fix: eval contribution encoding

[jtguibas]

Description

Fixes # (issue)

Type of change

• Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
• New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
• Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
• This change requires a documentation update

How has this been tested?

• Test A
• Test B

How has this been benchmarked?

• Benchmark A, on Macbook pro M1, 32GB RAM
• Benchmark B, on x86 Intel xxx, 16GB RAM

Checklist:

• I have performed a self-review of my code
• I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
• I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
• I have added tests that prove my fix is effective or that my feature works
• I did not modify files generated from templates
• golangci-lint does not output errors locally
• New and existing unit tests pass locally with my changes
• Any dependent changes have been merged and published in downstream modules

[CLAassistant]

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[ivokub]

Thanks @jtguibas for the contribution. I have seen the PR before, but have delayed merging it due to #1297 touching same parts of the implementation. I'll discuss with @Tabaie if we can merge your contribution without affecting the other PR. But I guess we would have to rebase the other one anyway, so shouldn't be an issue.