Hello, I’m Emma Rotondo (*), member of the Peruvian Evaluation Network. I would like to share about the importance of soft skills and facilitation skills for evaluators in evaluation processes.

One of the definitions for evaluation that I most like is that through carrying out the evaluation, society learns more about itself. Another important element in the definition of evaluation is the importance of enhancing pluralism, the different perspectives held by the participant stakeholders in an initiative. It emphasizes the importance of empowering these stakeholder groups so they can make decisions. And so they can think critically. So they can opt for and develop activities that are guided by the evaluation’s recommendations.

And within this framework, it’s essential that evaluators develop group leadership skills in order to be able to gather different points of view and encourage information generated to be used for social learning. Precisely so they reflect the different perspectives represented socially within the framework of the initiative.

For this reason, active listening skills should be developed by evaluators to support negotiation and the reaching of agreements that incorporate different perspectives as well as the ability to foster critical thinking and put in place specific actions so that these groups can make decisions. So soft skills are essential throughout evaluation processes that involve multiple stakeholders. Thanks!