Data Tamasha Africa is a continental data festival born from the union of DataFest Africa and Data Tamasha, co-convened by Pollicy and Tanzania Data Lab (dLab).

The MERL Tech Initiative is hosting a Masterclass titled “Strengthening Evidence-Based Decision Making Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for AI and Data Governance Policymaking” during Data Tamasha Africa 2026, on August 20, at 2pm.

This skill-building session for African Policymakers and practitioners working with policymakers focuses on how to monitor and evaluate AI Policies. We will center on how monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) can strengthen the design and implementation of AI and data governance policies, and will cover:

• What should be measured within AI policies and plans
• Why are the aims of evaluating AI policies and plans
• When this evaluation should happen

Participants can expect to come out of this session with skills and knowledge of how to develop fit-for-purpose, practical, and replicable framework development for monitoring and evaluation of AI policies in contextual and nuanced ways. Facilitated by Varaidzo Magodo-Matimba and Emeka Nwankwo, this session is timely, especially since the dialogue on issues surrounding AI governance is saturated, and what policymakers and practitioners working with policymakers need are practical skills.