Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB) in Uganda

Abstract

It is no longer an issue of contestation that evaluation; (often christened M&E) in African vogue has recently enjoyed exponential growth and popularity from several perspectives–as a profession, as a field of practice and as an academic discipline. Professionally, professional associations, units/departments and positions for evaluation experts are being established in the public, private and civil society sectors in most African countries. Throughout the continent, professional meetings, workshops and conferences in evaluation are now a common feature. Several continental bodies also exist to spearhead ECB efforts. As a field of practice, evaluation now has become a growing area of interest for practitioners and policy-makers. Not only are countries establishing public sector M&E policies but elaborate institutional frameworks continue to be designed. As an academic discipline of study, academic courses and specialised departments have been established in universities and evaluation graduates have steadily entered the job market although the demand still outweighs the supply. A number of journal articles and researches on evaluation are being published. While undisputedly these efforts have scaled up the evaluation capacity of African governments to monitor and evaluate policies, projects, programmes and interventions among other evaluands, evaluation capacity challenges still exist at individual, group, organisational, government and society levels. There is a meagre presence of efforts to take stock of various ECB initiatives that have tended to characterize Africa; and Uganda in particular. Yet it is such an ‘evaluation’ of various approaches and trends that ought to guide future evaluation interventions especially after assessing what has worked and what has not worked. This article attempts to fill this knowledge gap and takes a rear mirror view of the ECB efforts in Uganda
from 2001 to 2016.