Positionality in Made in African Evaluation: Race, Geography, and Epistemology

Made in Africa evaluation has grown to shape the trajectory of evaluation in the region. However, empirical studies on the backgrounds of evaluators in Africa have illustrated the complex relationship between identity and geography. “Being African” takes on an important meaning in a context where local evaluation skills are often marginalized, but “local” identities have historically been displaced and disrupted. The authors of this manuscript all carry some identity as African evaluators, but represent a broad spectrum of races, geographic bases, cultural history, and invisible backgrounds and identities. At the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association, they came together during the Made in Africa stream to share how their positionality within and outside of the evaluation space shapes their work, and how, in aggregate, identity and transformation come together. Our experience points to a need for rigorous interrogation of the complex relationship between identity, lived experience, and values in evaluation.