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Thematic Evaluations

Thematic Evaluations assess UNDP performance in areas that are critical to ensuring sustained contribution to development results in the context of emerging development issues and changing priorities at the global and regional levels. To this end, thematic evaluations may cover, for example, UNDP policies, focus areas, partnerships, programmatic approaches, cooperation modalities, or business models. The Evaluation Office also engages in evaluations conducted jointly with other United Nations organizations to assess system-wide performance.

Evaluation Brief

Latest 2024 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Support of Digitalization in Public Services
Evaluation of the UNDP Support to Digitalization of Public Services

The evaluation assessed UNDP's support to digitalization in eight programme streams, across different thematic areas and cross-cutting issues during the period 2015-2023. Conducted during the initial phase of the UNDP's 2022-2025 Strategic Plan and Digitalization Policy implementation, the evaluation underscored the organization's renewed focus on integrating technology, innovation and public services.

2023 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Support of Access to Justice
Evaluation of UNDP Support of Access to Justice

The evaluation of UNDP’s support to access to justice – the first comprehensive assessment by the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) in this area – analysed the relevance, coherence, effectiveness and sustainability of UNDP’s offer. In line with UNDP’s definition of access to justice, IEO examined UNDP’s support to both the demand and the supply of justice services, while enlarging its analysis to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and the expanding portfolio of environmental justice.

Evaluation of the UNDP Support to Social Protection
Evaluation of the UNDP Support to Social Protection

UNDP support to tackle the gaps in coverage by strengthening the governance of social protection systems, enabling programmes to reach those without access, and promoting instruments that can better respond during shocks is based on the organization’s long-standing focus on poverty reduction and its multi-dimensional approach to development. This independent global thematic evaluation assessed UNDP’s contribution to social protection policies and institutional processes and mechanisms for enabling inclusive social protection.

2022 Evaluations

Formative Evaluation of the Integration by UNDP of the principles of Leaving No One Behind
Formative Evaluation of the Integration by UNDP of the principles of Leaving No One Behind

The commitment to ‘Leave No One Behind’ (LNOB) is a central transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and one of three organizational ‘directions of change’ for UNDP. This formative evaluation report sets out the extent to which the LNOB principles of equality, equity and non-discrimination permeate key areas of UNDP programmes and operations, and puts forward recommendations for deepening the integration of these principles.

Financing the Recovery: A Formative Evaluation of UNDP's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and SDG Financing
Financing the Recovery: A Formative Evaluation of UNDP's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and SDG Financing

This formative evaluation looks at how UNDP can support SDG financing to help Governments realizetheir commitments, while recognizing that many of the UNDP SDG financing tools are still in their early stages, and that the pandemic is not yet over. We reviewed the existing UNDP mechanisms for supporting SDG financing, as well as its broad toolkit. The evaluation used the current financing architecture and global opportunities as a lens through which to examine whether the UNDP approaches met the needs of countries as they emerge from the pandemic.

UNDP support to energy access and transition
UNDP support to energy access and transition

This evaluation was undertaken through the lens of the urgent need to speed up the move away from overreliance on fossil fuels as we strive to close the energy gap. Its recommendations outline a course of action, streamlined with the ambition expressed at the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Energy in September 2021 and in the UNDP Strategic Plan, 2022-2025, which will inform the work of UNDP in this important field.

Evaluation of UNDP Support for Youth Economic Empowerment
Evaluation of UNDP Support for Youth Economic Empowerment

This evaluation sets out a series of recommendations for programmes and infrastructures to ensure that support to youth is relevant and meaningful. At the heart of recommendations to improve the inclusivity of UNDP strategic programming is the importance of balancing investment in individuals – namely training and support to entrepreneurship – with support for structural job creation.

Evaluation of UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021
Evaluation of UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021

This evaluation provides an assessment of UNDP’s vision set out in the Strategic Plan 2018-2021, and the extent to which the enablers and changes introduced to operationalize it are helping to improve UNDP’s support for fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals and helping the organization to adapt and respond to changes in context.

2021 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021
Evaluation of UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021

This evaluation provides an assessment of UNDP’s vision set out in the Strategic Plan 2018-2021, and the extent to which the enablers and changes introduced to operationalize it are helping to improve UNDP’s support for fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals and helping the organization to adapt and respond to changes in context.

2020 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Support to Conflict-Affected Countries
Evaluation of UNDP Support to Conflict-Affected Countries

This evaluation was conducted at a time when programme countries are grappling with COVID-19 pandemic which is threatening to reverse decades of development gains. The evaluation points out that the pandemic poses additional risks to the efforts to address drivers that induce conflict. The slow evolution of the COVID-19 notwithstanding, the intertwined security, humanitarian and climate challenges in the Sahel and Horn of Africa demand a comprehensive approach.

Evaluation of UNDP Support to the Syrian Refugee Crisis Response and Promoting an Integrated Resilience Approach
Evaluation of UNDP Support to the Syrian Refugee Crisis Response and Promoting an Integrated Resilience Approach

The evaluation covered Syrian refugee crisis-response programmes in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt for the period 2015-2019. The evaluation assessed the coordination structure of the Regional Refugee Response Plan (3RP) and key streams of the UNDP country-level response. UNDP supported national and local governments in countries hosting refugees to address the development impacts of the crisis. UNDP helped bring a development approach to humanitarian refugee respons, thus contributing to consolidation of the humanitarian-development nexus.

Evaluation of UNDP Support to Climate Change Adaptation
Evaluation of UNDP Support to Climate Change Adaptation

This evaluation assessed UNDP’s achievements and performance in helping partner countries to adapt to new climate conditions created by global warming. The evaluation is part of the IEO workplan (DP/2018/4) approved by the Executive Board in January 2018. The evaluation aims to strengthen UNDP accountability to global and national development partners, including the UNDP Executive Board, and to support organizational learning and improved development effectiveness.

Evaluation of UNDP Cooperation in Middle-Income Countries
Evaluation of UNDP Cooperation in Middle-Income Countries

The evaluation assessed UNDP contributions to national development results in MICs through the objectives of its Strategic Plan, 2018-2021 in selected practice areas and signature solutions. These are poverty eradication, strengthened inclusive and accountable institutions, environment and nature-based solutions for development, closing the energy gap and gender equality and women’s empowerment.

2019 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP support to poverty reduction in the least developed countries
Evaluation of UNDP support to poverty reduction in the least developed countries

This evaluation examined assessment of UNDP support to poverty reduction in the least developed countries (LDCs), covering the period 2014 to 2017.

Latest 2018 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Inter-Agency Operational Services
Evaluation of UNDP Inter-Agency Operational Services

This evaluation examined the efficiency and effectiveness of UNDP inter-agency services, with the aim to provide useful recommendations to improve and inform UNDP’s performance as a provider of inter-agency operational services. The analysis of the evaluation covered 16 countries and UNDP Global Shared Services Centres, and collected feedback from more than 350 interviews and 600 surveyed respondents from UN entities at the central, regional and country office levels.

Evaluation of UNDP Inter-Agency Pooled Financing Services
Evaluation of UNDP Inter-Agency Pooled Financing

This evaluation examined the efficiency and effectiveness of UNDP inter-agency pooled financing services provided through the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office. Its aims to provide forward looking recommendations to improve and inform UNDP’s positioning as a provider of inter-agency pooled financing services.

2017 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Strategic Plan and Global and Regional Programme
Evaluation of UNDP Strategic Plan and Global and Regional Programme

The report focuses attention on key aspects of UNDPs work under the current strategic plan, and considers the way UNDP, as an essential UN organisation, provides programme support to partner governments.


Joint Assessment of the Institutional Effectiveness of UNDP
Joint Assessment of the Institutional Effectiveness of UNDP

This report presents the assessment of UNDP institutional effectiveness conducted jointly by the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) and Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI) of UNDP.

2016 Evaluations

Evaluation of Disability-Inclusive Development at UNDP
Evaluation of Disability-Inclusive Development at UNDP

The evaluation assesses UNDP’s contribution to disability-inclusive development during the period 2008- 2016.


Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Anti-corruption and Addressing Drivers of Corruption
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Anti-corruption and Addressing Drivers of Corruption

The evaluation assessed national-level UNDP contributions to anti-corruption capacity development to countries within development contexts covering 2008 to 2016.

2015 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Mine Action
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Mine Action

The objective of this evaluation is to determine UNDP's contribution to mine action. UNDP has been a partner on landmine removal in over 40 countries, with some programmes dating back nearly 30 years.


Joint GEF-UNDP Evaluation of the Small Grants Programme
Joint GEF-UNDP Evaluation of the Small Grants Programme

The Small Grants Programme aims to develop community strategies and technologies for reducing threats to the global environment while addressing livelihood challenges. In July 2015 the 2nd Joint GEF-UNDP Evaluation of the SGP was completed. It discusses the SGP’s current role and results in achieving global environmental benefits while addressing livelihoods, poverty, and gender equality; broader adoption of grant-level results; the SGP’s strategic positioning; and M&E.


Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

Gender equality remains an unfulfilled promise that affects all humanity. The 1970s and 1980s saw discussions in civil society, governments, and United Nations agencies that focused on increasing attention, protection mechanisms, and resources dedicated to advance women’s equity and social justice. UNDP has been in the forefront of responding to these developments since the 1970s. This is the second evaluation of UNDP’s contribution to gender equality and women’s empowerment which picks up the thread from 2008 and traces the implementation of UNDP’s first Gender Equality Strategy which concluded in 2013.


Evaluation of the Contribution of the Global and Regional Human Development Reports to Public Policy Processes
Evaluation of the Contribution of the Global and Regional Human Development Reports to Public Policy Processes

UNDP launched its first global Human Development Report (HDR) in 1990 to raise awareness and generate debate on public issues and concerns. This evaluation was the first such evaluation carried out by IEO to assess the global and regional HDRs’ contributions to public policy processes. In approving the evaluation, the UNDP Executive Board recognized the important contribution of HDRs to public debate and public policy. The objectives of the evaluation are to: (i) guide UNDP in refining its intellectual contribution to development though the HDRs, and; (ii) hold UNDP accountable for the use of its human and financial resources in preparing and disseminating the HDRs.


Evaluation of the Role of UNDP Supporting National Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
Evaluation of the Role of UNDP Supporting National Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

At its 2013 second regular session, the UNDP Executive Board requested that IEO carry out a thematic evaluation of the “role of UNDP in supporting national achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”. The Board noted the strategic importance of MDGs and the potential to extract lessons learned for the post-2015 global development agenda. The objectives of the evaluation are to (i) assess the results achieved by UNDP in supporting national achievement of the MDGs (ii) identify the factors that affected UNDP contribution and performance, including: strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities, and the decisions, strategies and approaches that worked and did not; and (iii) provide strategic recommendations for fine tuning the institutional strategy of support to the post-2015 agenda.

2013 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Strategic Plan 2008-2013
Evaluation of UNDP Strategic Plan 2008-2013

This evaluation provides an assessment of UNDP performance during the period covered by the Strategic Plan and an organizational assessment of UNDP's use of the Plan.


Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to South-South and Triangular Cooperation (2008-2011)
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to South-South and Triangular Cooperation (2008-2011)

The evaluation assesses the performance of UNDP support to South-South and triangular cooperation from 2008 to 2011.


Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Poverty Reduction

This evaluation focuses on the evolving role and contribution of the United Nations Development Programme in the reduction of multidimensional poverty.


Evaluation of UNDP Support to Conflict-Affected Countries in the Context of UN Peace Operations

This evaluation focuses on the evolving and expanding role of the United Nations Development Programme in conflict-affected settings, particularly in situations where UNDP is engaged during and immediately after an integrated United Nations peace operation.

2012 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Strengthening Electoral Systems and Processes

The study evaluates UNDP contribution to electoral assistance between 1990 and 2011, and in the past decade in particular.


Evaluation of UNDP Partnership with Global Funds and Philanthropic Foundations

The evaluation report provides insights into UNDP partnerships with global funds and philanthropic foundations.

2010 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Contribution at the Regional Level to Development and Corporate Results
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution at the Regional Level to Development and Corporate Results

In an increasing inter-connected and inter-dependent world. Regional cooperation has immense potential Countries are collaborating to address challenges that cannot be addressed individually and on regional public goods.


Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Disaster Prevention and Recovery
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Disaster Prevention and Recovery

Disasters have been on the rise over the last decade. Their increasing frequency and scale pose mounting economic and humanitarian challenges and necessitate effective management of disaster risk as an integral part of development planning.


Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Strengthening Local Governance
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Strengthening Local Governance

Strengthening local governance with a view to promoting democratic representation, establishing entitlements, and improving the provision of goods and services, can play a critical role in human development.


Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Environmental Management for Poverty Reduction: the Poverty-Environment Nexus
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Environmental Management for Poverty Reduction: the Poverty-Environment Nexus

The evaluation builds from the widely recognized assertion that poverty often exacerbates environmental degradation and environmental damage reinforces poverty.


Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Strengthening National Capacities
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Strengthening National Capacities

As countries take ownership of the development agenda, enhancing sustained abilities for countries to do things for themselves takes centre stage as a critical element of development effectiveness.


2009 Evaluations

Joint terminal evaluation of the implementation of the cooperation agreement between the UNIDO and the UNDP
Joint terminal evaluation of the implementation of the cooperation agreement between the UNIDO and the UNDP

The evaluation was undertaken in response to the requirement of the UNIDO Industrial Development Board to assess the performance of the Cooperation Agreement between UNDP and UNIDO signed 23 September 2004.


Evaluation of UNDP Work with Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund Resources
Evaluation of UNDP Work with Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund Resources

This report presents the findings of an independent evaluation of UNDP work with the Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund resources carried out by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Evaluation Office.


2008 Evaluations

Evaluation of UNDP Role and Contribution in Energy and Environment
Evaluation of UNDP Role and Contribution in Energy and Environment

Environment and energy in various formulations has featured as one of the key thematic areas of UNDP’s work since the 1980s.


Joint Evaluation of the GEF Small Grants Programme
Joint Evaluation of the GEF Small Grants Programme

The purpose of the Joint Evaluation of the SGP was to assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and cost effectiveness of the SGP in relation to the overall mandate of the GEF.


Evaluation of the Role of UNDP in the Net Contributor Countries of the Arab Region
Evaluation of the Role of UNDP in the Net Contributor Countries of the Arab Region

This independent evaluation of the role of UNDP inthe NCCs of the Arab regionwas commissioned by the Evaluation Office of UNDP.


Evaluation of the UNDP Contribution to the Implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness
Evaluation of the UNDP Contribution to the Implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness

Recognizing the need to take stock and learn from UNDP and UNDG experience in new aid modalities, the evaluation was conducted under the umbrella of the first phase of a broader joint evaluation on the implementation of the Paris Declaration by partner countries and bilateral and multilateral partner agencies.


Evaluation of Results-based Management at UNDP
Evaluation of Results-based Management at UNDP

This report presents the assessment of an independent evaluation conducted by the Evaluation Office of UNDP of the adoption of results based management (RBM) as an approach.


Evaluation of UNDP Contribuation to South-South Cooperation
Evaluation of UNDP Contribuation to South-South Cooperation

This report presents the assessment of an independent evaluation conducted by the Evaluation Office of UNDP of the adoption of results based management (RBM) as an approach.