What Europe can learn from business environment reform in the Western Balkans

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The European Union and the Western Balkans are not separated by a simple divide between good and bad regulation. Across countries, governments have adopted regulatory impact assessment, public consultation, digital services and administrative simplification. The more consequential difference lies in consistent implementation across the full regulatory cycle. EU Member States generally have stronger systems for … Read more

When Evidence is a Matter of Survival: How Evaluation Must Defend Our Democracies

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Fewer than 30 per cent of people worldwide live in a democracy now, down from half twenty years back, and with fake news running riot, evaluation isn’t just paperwork anymore, it’s a proper shield for democracy. Van der Knaap says it’s a two-way street: democracy needs solid, independent evaluation to keep governments honest and accountable, … Read more

Mangroves: The Ultimate Nature-Based Solution and the Power of Collaborative Partnerships

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  Mangroves are increasingly recognized as one of the most powerful nature-based solutions we have for combatting climate change and reversing biodiversity loss. These coastal ecosystems protect shorelines from devastating storm surges, store massive amounts of carbon, and act as a crucial link between land and ocean. During a catastrophic 2013 typhoon in the Philippines, … Read more

Germany Resets the Compass: A South-North Commission for a Multipolar World

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With the launch of the new South-North Commission at #HSC26, Germany is attempting to reopen the conversation on global development beyond 2030. Co-chaired by Olaf Scholz and Laura Chinchilla, the independent Commission explicitly evokes the legacy of the Brandt Commission of 1980. Its success will depend not on the prestige of its members, but on its … Read more

Four Hard Questions for Hamburg: My #HSC26 Agenda

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I’m heading to the Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2026 — and I’m not going there to nod along. Hamburg, 29 June 2026. Around 1,600 participants from 115 countries are descending on the Hanseatic city this weekend for the third Hamburg Sustainability Conference. German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will open proceedings, flanked by 22 ministers, 13 heads … Read more

New EU Evaluation Policy for External Action: What Changes for Stakeholders and Evaluators

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EU’s new Evaluation Policy for External Action doubles down on accountability, learning and impact – including for Global Gateway investments. Clearer roles, stronger use of evidence and strategic evaluations will make it easier to track what really works in partner countries and why, so Global Gateway can deliver measurable, sustainable connectivity and development impact. The … Read more

Learning from Ukraine means going Digital Skills First

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Most digital government strategies start in the wrong place. They begin with services: portals, apps, dashboards. Ukraine started with people. That is the gap most donor strategies have yet to close. Ukraine flips this logic and treats digital literacy as a universal competence, similar to reading, writing or basic civic education. Diia.Education, Ukraine’s national digital … Read more

Values-Driven Causal Pathways Evaluations: Strengthening Rigor and Quality

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Values-driven causal pathways evaluations treat rigor not as control and replicability, but as how well evidence makes complex systems change visible in context. They centre evaluator reflexivity, methodological transparency, and diverse evidence, guided explicitly by values like equity, complexity, and learning utilisation. Inclusive, participatory practice and rubrics-based criteria such as triangulation, plausibility, transferability, and representativeness … Read more

AI and Evaluation: Key takeaways from recent #EvalforEarth discussions

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EvalforEarth’s recent discussions present a consistent message: Atificial intelligence can strengthen evaluation practice, but only when evaluators remain firmly responsible for judgment, validation, ethics, and contextual interpretation. Across the community’s webinars, technical guidance, and discussion materials, AI is treated not as a substitute for evaluators, but as a set of tools that can improve efficiency, … Read more

Green Industry, Global Ambition: The Belém Declaration and What Comes Next

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At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, a significant new commitment took shape on the global stage. Backed by over 40 countries and international organisations, the Belém Declaration on Global Green Industrialisation was formally launched at a leaders’ roundtable on industrial decarbonisation — signalling that the world’s industrial transformation is no longer a side … Read more

Circular by Nature: A New Policy Agenda for Bio-Based Materials

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Circular economy and bio-based materials policies have developed in silos for too long. This joint report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Latin America and Caribbean Circular Economy Coalition proposes a unified five-strategy framework, backed by real business cases, that could unlock USD 10 trillion in annual opportunities by 2030 and deliver a third … Read more

A Digital Bridge Between Europe and Kenya: Opportunities for Connectivity, Youth and Business

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(tl;dr) EU–Kenya Digital Partnership boosts connectivity, skills and innovation, linking youth, schools and SMEs to affordable high-speed internet, AI collaboration and new digital jobs for sustainable, shared growth. Kenya has become the first African country to establish a formal Digital Dialogue with the European Union, a milestone reached in March 2026 that positions this East … Read more