Planning for the International Year of Evaluation in 2015 is taking off! Also referred to as EvalYear, it will be a unique opportunity to focus specifically on evaluation and its importance in the development and implementation of sustainable programs. EvalYear will also focus on bringing innovative information on evaluation together and dispersing it on an international, regional, national, and sub-national level.
A secretariat for EvalYear has recently been announced. Asela Kalugampitiya, the new secretariat, is a national of Sri Lanka, a member of the Sri Lanka Evaluation Association, involved in South Asia’s Community of Evaluators and one of the leaders of the South Asia Parliamentarians Forum.
The role of the secretariat is to keep Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) fully aware of EvalYear and share information on what these VOPEs are doing in strengthening evaluation demand in their own countries. These voluntary organizations are official evaluation associations or societies, as well as informal networks and communities of practice. A list of national and regional VOPEs can be found at the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation website.
The Improve Group will continue to keep you updated as more news on the International Year of Evaluation is released. We are truly looking forward to finding ways to be involved in, and share information on the year’s activities! If you would like to get in contact with Asela, he can be e-mailed at aselakalugampitiya@yahoo.ie.
