Uganda to host African Evaluation Conference

Commissioner Information Dissemination Monitoring & Inspection Moses Watasa addressing the media on the African Evaluations Association Conference that will be hosted in Uganda this month. Photo by Racheal Nassuuna.

Uganda is to host the 8th African Evaluation Conference from 27th to 31st March in Kampala.

The conference is organized jointly by the Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA) and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

The Commissioner Information, Dissemination, Monitoring and Inspection OPM, Moses Watasa said the event is expected to attract 600 delegates and experts in Evaluation and Monitoring (M&E) from Africa and other parts of the world.

It is to take place at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala under the theme: ""Evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Opportunities and Challenges for Africa". It is organised by the OPM together with Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA)".

Addressing journalists at Uganda Media Centre in Kampala yesterday, Watasa said; "The Government is proud and honoured to host the conference that marks the development of the evaluation profession and practice in the country and the region".

He noted that the event is also a great way to market Uganda as it gives the country opportunity to promote its tourism potentials and other investments.

He called on all interested professionals, M&E experts, researchers, and students and academia to apply and participate in the conference.

The event is aimed at strengthening the Voluntary Professional Evaluation Associations (VOPEs) to work with national governments to advance the evaluation agenda, provide space for sharing experiences to enhance national evaluation capacities, showcase the use evaluative evidence in Africa to the development of emerging evaluators.

Watasa said through shared experiences and ideas from various experts, it is going to help government come up with better policies to improve service delivery in various sectors.

"We want the resolutions to trickle down how we manage Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) functions. It is also going to help us assess ourselves and also learn from other countries how to deliver services better," he said.

The UEA President, Rosetti Nabbumba Nayenga said the delegates are expected to demonstrate the value of, and learn from their SDG investments and targets.

"We are looking at empowering members to influence national M&E policies in their respective countries and widen our networking and research," she added.