Country-Led Evaluations (CLE)

Country-Lled Eevaluations (CLEs) are central to building strong, sustainable national evaluation systems that are grounded in country priorities, governance structures, and learning needs. CLEs empower partner governments to take the lead in designing, implementing, and using evaluations – shifting from externally driven processes to locally owned, evidence-based decision-making tools. By embedding evaluation within national systems and aligning with local development goals, CLEs foster institutional learning, accountability, and long-term capacity. This approach builds on the principle of “learning by doing,”, offering tailored support where needed while placing leadership firmly in the hands of national actors.

CLEs are essential for strengthening Evaluation Capacity Development (ECD)  –  a key pillar of EvalConnect’s mission. They help translate capacity-building efforts into real-world evaluation practice and policymaking, ensuring that capacity gains are not abstract but are directly connected to impactful, country-relevant evaluations.

EvalConnect supports CLEs in partner countries by fostering innovative approaches – an SDG focus, participatory approaches and the fFootprint approach – ensuring that national evaluations not only drive progress toward inclusive, equitable development, but also embed environmental sustainability at the core of public policy evaluation.