It is important to note that a strategic evaluation does not provide the answers to all relevant issues, particularly issues usually addressed by more traditional evaluations. However, a strategic evaluation is well suited to advance understanding on an issue, to reduce the range of uncertainties, and to help reach acceptable working arrangements for all interested parties. In doing so, these evaluations look at policy, programmatic and operational issues.

I am pleased now to present this new strategic evaluation, which covers the full range of co-financing modalities in the context of non-core resource mobilization. The perspective is co-financing as part of country programming. The field trips and questionnaires to country offices provide the primary information base for the evaluation. Field visits were made to Africa (Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe), Asia and the Middle East (Indonesia, Viet Nam and Lebanon) and Latin American and the Caribbean (Argentina, Brazil, Peru; El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama). Countries in the Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States region were not visited since co-financing experience, for the most part, is still limited there.

Two-part questionnaires were used to collect information. Part one, asking for up-to-date data on co-financing for the fifth programming cycle, was sent to 120 country offices. Only sixty-eight responses were received. Part two, with more detailed and substantive questions, was sent to 60 countries. Twenty-eight responses were received; about half of these came from countries visited by the evaluators. The evaluators have reviewed numerous documents on non-core resource mobilization and co-financing modalities prepared by regional bureaux.

The presentation of a comprehensive statistical and programmatic profile of the co-financing arrangements and experience of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was not possible for this exercise for a number of reasons. Limited response, time and resources did not permit an in-depth review of projects under co-financing arrangements. However, such a review is important to establish the full extent of UNDP's role and contribution and the impact of co-financing on project quality, performance and results. It will be carried out in the near future. Additionally, the evaluation did not review round-table experience as a means of identifying co-financing opportunities. Round-tables have primarily served the resource mobilization and aid coordination objectives of recipient countries and not the generation of co-financing for UNDP. However, the latter could be examined as a secondary benefit from round-table deliberations. Finally, this evaluation does not address the co-financing/resource mobilization work initiated from UNDP headquarters.

This publication is a restructuring of the report for the benefit of a large and diverse reading audience. The content of the report remains largely unchanged and is organized as follows:

Chapter one, Experience and Prospects, highlights the importance of co-financing for UNDP's future in creating significant development partnerships worldwide.

Chapter two, Global Dimensions of Co-financing, contains an analysis of the use of non-core resources and co-financing modalities in UNDP based on currently available data.

Chapter three, Regional Experience, reviews co-financing from the country/regional perspective with the main emphasis on the experience of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Chapter four, Key Factors Affecting Co-financing Opportunities, provides a summary analysis of the main factors that work for and against co-financing modalities and their relative importance.

Chapter five, Conclusions and Recommendations, presents the evaluation team's conclusions, recommendations and observations on UNDP's policies, strategies, and programming and operations requirements for non-core resource mobilization and co-financing modalities.

Annex I, Terminology: Definitions and Operational Meanings, sets forth extensive definitions for the terms that are used in the report.

Annex II, Country Visits: Selected Summary Reports, contains eight summary reports of the evaluation team's visits to a total of fourteen countries currently involved in utilizing non-core resources in a variety of co-financing modalities.

Thanks are due to many who have contributed significantly in the process of developing this publication. I would like to express appreciation to Government officials, donors and international finance institution (IFI) representatives as well as to our country offices and headquarters staff who responded to questionnaires, participated in interviews and otherwise assisted the evaluation team in preparing the substance of this report. I am grateful to the independent evaluators, Fuat Andic, Duduzile Chandiwana, Peider Könz, Ralf Maurer and the team leader, W. Haven North, for a thorough, extensive and ground-breaking study that continues the high professional standards we wish to maintain in the OESP series. I also wish to acknowledge the editorial assistance of George Walters in preparing this study for publication and to thank my colleague, Abdenour Benbouali , for his diligent and effective management of this evaluation.

Sharon Capeling-Alakija
Director
Office of Evaluation and Strategic Planning