice for evidence-based decision making within and beyond COVID-19.”
Addressing the press at Uganda Media Centre Thursday morning, Dr. David S. Ameyaw President and ICED Chief Executive Officer said the general goal of the conference aims to nurture the use of evidence-based policy decision-making and action in Africa, especially in the drive towards the realization of Agenda 2063 and 2030 goals within the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
ICED is an international and independent think-tank, specializing in innovation and research in Monitoring and Evaluation for development.
Dr. Ameyaw said this year’s event, shines a spotlight on the conduct of practitioners and professionals in Monitoring and Evaluation, dwelling on learned experiences of adapting and innovating evaluation practice for evidence-based decision-making within and beyond the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that the need for more and better evidence from research and evaluation of development programs has never been more crucial as Africa directs its efforts towards accomplishing its commitment to the above-mentioned agendas.
The Conference will include keynote addresses, breakout sessions, policy dialogue, and workshops. In addition, there will be two days of pre-conference training sessions, exhibitions and side events by partners and sponsors.
Also, the Conference will be a forum for renowned research and evaluation professionals and development practitioners from national, regional and international organizations and diverse disciplines to promote the use of evidence for policy-making and practice in Africa through the lens of the Covid-19 pandemic.
”Sound evidence is essential to inform policymaking, development actions, and citizenry perception of the impact of the agendas,” Dr Ameyaw noted.
He added that the conference will provide a platform for African researchers and evaluation professionals, development partners, and users of evidence to interact, share experiences and plan for future work together.
”The COVID-19 pandemic, thus, challenges practitioners and professionals in monitoring and evaluation to focus directly on emerging lessons from the available data at local, regional and global levels which would enable more effective operational planning and budgeting to support recovery plans and evidence-based policy-making that would positively impact on livelihoods choices among communities,” said Dr. David S. Ameyaw.
