1. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Auto-evaluation of FAO outlook studies work programme Adrian Whiteman FAO, Rome

2. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Introduction FAO has to auto-evaluate each work programme element every 6 years Surveyed OS users and experts Oct-Dec 2004 Present the results of the evaluation - achievements - guidance from WP

3. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Auto-evaluation survey Users (from various FAO databases) – internet, e-mail and paper questionnaire Experts and policymakers – telephone interviews FAO staff – telephone and face-to-face interviews Citation analysis Website statistics

4. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva User survey - coverage Type of questionnaire People who requested OS Other people Total 1. Distributed to mailing lists provided by FAO8631731036 2. Number of invalid emails32546371 3. Number of valid emails (1-2)538127665 4. Number of tracked responses from email lists17654230 5. Percentage of tracked responses (4 / 3)33%43%35% 6. Anonymous responsesX55 Total responses176109285

5. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva User survey - coverage

6. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva User survey - coverage

7. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Importance of outlook studies

8. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Knowledge of outlook studies

9. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Knowledge of outlook studies

10. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Quality of outlook studies

11. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Quality and comparability

12. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Other sources of outlook studies

13. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Outcome: improving knowledge

14. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Priority for future commitment

15. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Suggested focus in the future

16. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Survey of experts and policy makers 83 people approached: experts; opinion formers; contributors 70 people contacted One-third non-users; one-fifth only slight users (not getting to opinion formers – especially in government) Some significant users: CIRAD; METLA; Forest Trends; CIFOR; World Bank; WWF; African Development Bank; Conservation International 35 people interviewed in detail

17. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Strengths and competitive advantages Unrivalled database Credible, unbiased, transparent and free Long-term and multi-country analysis, not available elsewhere Have the authority of FAO’s backing, especially in broader agriculture and land-use context

18. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Shortcomings and limitations Not well advertised and weak follow-up Audience is unclear – need more focus Too big and too long/detailed for policymakers Not enough country-specific follow-up (especially in Africa) Presentation is sometimes a problem Overly cautious Short shelf-life (Experts/contributors) – data quality is an issue, sometimes a heavy demand on contributors

19. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Citations (total 105)

20. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Citations – use of outlook studies PUBLIC SECTOR: used to stimulate debate, explain policy and raise awareness of the sector PRIVATE SECTOR: used to stimulate investment ACADEMIC: used for research planning In particular, outlook studies are used to debate environmental issues, then economic and social issues in the forestry sector

21. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva

22. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Survey of (37) FAO staff Mixed response Not used extensively, mainly used for information rather than analysis Unclear focus Poor marketing Little follow-up in countries Short shelf-life, need regular updates Should work more holistically

23. Joint UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics, 22-24 March 2005, Geneva Comments, questions and guidance please! Especially: Audience: national policy; international policy; investment – need better focus? Large studies every 10 years or shorter more regular studies? Process – top down or greater country capacity building? Marketing – getting the product onto desks! Other issues (e.g. future developments)?