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About the Independent Office of Evaluation
The Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE) conducts evaluations of IFAD-financed policies, strategies and operations to promote accountability and learning.
About IFAD
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is a specialized agency of the United Nations, dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in developing countries. Its work in remote rural areas of the world helps countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
New IOE Officer-in-Charge
IFAD welcomes Mr Kees Tuinenburg as IOE's new Officer-in-Charge as of 2 December. Mr Tuinenburg, a national of the Netherlands, has previously worked in several organizations, including International Labour Organisation, the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam, the World Bank, and World Food Programme, where he held the position of Director of the Office of Evaluation from 2002-2006.
Closing celebration of ten years of independent evaluation at IFAD
This year we celebrated the tenth anniversary of independent evaluation at IFAD. The occasion was observed at the Executive Board, at its April 2013 meeting when IOE launched a dedicated booklet giving an overview of the Office’s activities through the years, an account of lessons learned and observations from internal and external partners. Read more
The 2013 Annual Report on Results and Impact of IFAD Operations (ARRI) was presented at the Evaluation Committee in November and at the Executive Board in December. It revealed that IFAD’s own performance as a partner over 2011-2013 was the best since the ARRI was first issued in 2003. Two areas remain challenging: the efficiency of IFAD operations and sustainability of benefits. Read more. All the new ratings included in the 2013 ARRI have now been inserted in the IFAD’s independent evaluation ratings database, which is publicly available to all audiences.
The recently conducted IFAD-wide Staff Engagement Survey revealed that IOE has improved by 16 per cent its staff engagement in 2013. It is the IFAD “department” that made the best progress this year in promoting wider staff engagement, as compared to 2012. Furthermore, IOE’s response rate to the survey was 82 per cent. The very high IOE response rate may also be considered as a proxy indicator of a better working environment and enhanced staff engagement within the division.
Impact evaluation in Sri Lanka
IOE conducted its first impact evaluation of an IFAD-funded project: the Sri Lanka Dry Zone Livelihood Support and Partnership Programme. The evaluation applied mixed methods including a quantitative survey conducted on 2,560 households, and data were analysed through advanced econometric techniques. Read more
Collaboration with Rome-based agencies
Efforts are being made to implement the Joint Statement on strengthening collaboration in evaluation between Rome-based agencies, which was signed earlier this year. Among other activities, IOE and the FAO Office of Evaluation are planning to prepare a joint evaluation synthesis report on pastoral development next year, a joint training event among the Rome-based agencies for evaluation officers to better assess gender outcomes is planned in March, and knowledge exchange on a range of topics is being actively pursued.
In September, IOE signed a Statement of Intent to support China in evaluation capacity development. In this context, an evaluation training workshop on Agricultural and Rural Development Investments was held by IOE in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Finance in Beijing on 1 November 2013. Read more
West African Development Bank delegation meets IOE.
The Director of the Office of Evaluation of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), Mr Patrice Gbaguidi, and the Senior Evaluation Officer, Mr Didier Amany, visited IOE last October. The aim of the mission was to collect knowledge and experience on IFAD’s independent evaluation policy and strategy, since BOAD is in the process of introducing an independent evaluation function.
UNEG Strategy 2014-2019
The United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) composed of representatives of evaluation offices of more than 40 United Nations specialized agencies, programmes and funds has just issued its new strategy for the period 2014-2019. This strategy was finalized following discussions during its extraordinary Annual General Meeting, which was held at IFAD headquarters at the end of September 2013. Read more
Evaluation Committee updates
Mexico, represented by Ambassador Miguel Ruiz Cabañas Izquierdo has recently taken over from Brazil, which was a member of the Evaluation Committee until October 2013. The Evaluation Committee is currently composed of the following Member States: Egypt, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia (Chair), Japan, Mexico, Nigeria and Norway.
As 2013 comes to a close, IOE would like to express sincere appreciation to IFAD Management and staff, members of the Executive Board and Evaluation Committee, representatives from partner governments, colleagues from the United Nations and international financial institutions, academic institutions, civil societies and other partners for the continued support and collaboration. We look forward to working closely with you in the coming year. We wish you a happy holiday season and a prosperous 2014!