Background: Engaging emerging evaluators (EEs) in evaluation projects offers substantial benefits for both evaluators and organisations; however, effective guidance on empowering them is often limited.Objectives: This article provides actionable recommendations for empowering EEs across all phases of evaluation projects, drawing primarily on insights from EEs and their mentors. Leveraging the Eval4Action campaign’s standards for meaningful youth engagement, this article aims to enrich EEs’ learning experiences, foster their professional growth, and enhance evaluation quality and impact.Method: A qualitative and participatory approach was used, incorporating the author’s mentorship experiences, discussions with EEs and mentors, and consultations with established programmes such as the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association’s (SAMEA) EE initiative and the EvalYouth Global Network. A comprehensive literature review on youth engagement and partnerships further informs this study.Results: Findings indicate that effective EE engagement relies on well-defined roles, open communication, and genuine appreciation of EEs’ contributions. Despite these needs, many EEs reported being limited to data collection roles, which restricts their opportunities for growth and limits their developmental impact within evaluations.Conclusion: Adopting these recommendations can foster a culture of empowerment and inclusion, enhancing both the quality and effectiveness of evaluation projects.Contribution: This study underscores the importance of engaging EEs in meaningful roles throughout projects, advancing inclusivity and effectiveness in evaluations. Empowering EEs leads to more comprehensive assessments, providing deeper insights for policy and programme evaluation.

Lesedi S. Matlala

African Evaluation Journal

The journal publishes high quality peer-reviewed articles merit on any subject related to evaluation, and provide targeted information of professional interest to members of AfrEA and its national associations.        Aims of the African Evaluation Journal (AEJ):    -AEJ aims to be a high-quality, peer-reviewed journal that builds evaluation-related knowledge and practice in support of effective developmental policies on the African continent.  -AEJ aims to provide a communication platform for scholars and practitioners of evaluation to share and debate ideas about evaluation theory and practice in Africa.  -AEJ aims to promote cross-fertilisation of ideas and methodologies between countries and between evaluation scholars and practitioners in the developed and developing world.  -AEJ aims to promote evaluation scholarship and authorship, and a culture of peer-review in the African evaluation community.

The African Evaluation Journal publishes high-quality peer-reviewed articles on any subject related to evaluation, providing targeted information of professional interest to members of AfrEA and its national associations. The aims of the African Evaluation Journal (AEJ) are as follows: - AEJ seeks to be a high-quality, peer-reviewed journal that builds evaluation-related knowledge and practice to support effective developmental policies on the African continent. - AEJ aims to provide a communication platform for scholars and practitioners of evaluation to share and debate ideas about evaluation theory and practice in Africa. - AEJ promotes the cross-fertilization of ideas and methodologies between countries and between evaluation scholars and practitioners in both the developed and developing worlds. - AEJ encourages evaluation scholarship and authorship, fostering a culture of peer review within the African evaluation community.

《African Evaluation Journal》致力于发表高质量的同行评审文章，涵盖与评估相关的任何主题，并为AfrEA及其国家协会的成员提供专业兴趣的针对性信息。非洲评估期刊（AEJ）的目标包括：- AEJ旨在成为一本高质量的同行评审期刊，促进与评估相关的知识和实践，以支持非洲大陆有效的发展政策。- AEJ旨在为评估学者和从业者提供一个交流平台，以分享和讨论关于非洲评估理论和实践的观点。- AEJ旨在促进不同国家之间以及发达国家与发展中国家之间的思想和方法的交融。- AEJ旨在推动评估学术研究和作者创作，培养非洲评估社区的同行评审文化。

Empowering emerging evaluators in evaluation project phases: Perspectives and recommendations

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