About GEI

Global Evaluation Initiative

The Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI) is an inclusive global partnership committed to developing country-owned, sustainable monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks and capacities to promote the use of evidence in public decision-making, enhance accountability, and achieve better results. We believe that better evidence contributes to better policies and, ultimately, to better lives. Globally, 91 percent of countries’ national development strategies—approved since 2015—refer to the 2030 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); however, according to the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, only 35 percent of them have reliable data and systems to track the progress of their policies and programs.

In response to this global gap in M&E systems and capacities, GEI is an innovative partnership that brings together a broad and diverse coalition of governments, (inter)national and local development organizations, and M&E experts to pool financial and technical resources to coordinate and expand M&E efforts globally. 

"No single institution has the resources to address the current global gaps in monitoring and evaluation capacity. Addressing the scale of the need will require coordinated efforts by broad coalitions and GEI is a step in that direction, providing a foundation that can be built on."

- Alison Evans, World Bank Vice President
& Independent Evaluation Group Director-General

The coronavirus pandemic has increased global demand for stronger M&E frameworks, especially in developing countries where M&E systems and capacities remain weak. “Building back better” from crises requires strengthening governments’ capacity to collect, analyze, and use data in decision-making. GEI will address this growing and urgent need for timely and reliable use of evidence in decision-making through the following:

  • Coordinating and expanding evaluation capacity development (ECD) programs
  • Supporting countries to build and strengthen M&E frameworks and capacities that encourage better-informed decision processes
  • Catalyzing strategic partnerships through the convening of M&E actors and experts
  • Leveraging local, regional, and global knowledge to provide effective and contextually relevant M&E solutions
  • Through our combined efforts, we will contribute to more relevant and effective policy interventions, better and more timely responses to shocks, and, ultimately, to enhance progress toward countries’ national development goals and the SDGs.