Evaluation experts, development partners and parliamentarians from all around the world convened on 17-19 September 2018 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to discuss the benefits of a better use of evaluation evidence in governments' policy making. The forum was organized jointly by the Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation (GPFE), EvalPartners and the Sri Lanka Evaluation Association to share experiences and success stories of how evaluation has triggered change within political systems.

The director of the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), Mr Oscar A. Garcia, delivered a keynote speech on lessons learnt from Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), sharing experiences, successes and challenges, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. VNRs seek to strengthen policies and institutions of governments and mobilize multi-stakeholder support and partnerships for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The statement was very well received by the audience and disseminated through various channels, including social media and blogs. An interview was also published in the October issue of the Political and Economic Sikkim Journal in India.

The Forum's objectives were to:

• Reaffirm the importance of building capacity among parliamentarians to use evaluation evidence for governance purposes
• Promote dialogue between parliamentarians, governments, evaluation practitioners and civil society to pave the way for a better use of evaluation
• Raise awareness of the role of parliaments in driving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda
• Agree on the way forward for the Colombo Declaration, including country commitments regarding National Evaluation Policies/Systems and VNRs

For more information, visit the Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation (GPFE) website or the event webpage. 

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