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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.

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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.

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Evaluation news
Issue n. 6 - September 2014

New director of the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE)

IOE welcomes its new director, Mr Oscar A. Garcia, as of 1 October 2014. Prior to joining IOE, Mr Garcia served as Head of the advisory services at the United Nations Environment Programme, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics in Paris. In that role, he provided guidance to the Partnership for Action on Green Economy. Previously, he was senior evaluation advisor at the Evaluation Office of the United Nations Development Programme, where he oversaw programmatic and thematic evaluations for Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Read more

Learning event on the 2014 Annual Report on Results and Impact of IFAD Operations (ARRI)

On 19 September 2014, an IFAD-wide workshop was held to present the forthcoming 2014 Annual Report on Results and Impact of IFAD Operations (ARRI), IOE’s flagship product.

The objectives of the ARRI are to: (i) provide an aggregated overview of the results of IFAD operations based on independent evaluation done in 2013, and (ii) identify lessons and systemic issues that need attention for further strengthening IFAD’s development effectiveness.

During the workshop, IOE made a presentation of the main results and impact of IFAD operations, and shared lessons related to project management, the main learning theme of the 2014 ARRI.

The workshop was attended by over 60 participants, including John McIntire, IFAD Associate Vice-President of the Programme Management Department, selected division directors, and representatives from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the United Nations Development Programme.

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Corporate-level evaluation (CLE) on the IFAD Policy for Grant Financing

This is the first corporate-level evaluation on the IFAD Policy for Grant Financing conducted by IOE. The objectives of the evaluation were to: assess the performance of the Policy in terms of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency; and to generate findings and recommendations that will inform IFAD's strategic directions and priorities for future grant activities.

The evaluation found that grants are an important resource at the disposal of IFAD and have considerable potential to contributing to achieving the Fund’s mandate of rural transformation and improved livelihood. At the same time, the evaluation underlined that relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the grant policy have been constrained by a number of issues in the Policy's formulation and implementation.

The main evaluation recommendation is for IFAD to develop and new corporate grants policy, with more realistic grant objectives and clearer corporate priorities for grants. The evaluation also recommended to streamline grant procedures, in particular by devoting greater attention to improving monitoring and evaluation and learning from grant activities.

The report will be considered at the Eighty-fifth session of the Evaluation Committee on 10 October 2014 and the Executive Board in December 2014.

Evaluation report | Management response
Profile | Insights

Closing message from Kees Tuinenburg, IOE’s interim Officer-in-Charge
Kees Tuinenburg left IOE on 19 September 2014, and said: “I look back at my almost ten months at the helm of IOE with great professional and personal satisfaction. It was a privilege to work for IFAD and in particular for its Independent Office of Evaluation. I thank all of you.”

Other Stories

  • The corporate-level evaluation (CLE) on fragile states is ongoing and will be finalized next year and presented at the April 2015 session of the Executive Board. A progress report on the implementation of this evaluation will be shared at the next meeting on the 10th Replenishment of IFAD resources on 7-8 October. Approach paper

  • Insights on pastoral communities in Matam region, from the Senegal Country Programme Evaluation. Read more

  • Evaluation Synthesis on IFAD’s Engagement with Indigenous Peoples. Concept note

Evaluation Committee updates

Ms Margot Skarpeteig is the new Norwegian representative on the Evaluation Committee of IFAD's Executive Board. She will attend her first session on 10 October 2014. IOE thanks former representative, Ms Tonje Liebich Lie, for her valuable contributions to the Committee's work in the past years.

The Evaluation Committee is currently composed of the following Member States: Angola, Finland, France, India, Indonesia (Chair), Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria and Norway.