ISF partners with Cambodian General Department of Budget for evaluation excellence
Cambodian officials learn best practice evaluation skills through a bespoke course at ISF.
Over five days in May, ISF’s International Development team delivered an evaluation course tailored to 13 delegates from the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance.
This initiative marks a pivotal step as Cambodia's monitoring and evaluation department begin to develop new evaluation guidelines and commence its first policy and program evaluations in 2026.
Designed specifically for the Economy and Finance Ministry's monitoring and evaluation department, the course covered critical topics such as:
- evaluation planning and design
- evaluation methodologies
- commissioning evaluations
- ethics and social justice in evaluation
- assessing evaluations
- using and communicating evaluation findings.
We co-designed the course with the Cambodian Budget Team from the Royal Government of Cambodia by surveying them on their learning needs and aspirations, developing the learning objectives and course structure in meetings together.
– Tamara Megaw, ISF
One participant said, “The most valuable thing I learned in the course are the tips and practical experiences shared by the expert evaluators. They really showcased the theory from the lens of applicability and creativity when it comes to overcoming challenges in evaluations.”
Tamara Megaw, ISF Senior Research Consultant and course coordinator, highlighted the collaborative approach taken in course design. “We co-designed the course with the Cambodian Budget Team from the Royal Government of Cambodia by surveying them on their learning needs and aspirations, developing the learning objectives and course structure in meetings together,” she explained.
Held on-site at UTS, the course featured expert lectures, interactive workshop activities and simulated group projects. Participants also benefited from insights shared by guest speakers from the NSW government and evaluation consultancies.
Interactive workshop held on-site at UTS.
The Ministry commented, “In the near future, the monitoring and evaluation department will commission a number of evaluations in which knowledge from the course is beneficial. The course was designed in a way that allowed the participants to view evaluation from the perspectives of evaluators and commissioners which is important and encouraging participants to not just understand the concepts, but also be able to apply it in the real world.”
Through this collaborative and practical approach, ISF is equipping Cambodian officials with the skills and knowledge needed to drive effective policy evaluation and sustainable development.
