Ideally, decisions about evaluation design and implementation draw on the knowledge and expertise of the commissioning agency, evaluators and other relevant stakeholders. However standard procurement processes and existing power differentials often preclude this, leading to evaluations which don’t adequately engage the different stakeholders, reflect the real issues or address their needs. Based on experiences from Pact’s work in South Africa, this paper examines emerging evidence and lessons on a redefined role for evaluation managers. In this approach, evaluation manager play a brokering role which aims to reduce these power differentials and develop a common understanding of evaluation to support dialog within an environment where evaluation is required to be undertaken by independent, external evaluators. Active participation in the planning of the evaluation by key stakeholders including the organisations subjected to evaluation is a key element of the approach. Emerging evidence on ways in which managers might contribute to strengthening evaluation quality and use is explored.#2012Conference #Quality #OrganizationalLearningandEvalCapacityBuilding #EvaluationManagersandSupervisors #EvaluationUse #Evaluationmanagersrole #Collaborative,ParticipatoryandEmpowermentEval