By Ernest Nutsugah
Accra, Oct. 24, GNA – Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, Head of the Civil Service, has urged Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) practitioners to provide timely and reliable data to inform decisions and improve public service delivery.
Speaking at the opening of the Ghana Evaluation Week 2026 in Accra on Friday, he said evaluation findings must be presented in clear, accessible language to help policymakers make informed decisions.
“Evidence must arrive when decisions are being made…A technically excellent evaluation delivered after the decision has been taken serves history, not the public,” he stated.
The three-day event, held at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, brought together M&E practitioners and other stakeholders to discuss the theme: “The Role of M&E in Strengthening Evidence Use for Inclusive Development: Bridging Policy, Practice, and Innovation”.
The Ghana Evaluation Week provides a platform for promoting evaluation culture and practice through dialogue, knowledge-sharing and networking.
Dr Aggrey-Darkoh said evaluation processes must involve citizens as “partners in accountability”, while practitioners adopted new methods, indigenous knowledge and technology to improve their work.
He emphasised the need for clear standards, human judgement and accountability in the use of modern tools, including Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“Technology should strengthen our credibility, never weaken it…Evaluation rests on trust. If we adopt tools we do not understand, we risk errors that look authoritative, bias that goes unnoticed, and the mishandling of citizens’ data,” he said.
He called for mentorship for emerging M&E practitioners and continuous skills development for professionals at the district and local levels.
He also urged evaluators to track the implementation of recommendations and make findings accessible to citizens, civil society organisations and the media in language they could understand.
“Ghana has built a strong foundation for evaluation. The opportunity before us is to turn that foundation into a habit of using evidence in every decision that affects our people,” he said.
The forum also provided an inclusive platform for continuous learning and improvement in evaluation practices in Ghana.
Discussions covered the use of M&E evidence in gender and equity, local governance, citizen accountability, public financial management, agriculture and food security. A capacity-building workshop on the use of AI in M&E was also held.
Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), said the Commission was reviewing the National Monitoring and Evaluation Manual to align it with emerging trends in evaluation practice.
She called for collaboration among stakeholders to strengthen the country’s M&E systems and translate evaluation findings into tangible development outcomes.
“Achieving these calls for strong institutions, skilled professionals, credible data and the willingness to use evaluation findings to inform decisions and make necessary adjustments,” she said.
Mr Zia Choudhury, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana, expressed support for initiatives to strengthen the country’s M&E ecosystem and urged participants to apply insights from the sessions to improve their practice.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
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