1. Module 2 The SDG Agenda: No-one left behind
Technical Assistance on Evaluating SDGs: Leave No One Behind
EvalGender+ Network together with EvalPartners, IOCE and
UN Women

2. Presentation developed by Michael Bamberger and Asela Kalugampitiya based on Chapter 1 of ”Evaluating the Sustainable Development Goals within a “No-one left behind” lens through equity-focused and gender-responsive evaluations”

3. Outline The origin and goals of the SDGs Comparing the MDGs and SDGs
Rethinking evaluation methodology
The implications of the data revolution
The implications of the EFGR dimensions
Tailoring the SDG evaluation to the national contexts.

4. SDGs

5. 2030 Agenda/SDGs

6. 1. The origin and goals of the SDGs
A new world vision – the world we want
The principle of universality
The challenge of the country-driven focus
Prioritizing gender equality and women’s empowerment
The focus on social inclusion
The SDG agenda is a political agenda

7. No one left behind!

8. From MDGs to SDGs Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000-2015)
Goal 3:  Promote gender equality and empower women
Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
Target 5.B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health
Sustainable Development Goals ( )
Goal 5 “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”
9 targets, 14 indicators addressing  multiple concerns (none covered in the MDG framework)
Around 34% (58 out of 169) of Targets explicitly or implicitly address GE & EWG
Strong emphasis on disaggregation, including by sex and other relevant characteristics to capture intersecting inequalities (TG 17.18; para 74.g)

9. 2. Comparing the SDGs and the MDGs
Universality
Sustainability
Complementarities among all SDGs
Cross-cutting SDGs
Gender
Reducing inequality
Gender: focus on underlying causes of inequality – not just measuring targets
A normative focus

10. Comparing SDGs and MDGs [continued]
Moving beyond aggregate indicators on gender and reducing inequality:
Inequality within and between countries
Barriers to achieving gender equality
Understanding the complex mechanisms of social control
“Were any groups left behind”
Focus on gaps between most vulnerable and the poor
Evaluations will be designed, implemented and used in a participatory way

11. 3. Rethinking evaluation methodology
1. The main types of evaluation methodology
Levels at which the evaluation is conducted
Policy level
Program level
Project level
Types of evaluation
Policy
Formative
Developmental
summative

12. 2. Key evaluation questions
A. Policy evaluation questions
Rating policy outcomes in terms of OECD/DAC-type evaluation criteria
Relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability, equality
Can changes be attributed to the policy intervention?
How influential was donor agency advice?
Initial indicators of potential effects of long-term policy interventions
Contribution to EFGR outcomes

13. Key evaluation questions [continued]
Formative evaluation questions
Likelihood of achieving SDG objectives
Effectiveness of implementation
Are any sectors excluded?
Contribution to EFGR objectives
Unintended outcomes

14. Key evaluation questions [continued]
Developmental evaluation questions
Mechanisms to ensure all sectors are consulted
Are services and benefits reaching all sectors of the population?
Are complexity dimensions addressed?
Does project implementation have the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances?
Do projects contribute to EFGR goals?

15. Key evaluation questions [continued]
Summative evaluation
Attribution
Did the intervention make a difference?
How did it make a difference?
Replicability – factors contributing to replicability
Is a complexity-responsive design required?
Contextual factors affecting different outcomes
How does coordination affect outcomes?
Contribution to EFGR outcomes

16. Other methodology dimensions to address
The emergence of complexity theory
Greater focus on process and context
Advances in gender analysis and feminist methodology
Intersectionality
Using social exclusion framework
Advances in mixed-methods evaluation
Incorporating values and different voices

17. 4. The implications of the data revolution
Rapid increase in the use of smart phones and other hand-held devices
New sources of big data
Rapid evolution of smart data analytics
The next few years will see dramatic changes in how ME data is collected, analyzed and used
Great potential but also serious challenges
Potential of big data to close gender gaps

18. 5. The implications of the EFGR dimensions
More in-depth and broader focus on gender
Requiring innovative methodologies combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies
Broader social systems analysis required
Gender and reducing equalities defined as cross-cutting themes
New and more complex methodologies required
Need to identify gender and equality dimensions of every SDG
Commitment to a participatory focus
Implications for who owns the evaluations, how they are organized, disseminated and used

19. 6. Tailoring the SDG evaluations to national, sub-national and local contexts
UNDG has prepared a useful guidance note on tailoring the Agenda for sustainable development to the national context which also provides some general guidance on how to develop country M&E systems. The guidance proposes a 4 step process:
Reviewing existing strategies and plans and identifying required areas of change
Making initial recommendations to the leadership of the national government
Setting nationally relevant targets
Formulating strategies and plans using systems thinking

20. Resources
Sustainable Development Goals Evaluating SDGs with an equity-focused and gender-responsive lens gender-responsive-lens UN Development Group 2015 “Guidance note: On supporting the tailoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to national contexts”. Version 1.