Evaluation Field Building in South Asia: Reflections,Anecdotes,and Questions

This article examines evaluation field building in South Asia and the role of international collaboration in this field building. The article explores aspects of the supply and demand of development evaluation and the political, historical, and systemic factors that bridge or block evaluation use. The article calls for and suggests elements to include in constructing a framework for evaluation field building, including the role of civil society, evaluation leadership, the formation and reformation of evaluation communities of practice and professional associations, formal evaluation curriculum and training, iterative applied approaches to capacity building, and fostering a culture of evaluation quality and use. Although the focus of the article is on development evaluation in South Asia, the questions explored are pertinent to other evaluation sectors and regions. The article flags the absence of literature on the state of evaluation in South Asia, and, given the limited evidence, develops hypothesis and questions for further probing and debate.