Firm strengthens youth leadership in evaluation

Cloneshouse has reinforced youth participation as a core pillar of its work, describing the inclusion of young people in evaluation as a necessity for building strong systems, diverse perspectives and sustainable solutions across Africa and beyond. In a statement highlighting its youth-focused initiatives, the organisation said its commitment to youth in evaluation has become a […]

Cloneshouse has reinforced youth participation as a core pillar of its work, describing the inclusion of young people in evaluation as a necessity for building strong systems, diverse perspectives and sustainable solutions across Africa and beyond.

In a statement highlighting its youth-focused initiatives, the organisation said its commitment to youth in evaluation has become a strategic priority shaping its programmes, partnerships and long-term vision for the evaluation ecosystem globally.

The statement was signed by Noelle Uloko, an operations and business development leader at Cloneshouse

“Since 2019, Cloneshouse has embedded youth inclusion into its operations through initiatives such as the Cloneshouse Internship Programme (CIP) and YouthPrep, which have provided 128 young and emerging evaluators with hands-on experience, mentorship and opportunities to work on real evaluation assignments.

“Beneficiaries of the programmes were drawn from several countries across Africa and Europe, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Mali, Liberia, Niger, Uganda, Botswana, Gambia, South Sudan, as well as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden,” the statement said.

According to the organisation, the programmes are aligned with the Youth in Evaluation Manifesto and global initiatives such as Eval4Action.

Cloneshouse also reported completing multiple self-assessments under the Youth in Evaluation Standards, earning recognition as an Emerging Super Champion and a Champion in the Human Resources dimension.

Cloneshouse said youth involved in its programmes actively participate across the entire evaluation cycle, including proposal development, evaluation design, data collection and analysis, stakeholder engagement, reporting and learning. Many interns, it noted, later transition into consultant roles and lead assignments under the mentorship of senior evaluators.

The organisation added that diversity and inclusion are central to its approach, with opportunities openly advertised to young people from different genders, socio-economic backgrounds and regions.

It said youth voices are also integrated into evaluation designs to ensure findings reflect community realities.

On partnerships, Cloneshouse disclosed that it works with voluntary organisations for professional evaluation, civil society groups, youth networks, government institutions and regional and global evaluation bodies.

These collaborations, it said, have supported mentorship programmes, joint learning events and advocacy for youth inclusion in national evaluation systems, including efforts linking Youth in Evaluation Ecosystem Nigeria with the National Monitoring and Evaluation Department.

The organisation also highlighted its investment in capacity-building through courses such as the Online Basic Monitoring and Evaluation Course, Advanced Project Evaluation Management Course and the AI in MEL Bootcamp, alongside tailored workshops for emerging evaluators.

Cloneshouse said its youth-focused efforts have earned global recognition. In 2024, it was named a Youth in Evaluation Emerging Super Champion, and in 2025 it was elevated to Super Champion status. It also reported that interns supported by its capacity-building team placed third at the World Evaluation Case Competition in 2022 and second in 2023.

To sustain these efforts, Cloneshouse disclosed that it allocates annual budgets through its foundation to youth recruitment, training, conference sponsorships and career development, adding that young professionals engaged in evaluation assignments are fairly remunerated.

Looking ahead, the organisation said it plans to expand its programmes and partnerships and has announced a Global Internship Programme scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2026.