Mission and scope

Revista Brasileira de Avaliação (RBAVAL) is a publication of Rede Brasileira de Monitoramento e Avaliação (RBMA) dedicated to fostering, hosting, and disseminating knowledge on evaluation theories and practices.

As a field of scientific inquiry, evaluation seeks to generate and analyze evidence on the functioning and outcomes of public policies, programs, and social initiatives. To evaluate is to investigate, in a systematic and data-driven way, whether actions are achieving their objectives and producing the intended effects in people’s lives. Beyond measuring results, evaluation enables learning from experience, identifying good practices, and supporting informed decision-making to improve policies and programs, thereby strengthening transparency and effectiveness in public and social action. In this sense, the journal focuses on manuscripts that explicitly address evaluation—implying comparisons against standards and value judgment—rather than solely on social research aimed at explaining phenomena or generating general knowledge.

RBAVAL accepts articles in Portuguese, Spanish, and English from authors of all nationalities. Its editorial approach encourages multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral contributions and seeks to promote evaluation cultures grounded in respect for social actors, methodological plurality and depth, rigor in value judgment, and a strong commitment to the use of findings. RBAVAL welcomes evaluations conducted by decision-makers, policymakers, and researchers working in public institutions, multilateral organizations, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector, including companies and independent consultants who provide specialized evaluation services for policies, programs, and services.

RBAVAL values studies addressing a wide range of topics of public interest, as well as diverse theoretical and methodological approaches across different fields of knowledge. To foster the development of evaluation theories and practices in Brazil, the journal seeks to promote dialogue among diverse and complementary areas such as health, education, social assistance, environment, infrastructure, economics, urban studies, and public administration, among others. It also values studies that engage with different social groups, including children, youth, women, transgender people, Indigenous peoples, migrants, and others.

By promoting the use of evaluation in matters of public interest, RBAVAL aims to contribute to the protection of civil, political, environmental, and social rights in Brazil, to the strengthening of democracy, and to the effective use of public and private resources.

Periodicity

The journal accepts manuscripts on a rolling basis and publishes approved articles immediately, compiling them into a single annual issue, exclusively in digital format. This model supports the continuous and timely publication of original articles, systematic reviews, essays, interviews, opinion pieces, experience reports, and book reviews.

At the editors’ discretion, RBAVAL may also publish special (thematic) issues.

Funding and Institutional Support

RBAVAL is a publication of Rede Brasileira de Monitoramento e Avaliação (RBMA), which is responsible for covering all costs associated with its maintenance.

The journal also secures funding from institutional partners, both public and private, who are interested in its content or in sponsoring thematic and/or institutional special issues. Special issues strictly follow the same editorial policies as regular issues.

RBAVAL does not accept advertisements.

History

Founded in 2011, RBAVAL was originally titled Revista Brasileira de Monitoramento e Avaliação [Brazilian Journal of Monitoring and Evaluation] (ISSN 2236-5877). Published by RBMA, its first nine issues were produced in partnership with the Information Management Secretary of the then Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger (MDS).

Due to operational challenges, the journal published its last issue (No. 9) in 2015. In 2020, RBMA’s board considered it essential to relaunch the journal, responding to both demand and offers of support from the evaluation community.

At the invitation of RBMA’s board, a new editor was appointed to redesign the project, taking on the role of volunteer editor-in-chief. A new editorial project was developed to honor the journal’s history while enhancing its quality, in response to the evolution of the field and the evaluation community over the nine years since its first issue.

These changes led the journal to adopt a fully digital format, reconstitute its editorial team, and revise its editorial policy to better align with best practices in scientific publishing, supporting its indexing and qualification.

The editorial team also decided to remove the concept of “monitoring” from the journal’s title, in order to ensure greater theoretical consistency and strengthen its national and international positioning. The journal was thus relaunched as Revista Brasileira de Avaliação (RBAVAL).

The editors sought professional support from Editora Cubo to improve the journal’s quality standards and to implement a digital submission system, as well as to develop RBAVAL’s dedicated website and a new visual identity.

RBAVAL also became a member of Associação Brasileira de Editores Científicos (ABEC) and has sought to build connections with initiatives, forums, indexers, and institutional partners that can contribute to strengthening its editorial quality and the relevance and use of its publications.

In 2023, RBAVAL was indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). In 2024, it was also indexed in the Latindex Directory and included in the Catálogo 2.0 in November 2025.

The editorial policy was revised in 2026 to further develop its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion guidelines and its policy on the use of Artificial Intelligence.

About RBMA

Since 2008, the Brazilian Monitoring and Evaluation Network has worked to promote dialogue among the diverse actors in the monitoring and evaluation field, fostering theories and practices that are increasingly relevant to Brazilian society.

By valuing diversity in approaches and stakeholders, encouraging local and regional knowledge production, and strengthening evaluation practice in Brazil, RBMA is committed to a future in which evaluation is recognized as both a core value and a strategic tool for learning and decision-making, contributing to the improvement of institutions, programs, and public policies, and to the strengthening of democratic processes.