Building a National Culture of Evidence and Accountability in Somalia 🇸🇴

Introduction:

Somalia is undergoing significant progress in state-building and institutional development. Although the country has a pool of skilled professionals capable of conducting credible evaluations, it has long lacked a formal professional body to unify and strengthen the evaluation community. Establishing such a body is essential for coordinating national evaluations, assessing sector-wide progress, and measuring the impact of programs implemented by UN agencies, NGOs, and government institutions.
In recent years, the demand for evaluations has increased more rapidly than the availability of local expertise. The absence of a structured mechanism for evaluators to collaborate, uphold professional standards, offer peer support, and mentor emerging practitioners has created notable gaps. Consequently, most evaluations remain small-scale, project-specific, and donor-driven, with limited systematic integration of findings into national policy and budgetary decision-making. This has contributed to a fragmented evaluation landscape.
A 2023 UNICEF-funded Evaluation Landscape Analysis highlighted the limited presence and influence of Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) in Somalia. In response to these gaps and to strengthen national coordination the Somali Evaluation Society (SOMES) has been established as an independent, national professional evaluation body dedicated to advancing evaluation practice across the country.

The Rationale behind Establishment of SOMES.

Institutional Gap: Somalia lacks a legally recognized professional body for evaluators, resulting in weak coordination, inconsistent standards, and limited visibility of evaluation activities.
Capacity Gap: Although institutions produce M&E graduates, there are no structured frameworks for training, mentoring, or certifying evaluators, limiting the development of a skilled and credible workforce.
Policy Gap: Evaluation evidence is often underutilized by policymakers, undermining accountability and reducing the efficiency and effectiveness of resource allocation and program implementation.
Youth Engagement Gap: There is no pathway for youth and emerging evaluators to participate meaningfully or advance professionally, limiting the growth of future Somali evaluators.
Regional Integration Gap: Somalia lacks representation in regional and global evaluation networks, reducing opportunities for peer learning, collaboration, and international visibility.

About SOMES

We, the Somalia Evaluation Society (SOMES) are a newly established professional body that seeks to strengthen evaluation practice and promote a culture of evidence-based decision-making in Somalia. Founded through an inclusive and participatory process led by the Ministry of Planning, Investment, and Economic Development (MoPIED), SOMES emerged in response to critical gaps in Somalia’s evaluation landscape, including weak institutional coordination, limited capacity development, underutilization of evaluation evidence, lack of youth engagement, and absence of regional and global representation.

We, SOMES envisions a credible, inclusive, and professional evaluation community that strengthens evidence-based decision-making and accountability for sustainable development in Somalia. Its mission is to build and promote a strong, ethical, and professional evaluation culture through capacity development, standard-setting, advocacy, and networking.

Guided by its core values -integrity, professionalism, independence, accountability, inclusivity, evidence utilization, collaboration, youth empowerment, and sustainability. We aim to connect evaluators under a shared ethical and professional framework. The society promotes high standards of evaluation, supports young and emerging evaluators, encourages the systematic use of evidence in policy and planning, and fosters partnerships with national and international evaluation networks such as AfrEA, IOCE, and EvalYouth.

Through these efforts, SOMES positions itself as the cornerstone of a credible, independent, and nationally owned evaluation system that contributes to transparency, good governance, and effective development outcomes across Somalia.

SOMES’s Vision

A credible, inclusive, and professional evaluation community that strengthens evidence-based decision-making and accountability for sustainable development in Somalia.

SOMES’s Mission

To build and promote a strong, ethical, and professional evaluation culture in Somalia through capacity development, standard-setting, advocacy, and networking for individuals and institutions engaged in evaluation.

SOMES Code Values

Integrity, Independence & Ethics
Professionalism, Competence & Youth Development
Accountability & Transparency
Inclusivity & Cultural Sensitivity
Evidence Use & Continuous Learning
Collaboration & Partnership
Stewardship & Sustainability

Focus Areas of SOMES

Standard Setting and Professionalization: Develop national evaluation standards, ethical codes, and certification systems to ensure professionalism and quality assurance.
Knowledge and Learning: Generate, share, and disseminate evaluation findings and best practices through research, publications, and national forums.
Quality Assurance and Ethics: Establish peer-review mechanisms, uphold ethical standards, and ensure integrity in all evaluation processes.
Capacity Building and Mentorship: Provide structured training, mentorship, and academic integration to strengthen evaluation capacity across Somalia.
Networking and Partnerships: Build local, regional, and global partnerships with institutions, academia, and evaluation networks such as AfrEA, IOCE, and EvalYouth.
Gender and Social Inclusion: Promote gender-responsive and inclusive evaluations that amplify the voices of women, youth, and marginalized groups.
Advocacy and Policy Influence: Promote evidence-based policymaking and advocate for institutionalized evaluation practices within government structures.
Youth Engagement and Inclusion: Empower young and emerging evaluators (YEEs) through mentorship, innovation, and leadership opportunities.
Institutional Strengthening and Sustainability: Enhance SOMES governance, financial sustainability, and organizational credibility for long-term impact.

Priorities of SOMES for Interim Period

The Somalia Evaluation Society (SOMES) has identified a set of seven urgent priorities to be implemented within the interim period in order to strengthen its institutional foundation, enhance its national presence, and build partnerships for long-term sustainability. These priorities are sequenced strategically to ensure that the organization becomes legally recognized, operationally functional, and technically capable of supporting evidence-based policy and development processes in Somalia.

Legal Registration

The next key step is to formalize SOMES’s legal status. This involves preparing an organizational constitution, establishing a temporary structure to guide early operations, and registering SOMES with relevant Somali ministries such as MoPIED and the Ministry of Interior. Legal registration will secure legitimacy and ensure compliance with national regulations.

Stakeholder Engagement

Strengthening relationships with government, private sector, and civil society partners is a priority. SOMES will enhance collaboration with MoPIED, particularly the MED department, through official communication and partnership proposals. SOMES will also initiate partnership relationship with the Office of the Prime Minister, the Chamber of Commerce, positioning SOMES as a trusted national M&E platform and development evaluation partner.

Establishment of the SOMES Office.

To improve coordination and operational efficiency, SOMES plans to establish its first office in Mogadishu. A dedicated office will allow SOMES to centralize operations, host stakeholder meetings, and support ongoing system-building activities.

Financial Management System.

Institutionalizing financial accountability is essential for SOMES’s sustainability and partner confidence. A financial policy and management guideline will be developed to govern all transactions, budgeting, and reporting. SOMES will map potential funding partners and open an official bank account with designated signatories. This system will ensure transparency, proper fund use, and adherence to best practices in nonprofit financial management.

Membership and preparedness for transition

Accelerate the membership registration process and ensure the preparation of a fair, credible, and inclusive election to establish the SOMES governing board that will lead the organization beyond the interim period.

Development of Strategic Plans.

To guide SOMES’s long-term direction, a five-year strategic plan will be developed through an inclusive and participatory process. A technical committee of M&E experts, government representatives, and civil society members will lead the process. The committee will conduct stakeholder consultations, define strategic objectives, identify implementation priorities, and estimate the budget needed for dissemination and implementation. Fundraising will support inclusive participation and effective communication. The strategic plan will serve as the roadmap for SOMES’s future growth and partnerships.

Learning from Other Countries.

SOMES aims to strengthen its technical capacity and institutional development by learning from similar Evaluation associations in East Africa, including Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The organization will arrange exposure visits and knowledge exchange programs to understand best practices in governance, membership development, resource mobilization, and partnership building. Lessons from these exchanges will inform SOMES’s strategic planning and operational frameworks, and help establish regional linkages through networks such as AfrEA.

Contacts

Website: https://somes.so

Official E-mail: info@somes.so