My experience with the Three Horizons (3H) Initiative at the International Evaluation Academy (IEAc) has reinforced a key lesson: evaluation practice must become more transformational and shift away from conventional approaches that have long been shaped by Global North ideologies.”
In trying to find solutions on how evaluations can be fit for purpose, various points on localising evidence were brought up.
Firstly, localising impact evaluations means shifting power towards local actors and local knowledge. Components such as evaluation questions should be shaped by communities, local governments, and indigenous knowledge holders.
Secondly, particularly in the Global South context, approaches such as storytelling, oral histories, communal dialogue, and participatory narrative methods should sit alongside quantitative and experimental designs. These reflect how many African communities make sense of change and offer culturally grounded insights that traditional methods often miss.
Last but not least, respect for cultural protocols, indigenous and community consent ensures that the evaluation serves the people it studies, not external agendas.
Using the Three Horizons framework while centring African and indigenous knowledge can help create evaluations that are culturally rooted, locally owned, and better aligned with the futures communities themselves envision.
RE: Global Impact Evaluation Forum 2025: Forging evidence partnerships for effective action
South Africa
Sibongile Sithole
Evaluation Consultant
Publicado el 07/12/2025
My experience with the Three Horizons (3H) Initiative at the International Evaluation Academy (IEAc) has reinforced a key lesson: evaluation practice must become more transformational and shift away from conventional approaches that have long been shaped by Global North ideologies.”
In trying to find solutions on how evaluations can be fit for purpose, various points on localising evidence were brought up.
Firstly, localising impact evaluations means shifting power towards local actors and local knowledge. Components such as evaluation questions should be shaped by communities, local governments, and indigenous knowledge holders.
Secondly, particularly in the Global South context, approaches such as storytelling, oral histories, communal dialogue, and participatory narrative methods should sit alongside quantitative and experimental designs. These reflect how many African communities make sense of change and offer culturally grounded insights that traditional methods often miss.
Last but not least, respect for cultural protocols, indigenous and community consent ensures that the evaluation serves the people it studies, not external agendas.
Using the Three Horizons framework while centring African and indigenous knowledge can help create evaluations that are culturally rooted, locally owned, and better aligned with the futures communities themselves envision.