A Q+A with Evaluation Experts Amy Jersild and John Gargani: Learning from the IDEAS 2025 Multi-Dimensional Evaluation Conference, Italy

From 4-6 March 2025, evaluation specialists and practitioners from across the globe gathered for 2025 joint evaluation conference: International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS)/New Development Bank (NDB) Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) Conference, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy.

Through 36 selected panels and roundtables, nine professional development workshops, and contributions from leading global experts, the program explored the topic of ‘Evaluation for transformational change’ across key themes, including: Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) evaluation and its role in policy transformation; climate and crisis evaluation for a more sustainable future; equity, gender, and human rights in evaluation; strengthening evaluation capacity worldwide; and the role of evaluation in emerging markets and the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates).

In the wake of the conference, we spoke with evaluation experts and collaborators with evaluation function of CGIAR: Amy Jersild and John Gargani to hear their take on its most important takeaways, and directions for the evaluation landscape in CGIAR and beyond going forward.