Cristian Crespo, CLEAR-LAC Executive Director, collaborated in five sessions.
Between August 31 and September 3, CLEAR-LAC contributed as partners to Caribbean Evaluation Space (CES) 2026, a flagship event organized by the Caribbean Development Bank´s Office of Independent Evaluation (OIE-CDB) in Barbados.
CES is a biennial event, intended to become a regional platform to foster learning, exchange and networks on evaluation. Cristian Crespo, CLEAR-LAC Executive Director, collaborated in five sessions.
On August 31, one day before CES 2026, CLEAR-LAC led the workshop "Measuring and Strengthening Evaluation Systems". Twenty government representatives and specialists from international and regional organizations across the Caribbean joined the session. The focus was the INCE (National Evaluation Capacities Index). In this session, participants explored its dimensions and results across different countries, plus concrete ways to strengthen national monitoring and evaluation systems. The session also represented the first official CLEAR-LAC activity as INCE’s implementing partner for the Caribbean and Latin America.
Workshop "Measuring and Strengthening Evaluation Systems".
On the first day of CES 2026, Cristian had a speaker role in the parallel session “Strengthening National Evaluation Systems”. In this session, CLEAR-LAC emphasized how INCE and the Monitoring and Evaluation System Analysis (MESA) Tool can facilitate moving from system diagnostics to real reforms. Additionally, CLEAR-LAC also introduced concrete examples from its current collaborations with Caribbean nations.
On the second day, CLEAR-LAC moderated the closing session “From Data to Action: Unlocking evidence use in the Caribbean”. The session was organized around four conditions: evidence fit, relationship and trust, organisational and institutional conditions, leadership and political context - that enable evidence to influence action.
On the third day, CLEAR-LAC collaborated on the debate about developing a Caribbean community of practice (CoP) to strengthen evaluation. First, by facilitating the parallel session “VOPEs and networks: strengthening the Caribbean Evaluation Ecosystem”. Finally, by offering remarks in the closing session “Towards a Caribbean Evaluation Community of Practice – a Regional Town Hall”. In this session, CLEAR-LAC shared part of its experience developing CoPs in Latin America and reflected on the heterogeneous groups, purposes and interests that can shape the CoP regional architecture.
Reflecting on the experience that represented CES 2026 for the region and CLEAR-LAC, Cristian reflected:
“We acknowledge the strategic importance of a Caribbean Evaluation Space, from which ideas and connections will nurture the strengthening of evaluation and national M&E systems across the region. CLEAR-LAC was honoured to have contributed to and collaborated with CES 2026 and to keep developing a robust regional program.”
As such, through our partnership with the Office of Independent Evaluation of the Caribbean Development Bank, CLEAR-LAC remains committed to strengthening Caribbean institutions, fostering individual capacities in evaluation, and promoting knowledge sharing across the region through communities of practice.
