April 2008

News from the GEF Evaluation Office

News on African Country Portfolio Evaluations

The Evaluation Office undertook four Country Portfolio Evaluations (CPE’s) in Africa between September 2007 and March 2008 covering Benin, Cameroon, Madagascar and South Africa. The CPE’s respond to three questions: relevance of GEF support to countries’ sustainable development and environmental priorities as well as to the GEF’s mandate; efficiency of GEF implementation; and results from GEF support. These countries were selected to cover a range of country contexts, with target countries reflecting a mix of environmental allocations, geography and wealth.

The findings of the Africa CPE’s pointed towards a number of positive results, including achievements at the global environmental level, particularly in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use; catalytic and replication effects of results in terms of capacity, public awareness and enabling environment and relevance to national environmental priorities, particularly in the areas of biodiversity and international waters.

The Africa CPE’s also identified two main shortcomings which need action from the GEF Council: (1) limitations in the GEF Focal Point mechanisms and (2) the need for further integration among focal areas when preparing and implementing projects to maximize global environmental benefits.

Findings from three of the four evaluations have been synthesized in the first Annual Country Portfolio Evaluation report to be presented by the Evaluation Office to the GEF Council in April 2008. Individual CPE’s, as well as the synthesis report, are available on the Evaluation Office web site (www.gefeo.org)

Moving forward, CPE’s continue to play an increasingly important role in capturing aggregate portfolio results and country-level implementation experiences. A total of 12 CPE’s are proposed per replenishment period and in FY 09 a further two CPE’s will be carried out.

For more information, please contact:

c.volonte@thegef.org

On the Astana Consultation

As a regional contribution towards the upcoming International Workshop in Alexandria, Egypt this May, the Evaluation Office organized a Central Asian consultation on evaluating climate change and development, which took place at the end of 2007. Climate change specialists from Central Asian countries and Slovakia gathered together in Astana, Kazakhstan to share regional experiences in the evaluation of climate change projects and programs. Opening remarks were made by Mr. Alzhan Braliev, Vice-Minister of Environmental Protection of Kazakhstan and GEF Operational Focal Point. The GEF Evaluation Office was represented by Oswaldo Gómez R, on behalf of its Director, Mr. Robert D. van den Berg.  Speaking on behalf of the International Program Evaluation Network (IPEN) active in Central Asia, Mrs. Jamila Asanova welcomed this first stage of collaboration with the GEF Evaluation Office.

A summary of presentations and discussions will soon be available in a report on the current status of environmental evaluation in Central Asia.

For more information, please visit: http://www.esdevaluation.org or contact Oswaldo Gómez; OGomezRodriguez@thegef.org

The Annual Performance Report 2007

The Annual Performance Report (APR) presents a detailed account of some aspects of project results and the processes that may affect these results. Additionally, in the 2007 APR, the Evaluation Office includes an assessment of relevance, effectiveness and sustainability of capacity development activities in GEF projects.

The preliminary findings of the APR for fiscal year (FY) 2007 were shared with the GEF agencies in an inter-agency meeting in March 2008.

Key conclusions and findings of the APR 2007 were:

• On achievement of outcomes, 73 percent of the completed projects of the FY 2007 cohort were rated in the satisfactory range. This is close to the 75 percent target accorded in the GEF-4 replenishment agreement.
• For every dollar of GEF financing, 2.6 dollars of cofinancing had been promised. Implementing agencies reported that 1.9 of the promised 2.6 dollars   materialized. 
• The strong association between quality at entry of M&E arrangements and actual quality of monitoring during implementation, first identified for the fiscal 2006 cohort, was confirmed for the fiscal 2007 cohort as well.
• There has been significant improvement in the overall quality of the terminal evaluation reports. However, further improvements are required in reporting of financial information.
• The results of capacity development activities in completed GEF projects are generally positive and in some areas significant. However, a common underlying weakness in the projects is the tendency to plan and execute training as a “one-shot” solution with little consideration for the national or regional context.
• The GEF Agencies are on the right track to address the greenhouse gas emissions of their internal operations. However, most are in early stages of developing and adopting a comprehensive greenhouse gas management strategy.

For more information, please contact a.zazueta@thegef.org

Midterm review of the Results Allocation Framework (RAF)

The midterm review (MTR) of the GEF’s Results Allocation Framework (RAF) has begun and is progressing well. While it is too early to assess the long-term impact of the RAF and the projects approved under RAF funds, there are many aspects that can already be evaluated. The review will, for example, cover the effects of the RAF on stakeholder roles, pipeline development and changes to the emerging portfolio. Any mid-term evaluation will normally assess if original design is still relevant, if implementation is progressing, and if any changes are needed to reach the objectives.

Over the next few months, the review team will hold sessions on the midterm review during five sub-regional workshops, to obtain feedback from GEF focal points. The review team is also working with the GEF NGO network to reach the NGO community.

During May-June 2008, the GEF Evaluation office will also conduct an electronic survey among a broad range of stakeholders, including GEF Focal Points, field project staff, NGOs and Agency staff. The survey will be sent out electronically; and can also be accessed through the GEF Evaluation Office website www.gefeo.org.

You can find updates on the progress of the MTR, including the Evaluation Matrix and the composition of the review team on the GEF Evaluation Office website under ‘RAF mid-term review’.

For more information or suggestions, please contact

rafevaluation@thegef.org or Siv Tokle at stokle@thegef.org.

The International Workshop on Evaluating Climate Change and Development

The International Workshop on Evaluating Climate Change and Development is scheduled to take place from May 10th-13th and will be hosted by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in Alexandria, Egypt. The workshop, organized by the GEF Evaluation Office, is sponsored by several donors and supporters.  Participants of various backgrounds and expertises will attend to discuss the cross-cutting issues of climate change and development evaluation.

In addition to identifying current best practices and methodologies in mitigation and adaptation projects and programs, the workshop aims to draw out relevant gaps and challenges that lie ahead in the evaluation community. The agenda also reflects the desire to create independent regional evaluation networks which will share knowledge and grow in the years ahead, and will also highlight the effects of climate change on Egypt. Discussions will also provide a platform for institutional leadership on the importance of climate change and development around the world.

Registration is now closed, with about 250 expected participants. For a full list of sponsors, the current workshop agenda, and other relevant information please visit: http://www.esdevaluation.org.