The Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) will work with the Evaluation Function Lead, under the oversight of the Director, IAES Secretariat, to provide expert input to IAES Evaluation Function as it implements its approved 2025-2027 Workplan and Budget. Detailed group objectives and related responsibilities align with the workplan, and available to the public upon request. IAES will revise the reference group terms of reference periodically as necessary, in accordance with adaptive management principles.
ERG Members
Sonal Zaveri
Sonal Zaveri has over 30 years of experience in strategic planning, program design, capacity building, mentoring, and evaluation. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Work and was a Fleishman Fellow at Duke University, USA. Sonal has worked in over 25 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe at various levels, bringing broad contextual expertise. She holds several leadership roles: founder and board member of the Community of Evaluators South Asia, coordinator of the Gender & Equity Network South Asia (GENSA), co-chair of EvalGender+, board member of the International Evaluation Academy (IEAc), and core member of South to South Evaluation (S2SE). Her interests focus on rights, participation, transformation, and gender in collaborative, culturally responsive evaluation.
Guy Poppy
Professor Guy Poppy served as the UK Food Standards Agency’s Chief Scientific Adviser (2014–2020) and is currently Professor of Ecology at the University of Southampton, where he also serves as Associate Vice President for interdisciplinary research. In 2021, he was appointed Companion of the Order of Bath (CB). An expert in food systems and food security, he has advised governments globally. He serves on the UK’s REF2021 panel assessing agriculture, food, and veterinary science, having also served on REF2014. A graduate of Imperial College and Oxford University, he previously worked at Rothamsted Research. Professor Poppy champions connecting science to society, advocating for scientists to act as intelligent providers to informed users of science.
Osvaldo Néstor Feinstein
Osvaldo Néstor Feinstein has over 40 years of experience as an evaluator and economist, working across Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, Europe, and beyond. He teaches in the Master’s program on Evaluation of Programs & Public Policies at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and is editor of the Routledge series Advances in Evaluation and Development. He has authored books and articles on evaluation, development, and economics, and is a peer reviewer for MOPAN. He has held senior roles at the World Bank, IFAD, and UNDP, and served on CGIAR’s Standing Panel on Monitoring and Evaluation. A consultant to many international organizations, he has helped develop methodologies such as IDRC’s Research Quality Plus approach.
Ravinder Kumar
R. Kumar (Ravi) is an Associate Professor of Monitoring and Impact at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich. With over 25 years of experience across 16 countries, he has led 100+ research, MEL, and evaluation assignments on sustainable forest management, agricultural value chains, food and nutrition security, livelihoods, ethical trade, social enterprises, and sustainability certification. He has worked with small- and large-scale programs, including CGIAR centers, at both single- and multi-country levels. Ravi specializes in mixed-methods approaches and has developed diverse evaluation methodologies. His recent work includes innovations and systems to reduce ocean and agricultural plastics. Ravi is also actively involved in responsible business investments and tackling sustainability challenges through research and evaluation.
Marlene Roefs
Marlene is a Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PM&E) expert at Wageningen University and Research, where she leads the M&E cluster at the Centre for Development Innovation. She is passionate about supporting responsible, evidence-informed food system transformation and co-creating actionable knowledge. With over 15 years of experience living and working in Southern Africa, Marlene has specialized in research, project management, and PM&E in the development and agri-food sectors. Her work focuses on fostering learning and adaptive management in complex environments. She is also a co-founder of the South African Evaluation Association and continues to champion regional and global evaluation initiatives that promote inclusive and sustainable development..
Jamie Watts
Jamie Watts has over 40 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation. She spent 15 years with CGIAR, establishing Bioversity’s planning and M&E function and later coordinating the Institutional Learning and Change (ILAC) Initiative to strengthen learning across centers. She worked 10 years with the UN World Food Programme, first as a senior evaluation officer leading major evaluations and drafting WFP’s first strategy on learning from evaluations. In WFP’s West Africa Bureau, she led interdisciplinary reviews and regional risk assessments. She later held operational roles in Nigeria, including Deputy Head of the Maiduguri Area Office and Deputy Country Director. Jamie holds a BSc in Ecology and an MA in International Relations.