CLEAR-LAC deepens partnership with INCE, becoming the index implementing partner across the Caribbean and Latin America

Eleven countries in Latin America have completed at least one measurement using the National Evaluation Capacities Index (INCE).

The tool provides a snapshot of national evaluation systems and helps identify areas for improvement. It has also supported the development of roadmaps to strengthen these systems and fostered communities of practice among government institutions and international development organizations.

In 2024, CLEAR-LAC joined the INCE coordinating team, supporting efforts to expand the number of countries participating in the measurement. Since then, it has taken an active role in new assessments, use workshops, and knowledge-sharing activities.

CLEAR-LAC has used INCE results as key inputs for developing collaborative plans to strengthen national evaluation systems. The results have also helped monitor progress over time. A recent example is Guatemala, where the score for the multi-stakeholder spaces dimension doubled between measurements.

It was in this context that, in May 2026, CLEAR-LAC Executive Director Cristian Crespo and Director of Development Camila Leiva visited the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval) in Bonn. DEval promotes INCE globally in partnership with the World Food Programme. During the visit, the CLEAR-LAC team met with Juan Sanz, DEval’s Evaluation Capacity Development Specialist and global lead for the index.

The meeting provided an opportunity to reflect on two years of collaboration between CLEAR-LAC and INCE in Latin America and to define the next steps for the partnership.

From left to right: Camila Leiva y Cristian Crespo (CLEAR-LAC), Dirk Hoffmann, Juan Sanz y Anna Warnholz (DEval).

As a result, the two organizations agreed on the key elements of a Memorandum of Understanding between DEval and Catholic University of Chile (UC), which hosts CLEAR-LAC.

The subsequent signing of the agreement formalized a partnership that enables the implementation of INCE to be decentralized across the Caribbean and Latin America.

As of September 1, 2026, the partnership between CLEAR-LAC and INCE will therefore enter a new phase, with CLEAR-LAC serving as the index’s implementing partner for the Caribbean and Latin America.

In addition to the measurements and use workshops already scheduled, CLEAR-LAC will have an active INCE agenda during the final months of the year.

In September, the organization will hold a workshop in Barbados on measuring and strengthening evaluation capacities as part of Caribbean Evaluation Space.

In October, CLEAR-LAC will host an event at UC in Chile to present the results of the country’s first INCE measurement, along with initiatives to strengthen its national evaluation system.

In November, CLEAR-LAC will participate in a panel at the XXXI International Congress of CLAD, to be held in the Dominican Republic.

Collaboration between CLEAR-LAC and DEval extends beyond INCE to include the EvalConnect project, formerly known as FOCELAC. A second Memorandum of Understanding will support the continuation of EvalConnect activities in Ecuador and Colombia in 2026. The activities will focus on participatory approaches and the integration of a gender perspective into the work of the national evaluation systems in both countries.

Through this partnership, CLEAR-LAC will continue working with the institutions responsible for leading the national evaluation systems in Ecuador and Colombia. The organization has collaborated with these institutions since 2024.