CLEAR-AA, in collaboration with AfrEA, commissioned a VOPE discussion paperto map out the state of VOPEs in sevenAnglophone Africancountries CLEAR-AA is workinginand two Francophone African countries, identifying keychallenges they face and opportunities that exist to support them as strategic partners in countries M&E ecosystems. The study methodology comprised ofa qualitative studydesign which involved the use of qualitative methods such asliterature and desktopreview, andsemi-structured interviews. The scope of the study covered Zimbabwe Evaluation Association (ZEA), Zambia Monitoring and Evaluation Association (ZaMEA), Tanzania Evaluation Association (TaNEA), Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA), Namibia Evaluation Society (an emerging VOPE), Ghana Monitoring and Evaluation Forum (GMEF), Evaluation Society of Kenya (ESK), Senegalese Evaluation Association (SenEval), and Cameroon Development Evaluation Association (CaDEA). Thefindings revealed that national African VOPEs playseveral key roles in country M&E systems including networking and building a community of practice, strengthening VOPE members’ capacity, strengtheningM&E practice, strengthening national M&E ecosystemand strengthening the use/influence of evaluation evidence. Despite their significance in the M&E field and practice, VOPEs face several internal and external challenges such as limited organisational capacity, limits to reliance on volunteers, limited revenue sources, capacity to develop strategy for M&E in the respective countries remains limited, threat of co-optation by dominant parties, and minimal political clout etc.

The paper concluded that partners such as CLEAR-AA and AfrEA have an essential role to play in strengthening VOPEs and should observe various principles when supporting them:

• Principle 1: Focus on long term goals; although delivery of short-term projects remains important for the visibility and legitimacy of the VOPE, support should assist VOPEs to focus on long-term goals;
• Principle 2: Focus on achieving sustained change; support to strengthen VOPEs should be aligned with building a sustainable organisation, not merely the deliveryof activities;
• Principle 3: Enable, not take over; partners are likely to have more capacity than VOPEs. The temptation will exist to implement activities on behalf of VOPEs but, although this could achieve short-term goals, it will not build VOPEs’ capacity. Where some delivery role for partners is unavoidable, the emphasis should be on co-delivery;
• Principle 4: Use local partners; interventions to support VOPEs should draw from local capacity, possibly individuals who are already involved with the VOPEs;
• Principle 5: Adopt a systems approach and not just individual activities; in supporting VOPEs, partners must think about the entire country ecosystem and aim to draw connections between disparate activities to avoid further fragmentation or silos. Partners must also co-ordinate their efforts; and
• Principle 6: Differentiated approach; VOPEs are not homogenous. Each VOPE should be approached as unique, their positionality and capacity are shaped by political and socio-economic context of their country and history of the organisation. This context must be understood by any partner investing in the VOPE.

The discuss paper expandson Principle 6, as it is viewed that animportant step in strengthening VOPEs is understanding the needs of different VOPEs. The study found that AfricanVOPEs vary based on their developmental path and country context. Therefore, it is proposed that VOPEs on the continent can be categorized into three groups. Category one is emergent VOPEs. These are VOPEs in the formative phases and where the M&E context is emergent. The second category is growing VOPEs. These are VOPEs that have existed for a while and have an established reputation, but have failed to grow consistently and the M&E context is constrained, with minimal government interest in accountability or M&E. It could also include VOPEs that have demonstrated vitality and are growing, but which remain financially dependent despite the country’sM&E context being open and there being demonstrable government interest in M&E. Category three is established VOPEs. This group consists of established VOPEs that have demonstrated organisational stability and capacity over a period of time.