In March 2021, PAHO launched its new Evaluation Policy. The policy allows the publication of evaluation summaries that will help demonstrate the Organization’s transparency and accountability in alignment with the Organization's guidelines and the best international practices and standards. PAHO also developed, in 2022 an Evaluation Handbook to implement the Evaluation Policy and equip PAHO's evaluation practitioners with comprehensive guidance and good practices. ln September 2023, the Evaluation Handbook was also launched in Spanish to increased accessibility by a broader audience of Spanish-speaking users. ln 2023, other evaluation materials, such as reports, manuals, and briefs, were also translated into Spanish in a continuous efforts to resource PAHO staff with the necessary tools for the conduct, management and implementation of sound and impactful evaluations.
PAHO's governing bodies' events in 2023 included special sessions aimed at reporting to and raising awareness among Member States of the Organization's efforts through evaluations. During the 172nd session of PAHO's Executive Committee on 28 June 2023, PAHO held a Briefing Session to present the Evaluation of PAHO's Response to COVID-19. Then, on 25 September 2023, PAHO hosted the event: Applying COVID-19 Lessons on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response as side event to PAHO's 60th Directing Council, which featured an update on the status of PAHO's implementation of the evaluation's recommendations.
"Building an evaluation culture at PAHO is pivotal in guiding our new
approaches and has set a benchmark for excellence."
PAHO Evaluation extended its support to different endeavors across the Organization throughout the year, including cooperation with the Country and Subregional Cooperation (CSC) department. PAHO Evaluation has played an active role in assessing the methodology employed for the review of Country Cooperation Strategies (CCS), and their alignment with evaluation principles and practices. Moreover, PAHO Evaluation provided guidance on initiatives to enhance organizational learning and overall performance and responded to queries by Country Offices and members of the Program Management Network.
PAHO's past evaluations and comparable exercises conducted since 2009 are being reviewed and documented. More than 120 documents have been collected, including assessments, reviews, and other reports. These documents will be stored in PAHO's Evaluation Platform in an effort to preserve the Organization's internal historical memory and add value to past exercises that contain useful lessons for PAHO. It also leverages past investments made in such exercises and promotes better opportunities for the Organization to learn from its past, further fostering a culture of evaluation, organizational learning, and continuous improvement.
ln 2023, the human resources dedicated to evaluation in PAHO Headquarters have increased. An Evaluation and Research Specialist was hired and integrated in June 2023. This is in addition to the continued support by three consultants. The function could also advance thanks to the vital support in 2023 by interns who complete a youthful team that is motivated to be trained and grow at PAHO. Considering the importance of the evaluation work in PAHO, and the growing participation in WHO evaluations, an additional increase in staff has been approved for 2024-2025. Also in 2023, PAHO updated and expanded its rosters of evaluation firms and individual consultants, which now include about 80 providers. With this, PAHO has access to readily available resources to be deployed when needed for evaluations of for the procurement of external firms.