New Twende Mbele Programme Manager
Twende Mbele appoints Dr Thina Nzo as Programme Manager
Twende Mbele is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Thina Nzo as the new Programme Manager, effective 1 January 2025. Launched in 2016, Twende Mbele is a Pan-African partnership between the governments of Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, South Africa and Uganda, whose collective aim is jointly learning and sharing good practices regarding the use of monitoring and evaluative (M&E) evidence to strengthen the performance of government development plans, policies, programmes and projects.
Dr Nzo brings a wealth of experience and dynamism to Twende Mbele. With over 16 years of professional expertise, her career spans leadership roles in non-profits, academic institutions, and international organisations, where she has led multiple policy and research projects. Dr Nzo possesses extensive experience and skills working in various portfolios, including serving as a senior researcher, consultant, and programme/project manager. She has coordinated stakeholder engagements and lead policy advocacy reforms as a policy evaluation specialist.
Dr Nzo holds a PhD in African Studies from the University of Edinburgh and a Master’s in Local Policy and Politics from the University of Birmingham. Her passion lies in working with policymakers and development practitioners to leverage applied research and evaluation to influence and shape socio-economic development across the African continent effectively. Most recently, Dr. Nzo served as a Local Government Program Manager at the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), University of the Witwatersrand. She is also a former Head of Public Policy for the Northern Cape African National Congress.
Twende Mbele is confident that Dr. Nzo’s strategic vision and commitment to fostering peer learning and innovative M&E practices will propel the programme to greater heights.
For inquiries, contact:
Parfait Kasongo, Communications Coordinator: [email protected]
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The 15th European Evaluation Bennial Conference 2024
The 15th European Evaluation Bennial Conference 2024 – Rimni, Italy
On the 23 – 27 September 2024, Twende Mbele attended the 15th European Evaluation Bennial Conference 2024. The theme of the conference was “Better Together: collaborative thought and action for better evaluation”, building upon the valuable feedback received following Copenhagen 2022 and from other previous events, the EES 2024 provided a new and even stronger opportunity to share, learn, and come together as a community.
The 2024 conference themes are reflective of a different approach to learning and sharing anchored on collaboration; the modalities combine old and trusted approaches with innovative ones. The programme was reflective of the facility and designed to ensure that the physical space is used in the best possible way to facilitate sharing and collaboration. The conference aimed to focus the European M&E agenda on younger and less often heard voices on the evaluation spectrum. The conference also invited EES TWGs and evaluation communities of practice to work with the EES in shaping sessions and strands and showcase new approaches and innovative collaborations in their fields of evaluation. Achieving these objectives the EES relied on the goodwill of European M&E community to embrace both collaboration and inclusion in the pursuit of a richer, more dynamic and impactful evaluation sector.
Twende Mbele hosted a panel discussion titled,“Moving Forward Together: The Peer-to-Peer Learning Collaboration Approach by Twende Mbele as Developmental Internationalism?”, to highlight experiences of Twende Mbele member nations in adopting peer-learning collaborations approach to co-build evaluative cultures across the public institutions in a bid to positively influence national development priorities and identify mechanisms that can improve such collaborations to advance the continental and international development goals.
The key research question the Twende Mbele panel was trying to answer was: how can Twende Mbele countries continue to collaboratively share, learn and innovate M&E practices and systems that contribute to these governments’ mutual facilitation of positive socio-economic change and political instability in the dynamic sub-Saharan Africa region?
The slide presentation can be found below:
The 3rd Tanzania MEL Week 2024
The 3rd Tanzania Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Week Conference 2024 – Zanzibar, Tanzania
On 17th to 20th September 2024 Twende Mbele attended the 3rd Tanzania MEL Week 2024. The theme of the conference was “Transforming Service Delivery with Technology-Driven Monitoring and Evaluation: Building a Culture of Evidence-Based Decision Making”
The conference was set to be a pivotal event that further advanced the practice and culture of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) within the Tanzania and across Africa. Building on the success and momentum of previous conferences, this event aimed at consolidating MEL practices, foster sustainable development, and support the decolonization of evaluation practices through local leadership and participatory approaches.
The event was testament to the Government of Tanzania’s commitment, in partnership with the Tanzania Evaluation Association (TanEA), to enhance M&E within public institutions and beyond. It served as a platform for stakeholders from various sectors to discuss, share ideas, and draw lessons on managing development programs and addressing the challenges of M&E in development initiatives. The conference recognized for its role in promoting an M&E culture within the government and among communities, advocated for the development of a culture that demands and uses evaluations, and showcases the best in tourism activities in Tanzania.
The conference covered a wide range of topics under the main theme: Transforming Service Delivery with Technology-Driven Monitoring and Evaluation: Building a Culture of Evidence-Based Decision Making.
The conference sub-themes were:
• Innovations and Embedding Technologies in MEL
• Strengthening demand and supply side MEL Capacities
• Evaluation and Accountability in Development
• Cascading SDGs, Regional, National Frameworks MEL, and Diversity and Social Inclusion Progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Investment, Collaboration and Partnerships for improving sector MEL systems
• Empowering Young and Emerging Evaluators for Future Development Impact
Twende Mbele was honored with hosting two session on:
1) Introducing Twende Mbele to the United Republic of Tanzania: Slide Presentation
2)
8th Uganda Evaluation Week 2024
The 8th Uganda Evaluation 2024 – Kampala, Uganda
On the 19 – 23 August 2024, Twende Mbele attended the 8th Uganda Evaluation Week in Kampala, Uganda. The theme of the conference was “Development with Purpose: Empowering Accountable learning for achieving development goals and enhancing climate resilience” acknowledging the national effort leveraging the power of learning, sharing, and partnerships in evaluation. This year’s event marked the eighth edition since the Evaluation Week was first held in 2013.
The Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA) in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) organized the Evaluation Week that drew evaluation practitioners from Government, Civil Society, and the Private sector, Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs), the academia and development Partners. UEA is a body of professional practitioners that aims to strengthen the knowledge and practices in monitoring and evaluation, research and learning among its membership in Uganda. The conference was organized with the support of Twende Mbele, CLEAR-AA, Taweza, UNDP and UNICEF.
The event started with pre-conference workshops on the 19th and 20th of August, 2024 followed by a three-day conference starting from the 21st – 23rd August 2024. Both the Pre-Conference workshop and the Conference will be by subscripted.
The Conference objective were:
1. To provide a platform where stakeholders share experiences from evaluations that have contributed to attainment of national targets towards NDP III and SDGs in building resilience to Climate change.
2. To explore innovative ways for evaluation practice that improve learning and strengthen synergies between local practitioners and international evaluation actors.
The conference aimed to enhance the practice of monitoring and evaluation by fostering a shift towards impactful, learning -oriented outcomes beyond accountability. It will delved into the evolution of accountability centric evaluations to practices that prioritize learning. Emphasizing the importance of moving past mere evidence generation, the conference promoted shared learning experiences anchored in strong partnerships. The overarching theme provided a foundation for stimulating discussions, interactive workshops and diverse activities throughout the event.
The conference expected outcomes were:
1. Strengthened support for integration of evidence-use in national development initiatives spanning various sectors.
2. Improved methodologies in evaluations practices and expanded research prospects for both local practitioners and international evaluation stakeholders.
Evidence to Action Conference 2024 – Accra, Ghana
Evidence to Action Conference 2024 – Accra, Ghana
On the 22 – 26 July 2024, Twende Mbele attended the 7th Evidence to Action Conference at the ISSER Centre in Accra Ghana. The theme of the conference was “Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation”explored the linkages and synergies between two key concepts that are essential for addressing the impacts of climate change, especially in Africa. It highlighted questions such as: How can climate change adaptation enhance resilience to current and future climate risks? What are the barriers and enablers for effective and inclusive adaptation and resilience building? How can adaptation and resilience contribute to sustainable development and human well-being in a changing climate? How can evidence and evaluation inform and improve adaptation and resilience policies and practices?
The overall goal of the “Evidence to Action Conference 2024” was to bring together experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to discuss the latest research and evidence on climate change and its impact on the world, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. The conference provided a platform for sharing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and identifying practical solutions to address the challenges posed by climate change in the region.
The conference objectives included:
– Knowledge Sharing: facilitated the exchange of knowledge, research, and best practices in resilience and climate change adaptation.
– Networking: provided an opportunity for participants to network and build connections with professionals from various industries, organizations, and regions.
– Policy Dialogue: provided a platform for policymakers, government representatives, and stakeholders to engage in meaningful discussions on climate change adaptation policies.
– Innovation and Technology: highlighted innovative and technological solutions that can support resilience and adaptation to climate change.
– Capacity Strengthening: aimed to equip participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to adapt to the evolving climate challenges.
– Collaboration and Action: fostered collaboration and action among participants to address climate change resilience and adaptation challenges.
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