THE independent evaluation office of Undp Independence, credibility and use IPDET, 30 June 2014 Indran A. Naidoo Director

Outline Make evaluation count! Dynamic triad of independence, credibility & utility Experience from the IEO of UNDP Credibility Utility Independence

Evaluand Country Presence Budget FOCUS AREAS UNDP in 177 countries Annual Budget is more than 5 Billion dollars FOCUS AREAS Poverty alleviation; democratic governance; energy & environment; and crisis prevention & recovery

Influencing the evaluand at all levels IEO evaluations have influenced the new Strategic Plan of UNDP – 2014-2016 – thus all of UNDP work 90% uptake of IEO recommendations Management reflects in its documents how it has addressed recommendations & updates public website All new programmes must be preceded by and include response to an evaluation

Recent Evaluations from IEO

Recent Evaluations from IEO Visit IEO website @ www.undp.org/evaluation

The critical “how question” Professional evaluation, what does it mean in practice Principles, approaches and ensuring that the end is in sight

Importance of the ‘Evaluation Triad’ Utility Credibility Independence

Independent Evaluation Office in UNDP Structurally Independent Reports directly to UNDP Executive Board who appoints/renews/ dismisses Director STRUCTURE IEO work is guided by the Board approved Evaluation policy Evaluation Policy periodically reviewed Management engagement from inception to conclusion POLICY PROCEDURES

Independence Reporting Line Quality Assurance Policy review Evaluation Advisory Panel Peer Reviews Reporting Line Director reports to Executive Board to prevent censorship and enhance transparency INTERNALLY @ IEO Staff protected from occupational detriment Director takes full accountability

Credibility Credibility Methodology Professional Forums & Networks Guidance Institutional Linkage and Capacity Professional Forums & Networks

Utility Uptake of recommendations Stakeholder engagement Management responses to evaluations and key actions publicly available in Evaluation Resource Centre in IEO website UNDP strategies and policies are informed by evaluations (UNDP strategic plan 2014-2017) Stakeholder engagement Management engagement throughout the evaluation process Stakeholder workshop organized for all evaluations to share its findings and recommendations. Government, civil societies and all other stakeholders participate at these workshops Organizational accountability & learning Implementation of evaluation recommendation and associated key actions reported to UNDP Executive Board in Annual Report on Evaluation Assessment of Development Results(ADR) provides substantive in put for development of new UNDP Country Programmes All new country offices are required to submit fully costed evaluation plan with their new country programme documents (CPDs)

UN Evaluation Group (UNEG) The United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) is a unique interagency professional network in the UN system that aims to advance the effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the UN system’s work by promoting and strengthening evaluation. UNEG brings together units responsible for evaluation in the UN system, including UN departments, specialized agencies, funds and programmes, and affiliated organizations. It currently has 45 such members and three observers. UNEG’s mission is to: promote the independence, credibility and usefulness of the evaluation function and evaluation across the UN system; advocate for the importance of evaluation for learning, decision-making and accountability; support the evaluation community in the UN system and beyond.

Professionalization Evaluation is emerging as a mature profession. For evaluation to be taken seriously it needs to distinguish itself as a profession which requires policies, strategies and practices that bring changes at the agency and the staff level. UNEG advances the professionalization of evaluation within the UN system and promotes adherence to the norms and standards through the external review processes of evaluation functions, the development of relevant guidance materials, as well as the development of a professional competency framework for UN evaluators.

UNEG Strategic Objectives 2014-2019 UNEG benefits from and contributes to an enhanced global evaluation profession. Evaluation functions and products of UN entities meet the UNEG Norms and Standards for evaluation; UN entities and partners use evaluation in support of accountability and programme learning; Evaluation informs UN system-wide initiatives and emerging demands; (UNEG Strategy 2014-2019 available at: www.unevaluation.org/uneg_strategy)

Engaging with governments The National Evaluation Capacity development initiatives …

National Evaluation Capacity

National Evaluation Capacity Independence Credibility Utility ‘National evaluation capacities are increasingly critical to countries’ overall ability to capture and demonstrate results to a variety of constituencies and to promoting learning and enabling decision makers to make informed decisions and plan strategically.’ - Rebeca Grynspan, Associate Administrator UNDP (2010-2014)

2015 – Year of Evaluation Declared by EvalPartners and currently working on a UN resolution to have 2015 declared Year of Evaluation Motto: Empowering nations and people through evaluation

EvalYear EvalYear, a catalyst to promote demand and use of evaluation in policy-making Inauguration of EvalYear at country level Evaluation policy process at country level Promote national evaluation capacity building Strengthening work with parliamentarians and policy makers (enabling environment) Strengthening stakeholders and facilitate collaboration/ partnerships among them

Concluding thoughts.. It is necessary to drive evaluations at many levels & ensure that all of the complexity and context is addressed. Evaluation principles should not be lost in this pursuit Working across sectors and with partners helps build support Evaluation should ultimately help to improve the lives of people through ensuring development effectiveness. Professional and well capacitated evaluation functions remain critical for this, and training such as IPDET is invaluable.

Thank you United Nations Development Programme Independent Evaluation Office 220 East 42nd Street New York, NY 10017 www.undp.org/evaluation