Empowering & Facilitating States through Evaluation Practices and Shared Experiences

The presence of a strong evaluation ecosystem is a critical enabler of evidence-based policymaking. State governments are key stakeholders in this process. A conference was held in 1999 by the Programme Evaluation Organization (PEO) of the Planning Commission that recorded the development of evaluation institutions of various states. The states have evolved differently in terms of building evaluation systems. For instance, Karnataka has an evaluation policy and an independent evaluation authority while many states have carved out space for evaluation within their planning departments, and few other states lack a distinct emphasis on evaluations. Further, the formation of NITI Aayog brought in a fresh perspective on the Monitoring and Evaluation function of the Government of India. In that background, DMEO is hosting a panel discussion on May 3, 2024, titled: “Empowering & Facilitating States through M&E Practices and Shared Experiences" with the objective of bringing diverse perspectives and experiences in building strong evaluation institutions in the country. The session will deliberate on strengthening evaluation institutions at the state level, building state officers' capacities, and developing a robust evaluation ecosystem.
The panel discussion aims to deliberate on various aspects of evaluations, such as evaluation frameworks, methodologies, and approaches; learning from best practices, use of technology, challenges faced, and emerging areas of evaluations. This panel discussion brings together representatives from DMEO, state governments, and development partners to:

• Unpack the efforts undertaken by the states to develop evaluation systems, enabling the exchange of best practices to further institutionalize evaluations in states.
• Understand the challenges faced by the states in building evaluation institutions, and identify opportunities for strengthening their role.
• Deliberate on building a robust evaluation ecosystem in a decentralized ecosystem of the country.

Speakers:

1. Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog
2. Sh. Antony Cyriac, Advisor, M/o Finance (Ex- DDG Evaluation, DMEO)
3. Prof. Prasanna Tantri, Associate Professor, ISB
4. Prof. Satish Agnihotri, CTARA, IIT Bombay
5. Dr. S. Madheswaran, Professor, Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore

Moderator:

Sh. Abinash Dash, Director, DMEO-NITI Aayog