Management Response to Global Evaluation Advisory Committee (GEAC) report

GEAC appreciation High level expert advice from the GEAC is appreciated by UN Women Profile of the GEAC members is very rich, including perspective from Governments, Evaluation Associations, Academia, Private Foundations, Multilateral banks and UN entities

Overall Management Response UN Women welcomes the report of the GEAC. Very pleased with the overall finding that UN Women has a strong evaluation function. UN Women has placed importance on ensuring a strong evaluation function. Evaluation is central to UN Women’s mission as a means for achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. All recommendations were accepted.

Recommendations & Management Response

Agreed UN Women Senior Management sees evaluation as a core part of the organization’s mission and a means through which gender equality and women’s empowerment can be achieved. Management Response Recommendation #1: Evaluation integral to the mission of UN Women

Agreed In 2014, the IEO was strengthened to ensure it can fulfill its mandate. UN Women will continue to maintain a priority focus on improving and consolidating the profile and quality of its evaluation function, both central and decentralized. Management response Recommendation #2: Protect and strengthen IEO

Agreed UN Women senior managers will continue to place great importance on the use of evaluative evidence to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, including by using it in UN system wide processes as well as intergovernmental mechanisms. IEO is dedicated to identifying means for enhancing use of evaluation by better communicating evaluation results and supporting the tracking of management response. Management Response Recommendation #3: Incentivize Evidence-based Work

Agreed Incorporate a separate budget line for evaluation activities in the Integrated Budget with the aim of achieving the target of 3% of programme budget. Propose a solution to protect the tenure of evaluation staff consistent with the entity HR policies and standard practice in UN system agencies. Management response Recommendation #4: Strengthen independence

Agreed Under the guidance of the GEAC, EDO & IEO will lead the internal review of the Evaluation Policy in 2016 taking into account the external assessments completed by UNEG, JIU and MOPAN; GEAC recommendations; and policy recommendations emanating from the SDGs, QCPR, GA resolution on evaluation and any other relevant policy recommendations. Recommendation re: revision of Evaluation Policy in Management response Recommendation #5: Review of Evaluation Policy

Agreed As in 2014 UN Women evaluation function went through three external independent assessments, the review of the Evaluation Policy should be informed by these three assessments. Management response Recommendation #6: Delay further peer reviews

Agreed UN Women will continue to place great importance on supporting efforts to: fulfill its UN System coordination mandate on gender responsive evaluation Facilitate the provision of gender responsive evaluative evidence to UN system entities to address emerging challenges, as well as in informing intergovernmental normative processes. Key actions Recommendations based on GEAC report conclusions: UN Systemic Role

Agreed UN Women will continue its work in strengthening national gender responsive evaluation capacity, including through global partnership. UN Women will explore opportunities to connect decentralized evaluations with national gender- responsive evaluation capacity development. Key actions Recommendations based on GEAC report conclusions: National evaluation capacity development