Revisiting independence, objectivity, and the critically reflective role of evaluation for the SDG era (WP1600)

The purpose of this dialogue was to enable a high level, practical but informal debate, addressing conceptual and practical issues arising from the intersections of accountability, independence, objectivity and the critical voice of evaluation. The event brought together leading evaluation specialists and  a select group of experts who brought experience and expertise from outside the development evaluation community to discuss:

• The relationship between independence, objectivity, impartiality and authority;
• Separation of attestation and advisory roles;
• Evidence based policy making or policy based evidence making;
• The relationship between evaluators’ independent voices and obligations for stakeholder engagement and empowerment; and
• The role of evaluation within overall organisational governance designs that cater to learning and innovation as well as checks and balance and restraints on authority.