Independent Evaluation Office EVALUATION PROFESSIONALIZATION FOR UTILITY, WITH CREDIBILITY THROUGH INDEPENDENCE 30 June 2015 Indran A. Naidoo Director, IEO UNDP Lecture to IPDET

Independent Evaluation Office Outline 2 Historic moment for Evaluation: 2015, a first ever UN Year of Evaluation - UNEG as a global driver A profession coming of age: opportunities and challenges A revised UNEG: advancing evaluation on a global level IEO implementing the professional model

Independent Evaluation Office UNEG joins EvalPartners in declaring 2015 as the International Year of Evaluation 2015 was declared as the International Year of Evaluation (EvalYear) at the 3 rd International Conference on National Evaluation Capacities (NEC) organized in Sao Paulo, Brazil in Oct 2013 Lighting of the Evaluation Torch - International Year of Evaluation So far, more than 70 events are scheduled to celebrate the international year of evaluation Lighting of the Evaluation Torch - International Year of Evaluation So far, more than 70 events are scheduled to celebrate the international year of evaluation United Nations General Assembly Adopts Resolution "Capacity building for the evaluation of development activities at the country- level"Capacity building for the evaluation of development activities at the country- level United Nations General Assembly Adopts Resolution "Capacity building for the evaluation of development activities at the country- level"Capacity building for the evaluation of development activities at the country- level 3

Independent Evaluation Office Building National Evaluation Capacity 4 Conference Partners NEC 2015 Road map for National Evaluation Capacity Development

Independent Evaluation Office NEC Journey 5 55 participants from 30 countries 80 participants from 20 counties 160 participants from 70 countries Expected: > 200 participants from > 80 countries

Independent Evaluation Office What this means for you … 6 Evaluation as a profession is coming of age IPDET played a central global role by ‘reading the future’ - accountable context In 2001: starting IPDET, training and popularizing, building personal capacity Capacity building – accreditation - professionalization – before you practice? Membership of associations, participation in networks, densification of networks

Independent Evaluation Office Now that we are many, and a community - the work begins 7 The appetite for evaluation and accountability varies globally and all intersections of democracy, accountability are aligned Variation in evaluation policy, resources and competence and context affects organizational power relations Push back arguments: ‘evaluation is like any other function, no special dispensation is required (it serves management and learning) and is not about accountability ‘cannot use funds for evaluation, it takes away from programming – fear to talk truth to political or administrative power

Independent Evaluation Office As a professional, you do not work in an ideal environment but: you can! 8 Make an impact through being skilled and professional Have the technical and professional skills (IPDET) to build confidence and do good work Advocate for an evaluation policy and occupational class

Independent Evaluation Office UN Evaluation Group (UNEG) 9 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.

Independent Evaluation Office UNEG Norms and Standards 10

Independent Evaluation Office UNEG Code of Conduct  Independence  Impartiality  Conflict of Interest  Honesty and Integrity  Competence  Accountability  Obligations to Participants  Confidentiality  Avoidance of Harm  Accuracy, Completeness and Reliability  Transparency  Omissions and Wrongdoing 11

Independent Evaluation Office Professionalization 12 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.

Independent Evaluation Office UNEG Strategic Objectives How we work together 13

Independent Evaluation Office Independent Evaluation Units in the UN System 14 Most UNEG member agencies are not independent, and report to management – thus subsumed within and subject to the will of the administration The most independent units report directly to the Executive Board: UNDP IEO, IFAD IEO and GEF IOE - It is independent when the reporting is to the governing body of the “evaluand” UN Agencies with Independent Evaluation Units

Independent Evaluation Office IEO experience and changes 15 In 2012 model changed from outsourcing to IEO lead Investment in external exposure, training and mentorship Establish Evaluation Advisory Panel ADR Reform

Independent Evaluation Office Evaluation Advisory Panel EAP members discuss strategic, overarching, emerging, or imminent activities and issues in plenary :  Presenting differing opinions  Combining areas of expertise  Allowing quick and free debate  Allowing a laser focus onto each issue  Resulting in concrete outcomes and actions  Engaging with those external to IEO 16

Independent Evaluation Office How it works at UN Headquarter 17 Preparing and tracking of management response

Independent Evaluation Office How it works at UN Headquarter 18 Evaluation conclusions

Independent Evaluation Office Back to UNEG and your role as a profession 19 Professionalize evaluation Policy for evaluation that addresses the ICU Reflect on norms and standards Moving between agencies Occupational category for evaluator Utility Credibility Independence

Independent Evaluation Office Concluding thoughts … 20 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 (supported by IEO, UNEG, UN).

Thank you United Nations Development Programme Independent Evaluation Office 220 East 42 nd Street New York, NY