gLOCAL 2026: three webinars from 4th Wheel on AI in evaluation
After a quiet quarter, returning with a three-part series for gLOCAL Evaluation Week 2026. Practitioner conversations on where AI helps, where judgment holds, and where systems are headed.
Dear Readers,
It’s been a quiet few months on this newsletter. Year-end closing, the start of a new fiscal year, and a heavier-than-usual run of project deliveries pulled us off the page. We’re back — and starting with something we’ve been wanting to talk about for a while.
Most conversations about AI in evaluation are still abstract. This series isn’t.
We’re hosting a three-part webinar during gLOCAL Evaluation Week 2026 — the largest global gathering of evaluators, funders, and development practitioners — to share what we’re actually seeing inside MEAL workflows: where AI is genuinely useful, where it quietly creates risk, and what shouldn’t be automated even when it can be.
Across the three sessions, we’ll work through four questions:
• Where is AI genuinely improving evaluation workflows — and where is it quietly creating risk?
• What should remain human in evaluation, and why?
• How do we build trust in AI-enabled evidence systems?
• How do organisations move from experimenting with isolated tools to building integrated systems for evidence and learning?
Session 1 — Inside the AI-Augmented evaluation workflow: How AI is changing everyday evaluation practice
📅 June 2, 2026 • 🕒 2:00–3:30 pm IST
Everyone is talking about AI in evaluation. But what does AI-enabled evaluation actually look like in practice? This session moves beyond theory to how evaluators are already using AI in coding, synthesis, analysis, reporting, and knowledge management. Using examples from education and skilling evaluations, we’ll discuss where AI improves efficiency — and where human judgment remains indispensable.
Session 2 — What AI cannot replace in evaluation: The role of human judgment
📅 June 3, 2026 • 🕒 2:00–3:30 pm IST
As AI systems become more powerful, the more important question becomes what should remain deeply human in evaluation. We’ll examine the ethical and practical limits of AI in evidence generation — why context, lived realities, field engagement, and relationships continue to matter — and the risks of bias, exclusion, loss of nuance, and over-dependence on automated outputs in complex development contexts.
This session will explore the limits of AI in evaluation by asking a critical question: What aspects of evaluation cannot—and should not—be automated?
Session 3 — From tools to systems: Rethinking AI use in evaluation
📅 June 5, 2026 • 🕒 2:00–3:30 pm IST
Most conversations around AI focus on tools. But the future of evaluation may depend less on isolated tools and more on how organisations build integrated systems for evidence, learning, and decision making. This session explores how NGOs, funders, evaluators, and institutions can begin thinking about AI more strategically — through connected workflows, platform-based systems, automation-enabled learning, and real-time data ecosystems.
This series is for evaluators, researchers, MEAL and learning professionals, NGO and implementation teams, CSR and philanthropy practitioners, funders, and anyone working at the intersection of evidence and decision-making. Whether you’re already experimenting with AI in your work or still figuring out where to begin, you’ll find the conversation useful.
For any queries, just reply to this email.
About gLOCAL Evaluation Week
An annual global knowledge-sharing event that brings together evaluators, researchers, governments, NGOs, funders, academic institutions, and development practitioners — one of the largest global platforms for dialogue on evidence, learning, accountability, and social impact.
About 4th Wheel Social Impact
Founded in 2010, 4th Wheel works with funders, NGOs, and government partners across India and South Asia on impact strategy, MEAL systems, and evaluation. We focus on building evidence systems that are field-grounded, methodologically rigorous, and useful to the people making decisions.
Warmly,
4th Wheel Social Impact Team