On 20 August 2026, the Independent Evaluation Office of the New Development Bank (IEO-NDB) and South Africa’s Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) jointly organized an Immersion Workshop on Methodologies for Sector Evaluations and Evaluation Synthesis in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The workshop was held under the IEO-DPME Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), reflecting the strong and growing partnership between the two institutions. It brought together more than 55 participants, including colleagues from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), the NDB Regional Office, National Treasury, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA) and other South African institutions, alongside the IEO team. The workshop provided an opportunity for an open exchange on two key areas of IEO’s work: sector evaluations and evaluation synthesis.
The workshop was inaugurated by Godfrey Mashamba, Deputy Director-General, DPME, South Africa, and Ashwani K. Muthoo, Director General, IEO, NDB. The discussions focused on the methodological challenges of assessing multiple projects and interventions, covering areas such as theory of change, stakeholder mapping and evidence collection, as well as approaches for systematically synthesising evaluation findings to identify broader lessons and good practices. The sessions drew on practical examples from NDB’s evaluation work, including in energy, transport infrastructure and COVID-19 emergency support.
Participants highly appreciated the workshop’s practical approach, interactive discussions and use of concrete examples.
The workshop also coincided with the launch of IEO’s first Country Portfolio Evaluation (CPE) for South Africa, covering 19 NDB-financed projects implemented over the past decade.
The workshop featured insightful presentations and practical sessions led by NDB IEO experts:
- Session I: Overview of IEO-NDB’s Evaluation Function and Evaluation Methodologies — Manas Puri, Senior Professional
- Session II: Evaluating Sector Interventions — Jin Zhao, Evaluation Specialist, and Henrique Pissaia, Principal Professional
- Session III: Preparing Evaluation Synthesis Reports — Chao Sun, Principal Professional; Jin Zhao, Evaluation Specialist; and Xiaozhe Zhang, Senior Professional