Growing Seeds of Indigenous Evaluation in Asia-Pacific: Lessons from Three Germination Grants

The Asia Pacific Evaluation Association (APEA) and EvalIndigenous launched their Germination Grant Programme to spark new Indigenous-led initiatives across the region. The three projects supported in 2024–25 — in Nepal and the Philippines — have now been completed. Together, they offer important lessons for the future of Indigenous evaluation.

Lessons for Indigenous Evaluation

​Across the three projects, some powerful common lessons emerged:

• Capacity building must be community-led and culturally rooted. Trainings, studies, and strategic planning must align with Indigenous ways of learning, valuing both traditional knowledge and contemporary tools.
• Evaluation is a tool for self-determination. It is a means to challenge marginalization, advocate for Indigenous priorities, and hold duty-bearers accountable.
• Intergenerational approaches are crucial. Elders and youth working together ensure that evaluation honours the past while shaping Indigenous futures.
• Partnerships matter. Indigenous organizations flourish when they can work alongside supportive allies — but always with Indigenous voices in the lead.

The three Germination Grants in Nepal and the Philippines each illustrate these lessons in action.

Strengthening Indigenous Evaluation Practices in Nepal

The Community of Evaluators–Nepal (CoE-Nepal) took a two-pronged approach to strengthening Indigenous evaluation. First, they carried out a pilot study on SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) from the perspective of the Tamang community in Konjyosom Rural Municipality. Working with community members, local leaders, and traditional healers, they uncovered important gaps between national SDG indicators and local realities, including the vital role of traditional healing practices.

Second, CoE-Nepal organized a national workshop on Indigenous evaluation with government, UN agencies, VOPEs, and young evaluators. Although the formation of a National Network for Evaluation in Nepal is still underway, the workshop sparked a strong collective commitment to culturally grounded evaluation led by Indigenous communities themselves.

​​CoE-Nepal’s work showed the importance of holistic, participatory approaches that do not just collect data about Indigenous peoples, but empower them to tell their own stories and define success in their own terms.

Read their report

Empowering Indigenous Journalists in Nepal

Meanwhile, the Nepal Evaluation Society (NES) partnered with the Federation of Nepalese Indigenous Journalists (FONIJ) to deliver a training on evaluation for Indigenous journalists. Through a rich programme of keynote speeches, technical sessions, group work, and panel discussions, Indigenous journalists learned how evaluation frameworks could strengthen their reporting and advocacy.

Participants reflected that while they had often reported on development projects, they now understood how a systematic evaluation lens — rooted in Indigenous priorities — could enhance their work and better serve their communities.

​Following the training, FONIJ expressed a strong commitment to extending the initiative nationwide, with an emphasis on Indigenous capacity building.

This project highlighted the pivotal role of Indigenous media in evaluation: journalists are powerful connectors between communities and governments, and essential advocates for evidence-based Indigenous development.

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Laying Foundations for the Future: IKAYO in the Philippines

In the Philippines, the newly formed Ikalahan-Kalanguya Indigenous Youth Organization for Sustainable Development (IKAYO) used their Germination Grant to develop a strategic plan and strengthen their organizational foundations.

Over two days, young leaders worked alongside elders to craft their vision and mission, analyse their strengths and challenges, and design a practical workplan for the coming years. Their priorities include fostering intergenerational dialogue, strengthening environmental stewardship, and deepening cultural knowledge.
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Importantly, IKAYO recognized the need to embed Indigenous evaluation principles into all their activities — ensuring that monitoring and evaluation processes uphold, rather than undermine, their cultural values.

Their experience reminds us that supporting Indigenous youth leadership is essential for sustaining Indigenous evaluation movements across generations.

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As these seeds continue to grow, they offer hope for an Indigenous evaluation movement across Asia and the Pacific that is bold, sovereign, and transformative.