By Oyundalai Odkhuu
Mongolian Evaluation Association & Cognos International LLC
The Mongolian Evaluation Association (MEA) was founded in 2021 to promote professional evaluation in Mongolia. The MEA is a registered, non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to professional evaluation and has been a member of the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE) since 2022.
Since its inception, MEA has been encouraging young people to get involved in evaluation through various activities. In this regard, we initiated the Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEE) internship programme with EvalYouth Mongolia and Youth Inc. under the initiative of the Youth in Evaluation week, which was launched in 2023.
Mongolia is a country of young people, and youth aged 15–34 represent the largest demographic group in the country, constituting nearly 35 per cent of the population in 2019. However, youth engagement in evaluation is underrepresented, including in the design and delivery of programmes, strategies, policies, funding mechanisms, and in organizations at the national level. There is also a lack of understanding of youth’s voice and power in evaluation.
The meaningful engagement of youth in evaluation is a term that encompasses a range of understandings, experiences, and techniques. According to the Global Consensus Statement on Meaningful Adolescent and Youth Engagement (2018), meaningful adolescent and youth engagement is a respectful partnership between youth and adults, where power is shared, and young people's ideas and skills are integrated into programmes and policies that affect their lives and communities.
This blog focuses on how MEA has been supporting meaningful engagement of youth in evaluation in Mongolia through several activities such as advocacy, evaluation case competitions, advocacy to sign the Youth in Evaluation manifesto, and even capacity building of youth in evaluation.
The Youth in Evaluation week has provided us with an invaluable opportunity to delve into the untapped potential of young people in evaluation.
First, we advocated with the younger generation on the value and impact of evaluation, and its importance, inspiring them to consider careers in this field. So what does this mean in the context of advocacy for youth in evaluation? Youth advocacy involves making sure that young people's perspectives, needs, and interests are actively included and represented in evaluations. In this regard, we organized a 5-day Living Library session where over 200 students were provided a basic understanding of evaluation and who in turn expressed their observations and needs to teachers and specialists in evaluation. This campaign resonated with the students because it offered a unique pathway for young people to connect with global leaders and experts in their field.
Youth advocacy involves making sure that young people's perspectives, needs, and interests are actively included and represented in evaluations.
Second, the first Mongolian Evaluation Case Competition was organized and promoted across five major universities in Mongolia so that students learn more about programme evaluation and teamwork, and get inspired to pursue careers as evaluation professionals. We successfully engaged 200 students in this initiative, thanks to the support from Ernst & Young Mongolia. Moreover, we also conducted the summer evaluation boot camp, offering students invaluable hands-on experience in the field of evaluation, in partnership with American University.
Third, we organized a 3-day online training on evaluation for YEEs in Mongolia, to strengthen their capacities in evaluation. The training provided participants with in-depth knowledge on various evaluation topics in partnership with American University. The capacity development training was conducted as part of a MOU between the MEA and American University. As this training was unique for YEEs, they actively engaged and asked questions related to the importance of evaluation in policy-making and the best experiences so far. Over 30 participants attended this training and gained essential knowledge and understanding of evaluation.
Fourth, a call to action to sign the Youth in Evaluation manifesto and adopt the Youth in Evaluation standards was one of the key activities to foster meaningful youth engagement in evaluation in Mongolia. In this regard, we translated the manifesto and standards into Mongolian, in order to enhance the understanding of youth engagement in evaluation among government agencies. We also produced two pitch videos for the public to explain how youth engagement in evaluation is crucial to identify new solutions that can secure the breakthroughs necessary for fast-tracking the delivery of the SDGs. As a result of this advocacy, eight local and international organizations and around 200 individuals signed the manifesto.
The Youth in Evaluation week has provided us with an invaluable opportunity to delve into the untapped potential of young people in evaluation, through the implementation of the aforementioned four activities. In particular, it has allowed us to gain insights into how the youth in Mongolia perceive the evaluation sector. As this initiative was the first of its kind in Mongolia, certain aspects were not fully explored during the first Youth in Evaluation week 2023. However, we aim to incorporate these aspects in the upcoming Youth in Evaluation week 2024, to further enrich and expand opportunities for youth involvement and enhance stakeholder commitment to evaluation in Mongolia.
The Youth in Evaluation week revealed many facets of the world of evaluation, especially for us the YEEs.
To our great surprise, our first organization of the Youth in Evaluation week in 2023, did not have many challenges. These could be due to two facts: the generous support of Ernst & Young, and the enormous power of our YEE interns. The only challenge we saw was a lack of interest from students to participate in the Mongolian Evaluation Case Competition as the evaluation field was so new to them and they had many other more promising competitions with higher monetary prices.
As a way forward, we should budget for Youth in Evaluation week every year and seek funders of our activities. We should also form an organizing committee a few months in advance for smoother operation as all the activities are voluntary efforts carried out by people who have competing priorities.
Overall, the Youth in Evaluation week revealed many facets of the world of evaluation, especially for us the YEEs, and stretched us to the extent that we could explore our potential within us and beyond us, so that, we are committed to contributing our best each year in the future for the development of the evaluation ecosystem in Mongolia and beyond.
Oyundalai Odkhuu is a young and emerging evaluator at the Mongolian Evaluation Association and works as a researcher at Cognos International LLC. Connect with Oyundalai via LinkedIn.
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