UNICEF SRI LANKA CONGRATULATES THE PARLIAMENT OF SRI LANKA AND UNIVERSITY OF SRI JAYEWARDENEPURA ON
at a ceremony at the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 20 February 2020
Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21st February 2020: UNICEF Sri Lanka congratulates the Sri Lanka Parliamentarians' Forum for Evaluation and the Centre for Evaluation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, for being awarded the prestigious American Evaluation Association (AEA) Advocacy and Use Evaluation Award 2019, at a ceremony at the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 20 February 2020. This global recognized award marks the commitment, work and success of the Government of Sri Lanka in achieving a national level evaluation framework, the first in the South Asian region.
Presented by the American Evaluation Association (AEA), a professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of evaluation in improving evaluation practices and methods in achieving goals, the prestigious AEA awards cover eight distinct areas and recognize truly exemplary performance. The award was presented by Hon. Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, and was received by Hon. J M Ananda Kumarasiri, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and Chair, Sri Lanka Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation, and Prof. Sudantha Liyanage, Vice Chancellor, University of Si Jayewardenepura.
The AEA Advocacy and Use Evaluation Award commends both Sri Lanka Parliamentarians' Forum for Evaluation (SLPFE) and the Centre for Evaluation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (EvalC) for their contributions to advocacy and use of evaluation for national development. The SLPFE and EvalC were established in 2016 and 2017, respectively, to take forward the national evaluation policy to public institution level, thereby ensuring the policy framework is part of the institutions’ policy making, evaluation and intervention. The commitment of SLPFE and EvalC has paved the way to ensure evidenced based policy making at a national level in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Tim Sutton, Representative, UNICEF Sri Lanka said: “This award is a global recognition of what we have seen over many years – the dedication and commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka towards establishing a strong national level evaluation policy. Without a strong evaluation system, Sri Lanka cannot see if its actions are having the intended positive impact on its citizens, especially its children, and make changes if needed. Evaluation really is the bedrock for the achievement of so much, and especially the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). UNICEF congratulates Sri Lanka on this award and will continue to support the country on this continued evaluation journey.”
UNICEF has been a committed technical and financial partner through the 16-year journey of establishing and moving forward the national evaluation policy. From helping to establishing a national policy, to institutionalizing and extending capacity building, and providing technical and financial support in establishing the Post Graduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura in 2017 – again, the first in the South Asian region. UNICEF will continue to provide significant support to the government in establishing national evaluation standards across all public and development sectors.
