AEA365 Curator note: Please enjoy this article, part of a 5-part miniseries on VOPEs – Voluntary Organization for Professional Evaluation.
We, Gunter Rochow (coordinator, located in Canada), and Josette Arévalo (collaborator, located in Ecuador) are in the process of finalizing the Spanish version of the VOPE Toolkit (https://vopetoolkit.ioce.net/es) in collaboration with two other Spanish-speaking evaluators (Jennifer Bernal in Venezuela, and Pablo Rodríguez-Bilella in Argentina).
| Left to right: Pablo Rodríguez-Bilella, Josette Arévalo, Gunter Rochow, Jennifer Bernal. |
Rad Resource: The Toolkit comprises five sections: (1) setting up a VOPE (Voluntary Organization for Professional Evaluation); (2) institutionalizing a VOPE; (3) carrying out VOPE work; (4) EvalPartners Network Resources; and (5) the professionalization of evaluation. The first three of these have already been published in Spanish (see the above link), and we are currently preparing the Spanish version of the fourth section. The fifth one will follow as soon as possible.
We were motivated to translate the VOPE Toolkit to Spanish since it is a powerful tool that can be used by evaluators who wish to create new evaluation networks and for current VOPE leaders to strengthen their networks.
Cool Trick: The Spanish version of the Toolkit will allow Spanish-speaking evaluators both to contribute their experience to the wider professional evaluation community and to learn from the experiences of others.
The Spanish version of the Toolkit will also benefit AEA members who undertake evaluation projects in Spanish-speaking countries by becoming aware of Spanish-speaking experts as well as of the resources which they have contributed.
Hot Tip: ReLAC (Red de Seguimiento, Evaluación y Sistematización en America Latina y el Caribe), i.e. the Latin-American Monitoring and Evaluation Network, will make every effort to encourage evaluators living in its member countries to make their professional insights and experiences available through the Toolkit for the benefit of the wider evaluation community.
Leason Learned: As Silvia Salinas M., President of ReLAC indicated, a study conducted by ReLAC found that VOPE leaders in Latin America have a need to strengthen their networks; thus there is a great potential for the use of the Toolkit among Latin American VOPEs. She also informed that ReLAC was formed in 2004 by three National Networks (Peru, Colombia and Brazil). Currently there are 20 associated national networks of countries in South America, Central America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. The mission of ReLAC is to contribute to the strengthening of the culture and practice of monitoring, evaluation and systematization as a fundamental social and political process for improving policies, programs and projects, in an environment of greater transparency and citizen participation. The 2018-2019 Executive Committee has defined as one of its priorities the strengthening of national networks, seeking to enhance their positioning, legitimacy and role in each of the countries, as well as their regional and global participation and contribution.