Date: Sunday, June 7, 2026
Pride month brings AEA a rainbow of insights, perspectives, and practices of LGBTQIA+ evaluators. These posts from the LGBTQ+ Voices in Evaluation TIG feature belonging, community, collaboration, creativity, context, and advocacy. We hope they prove to be a treasure trove for the entire evaluation community.
I’m Eric Barela (he/him): Senior Consultant with Raya Cooper Impact Consulting, 26-year AEA member, cisgender gay Chicano male, and someone who splits his time between the US and South Africa. I’ve decided to scale back my AEA involvement this year to get to know the evaluation context in South Africa and the African continent. Below are a few things I have learned since I arrived.
Something that has really struck me is how African evaluators have their own scholarship to draw upon. Over the past 25 years, Africa has been creating their own knowledge about what works best for their context. The African Evaluation Principles started as an adaptation of the Program Evaluation Standards. As of 2021, these Principles guide practice in a way that works for the African context. I’m also learning about the 2025 Made in Africa evaluation framework, which seeks to shift the evaluation landscape by focusing on decolonization, indigenization, and contextuality.
I have now been in multiple interactions with evaluators from all over the world who, upon finding out I’m American, make it clear to me that they DO NOT want me to bring my American-ness to the conversation. Regardless of how we might think we carry ourselves, many see us as Americans first, evaluators second. I approach my learning with humility. I am a guest in their context and it’s on me to learn how things work here.
In our learning journeys, it’s often helpful to find kindred spirits to show us the ropes. I have made friends with another gay male evaluator from the US who has lived in Kenya for 15+ years. We talk about the similarities and differences of evaluation practice in various contexts, and our conversations go far beyond that. We compare notes on food, culture, music, husbands, etc. It’s great to have a fellow traveler to talk to about what I’m learning and how it expands my knowledge base.
Both the AEA and the African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) 2026 conferences are scheduled for November. Given that it’s much cheaper for me to stay on the continent, I’ve decided to skip the AEA conference (for the first time in 26 years!) and possibly attend the AfrEA conference. Of the 63 UN member states where homosexuality is criminalized by law, 33 are in Africa. This year’s conference is held in Morocco, where consensual same-sex activity is punishable by fines and prison time. As a new student of Made in Africa evaluation, I want to attend. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I gotta ask myself some serious questions. Should I visit a country where I’m criminalized for who I love? Will it be safe for me to bring along my husband? If I submit a proposal that’s eventually accepted, do I attend or do I tell the organizers why I’ve decided not to attend? Would this be bringing my American-ness into the conversation?
There is still so much for me to learn about the African evaluation context! I plan to share more in future posts.
The American Evaluation Association is hosting LGBTQ+ Voices in Evaluation TIG Week with our colleagues in the LGBTQ+ Voices in Evaluation Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to AEA365 come from our LGBTQ+ Voices in Evaluation TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an AEA365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to AEA365@eval.org. AEA365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.