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

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

3. 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

4. Influencing the evaluand at all levels
IEO evaluations have influenced the new Strategic Plan of UNDP – – 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

5. Recent Evaluations from IEO

6. Recent Evaluations from IEO
Visit IEO

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

8. Importance of the ‘Evaluation Triad’
Utility
Credibility
Independence

9. 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

10. 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
IEO
Staff protected from occupational detriment
Director takes full accountability

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

12. 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 )
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)

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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 available at:

16. Engaging with governments
The National Evaluation Capacity development initiatives …

17. National Evaluation Capacity

18. 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 ( )

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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.

22. Thank you United Nations Development Programme
Independent Evaluation Office
220 East 42nd Street New York, NY 10017