Professor James Hargreaves and Syreen Hassan from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s Centre for Evaluation (LSHTM CfE) along with key stakeholders, participated in the launch of the "Strengthening the Role of Evaluation" report. 

The delegates deliberated on the critical role evaluation can play in reigniting and accelerating progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a sharp focus on global health.  

This meeting aimed to explore necessary innovations and reforms in governance, policies, practices, and methods to achieve these goals, and to lay the groundwork for a potential future Lancet Commission on the topic. 

The purpose of the Banbury Centre meeting was to also assemble influential figures to discuss how evaluation can be leveraged to boost and expedite the progress of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With global health at the forefront, participants examined the changes required in governance, policies, and evaluation methods to drive this agenda forward.  

Speaking on the outcomes of this meeting, James Hargreaves, a Professor in Epidemiology and Evaluation with a focus in social epidemiology and public health said: “ Evaluation has a critical role to play in supporting the achievement of the Heath SDGs. At its best, evaluation can identify the most successful approaches to improve public health, building support and facilitating replication, adaptation and scale-up. 

“It can also identify why strategies fail to meet their objectives, allowing course correction and avoiding waste, and even harms. It is a crucial and important function, and this important meeting created a space for dialogue about ways ensure it meets its potential.”