This paper details our collaborative work on the Improving Learning Outcomes in Primary Schools (ILOPS) project in Burundi, Malawi, Uganda and Senegal. ILOPS set out to establish an innovative template for multi-stakeholder, multinational participatory evaluation (PE) and examine the fundamental roles, relationships and evidence that underpin the national-, state- and district-level implementation of primary education policy and practice. To achieve these goals, ILOPS brought together national-level education leaders from each country to design and implement a strategy to explore and challenge the current evidence on parental participation and teacher quality. This paper highlights how ILOPS established an organizational infrastructure to support our national-level PE strategy, secured stakeholder participation and developed an innovative design to engage stakeholders. We report participant perspectives on how their ILOPS experience influenced the development of new knowledge, built professional capacity and enhanced social networks. In conclusion, we set forth a brief set of recommendations associated with employing participatory methods within and between national-level stakeholder teams.