Ready to be part of NAE 2026? Request your official invitation letter and get one step closer to joining Nigeria’s evaluation community in Abuja!
Introduction
A Response to Nigeria's Evidence Gap
Nigeria continues to face persistent challenges with evidence generation, data quality, policy coherence, and public-sector accountability gaps that weaken national planning, service delivery, and long-term development outcomes. Despite the growing recognition of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) as a strategic governance tool, the country still lacks a legislated national M&E policy, a coordinated evaluation system, and accredited institutional pathways for developing evaluation professionals. Fragmented practices across MDAs, limited evaluation uptake, inadequate capacity within government and academia, and the absence of M&E degree programmes further constrain national progress. To move beyond this, the Nigerian Association of Evaluators (NAE) has continued to play a catalytic role in mobilising professionals, advocating for institutionalisation, strengthening capacity, and championing indigenous evaluation models like the Made-in-Africa approach that aligns evaluation with Nigeria’s governance priorities. The 2026 Evaluation Conference is therefore a deliberate response to these systemic gaps, designed to consolidate momentum, build a unified national voice, and position evaluation as an indispensable national asset.
About the Conference
Evaluation as a National Asset
This theme positions evaluation not only as a technical practice but as a strategic national resource essential for governance transformation, public accountability, resource optimisation, and evidence-driven development. It aligns with NAE’s ambition to be a credible national reference body and to champion evaluation’s integration into government systems, legislation, higher education, and professional regulation.
Conference Structure
The #NAE2026EvaluationConference is designed as a 3-day event, balancing plenary engagements, expert sessions, practitioner-led dialogues, capacity-strengthening activities, and evidence-sharing. The structure combines both appointed sessions (keynotes, panels, masterclasses) and submitted sessions (paper presentations, innovation clusters, poster exhibitions) — creating inclusive spaces for policymakers, researchers, practitioners, academia, development partners, private sector leaders, and young evaluators.
Conference Strands
Here we are seeking to reclaim African knowledge, strengthening M&E education, and professionalising evaluation practice, arrived at through these sub-strands:
- Indigenous Evaluation Practices & Made-in-Africa Evaluation Exploring African-centred methodologies, community accountability systems, cultural lenses, and the relevance of indigenous knowledge.
- Evaluation Education and University Integration Designing M&E academic programmes, Centres of Excellence, curriculum reform, and faculty capacity strengthening.
Here we drive at building a strong national architecture for evaluation as a public good, followed through these sub-strands:
- National Evaluation Policy & Legal Frameworks The push toward a National M&E Policy, legislative advocacy, and the National Institute of Evaluation Bill.
- Institutionalisation within MDAs & Sub-National Systems Strengthening planning, performance systems, budgeting integration, and state-level evaluation units.
- Evaluation Use, Uptake & Evidence-to-Policy Pathways Enhancing evidence utilisation, political economy considerations, and accountability mechanisms.
Here we explore new frontiers shaping evaluation practice globally and nationally, made available to our ecosystem through these sub-strands:
- Artificial Intelligence, Data Science & Technology in Evaluation Machine learning, automated evidence synthesis, dashboards, remote sensing, and adaptive analytics.
- Climate, Resilience & Humanitarian Evaluation Evidence for climate adaptation, fragility contexts, peacebuilding, and resilience systems.
- Youth Innovations & Intergenerational Evidence Leadership Spotlighting YEEs’ contributions, disruptive evaluation ideas, and youth-driven models.
Session Formats
APPOINTED SESSIONS
Keynote Addresses
Distinguished national and international leaders offering strategic insights and thought leadership on evaluation, governance, and development systems; setting the intellectual tone with visionary perspectives, policy reflections, and calls to action.
Panel Discussions
A 60-minute moderated dialogue among experts interrogating national priorities and systemic issues; a multi-perspective conversation exploring pathways for policy reform and institutional strengthening.
Masterclasses
Intensive, skills-oriented sessions led by seasoned practitioners, blending conceptual grounding with hands-on exercises, demonstrations, and real-world case examples in MERL.
SUBMITTED SESSIONS
Paper Presentations
These 30 minutes sessions offer a platform for evaluators, researchers, academics, and emerging professionals to share evidence, methodological innovations, and lessons from practice. Presenters provide targeted summaries of their work followed by focused dialogues.
Innovation Clusters
These are 20 minutes flexible, participatory spaces for exploring emerging ideas, technologies, and contextual evaluation approaches. Instead of formal presentations, facilitators pose reflective prompts that guide collective inquiry into practical challenges and innovations
Poster Presentation
These are visual interactive learning environment where participants showcase tools, dashboards, evaluation results, conceptual models, and methodological advances. Participants walk through the exhibit, engaging directly with presenters for short discussions and practical insights
Call for Abstracts
Requirements
Language: English
File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)
Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt
Line Spacing: 1.5
Alignment: Justified
Word Limit: 3,000 characters including spaces, maximum
Content: Text only — no figures, graphs, charts, tables, images, or bulleted lists
Keywords: 3–5 words
Structure
Title: Concise, descriptive title — max 100 characters including spacing
Background: 1 sentence on the problem and why it matters
Objective(s): 1 sentence on the purpose of the study/evaluation
Methods: 1 sentence on design, data, and analysis
Results: 3 sentences on key findings
Conclusion: 1 sentence on implications and contribution
Keywords: 3–5 words
Deadline
Abstract Submission Opens: 19 July
Abstract Submission Deadline: 20 August
Notification of Acceptance: 25–30 August
Confirm Acceptance & Participation: 1–30 September
Full Paper Submission: 1 September – 21 October
Eligibility & Authorship
At least one author must register for and attend the conference to present the accepted abstract.
The primary/corresponding author is responsible for ensuring all co-authors are aware of the content and agree to its submission.
Abstracts must represent original work that has not been previously published or presented at another major conference.
Important Notes for Authors
Plagiarism: All submissions must be original work. Plagiarism will result in immediate rejection and may lead to further sanctions.
AI-Generated Content: Abstracts must represent the author’s own work. The use of AI tools for content generation must be disclosed and is subject to review.
Multiple Submissions: An author may submit a maximum of two abstracts as the lead, and not more than two as a corresponding author.
Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
Copyright: By submitting an abstract, authors grant NAE the right to publish it in the conference programme, proceedings, and related materials.
Changes: Any changes to the title, authorship, or presentation type after submission must be requested in writing to the Conference Committee.
