ABSTRACT
Global shifts triggered by COVID-19 will impact on the manner in which evaluation works in the future and related disruption will extend to national oversight and accountability architecture. Established evaluation practices had gained momentum and were linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which required progress reporting. Key evaluation events demonstrated the positive role that evaluation plays in SDG attainment. The crisis has led to a shift from reporting on attainment towards Agenda 2030, to reporting on losses against targets. This has been the key framing within the United Nations (UN) socio-economic response plans (SERPs), generated by the UN to help recovery efforts. A review of the plans revealed that losses were occurring on the development front, that the magnitude of the crisis has paused traditional oversight activities like evaluation, and that new actors have entered this space. Whilst the evaluation element of the SERPs is inadequate, reflection is needed on how evaluation can retain its normative and principled approach to generating credible evidence, whilst also improving its value proposition. A key element of the plans is objective reporting on progress; a fundamental shift which compels evaluation to demonstrate its value more explicitly. This chapter presents a set of observations for consideration.
