CLOSING A CYCLE AT EVALPARTICIPATIVA: GRATITUDE FOR WHAT WE HAVE SHARED, NEW CHALLENGES, AND RENEWED HOPES

Dear members of the EvalParticipativa community,

As we close this seven-year cycle of collective work, we wish to celebrate what we have built together: a vibrant community of practice and learning around participatory evaluation and inclusive approaches. Within it, every voice has contributed, every shared experience has enriched us, and every encounter has woven bonds that go beyond isolated practices, now reaching more than four thousand people and multiple organizations.

Throughout these years, we have shared questions, experiences, doubts, tools, and learnings. We created spaces for meeting, training, and reflection where knowledge circulated horizontally, strengthening capacities and broadening perspectives.

None of this would have been possible without the willingness to walk together, to listen to one another, to extend a helping hand, and to build through dialogue—even in complex and uncertain contexts. Today, we know that the most meaningful progress emerges when we bring knowledge together, trust in collective intelligence, and understand that individual growth finds its true meaning within a shared project, as EvalParticipativa itself demonstrates.

This community of practice and learning was born seven years ago from the joint effort and initiative of the Program for the Study of Work, Environment and Society (PETAS) at the National University of San Juan (Argentina) and the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval).

Recently, our colleagues at DEval informed us that, due to new guidelines in Germany’s development cooperation sector requiring a regional and thematic reorientation, they will no longer continue as partners of EvalParticipativa. While this news saddens us, we choose to prioritize our joy and satisfaction at having worked together over these years in such a professional and respectful manner with the wonderful DEval team. We are confident that this initiative will continue with new partners and renewed alliances that further strengthen the role of socially participatory evaluation in the region.

We therefore close this year with gratitude and hope. May the holiday season find us celebrating what we have shared, and may 2026 bring renewed energy, challenges, and adventures as we continue learning and creating together.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Let us keep building EvalParticipativa together.