Meet the Leadership

New York City, NY, January 13, 2020 – The World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) and the Independent Evaluation Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), marking the first step towards establishing a global partnership to support evaluation capacity development.

The IEG-UNDP collaboration comes at a time when the global demand for support to strengthen monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems and capacities is high. Countries need effective M&E systems and capacities in order to track the progress on their national development strategies. The support to meet this demand, while growing, is often limited by scale and a lack of coordination. As part of this new collaboration, IEG and UNDP aim to pool resources, share knowledge and expertise, and leverage the comparative advantages of each institution for scaling up current initiatives and coordinating global efforts on building M&E systems and capacity.

Alison Evans

Director- General Evaluation, Vice President, Independent Evaluation Group (IEG)

"The lack of robust monitoring and evaluation systems leaves many countries at a disadvantage and has become an ever more urgent development challenge in the face of the fast-moving coronavirus pandemic. Only by working together will we be able to address the global gaps in evaluation capacity, and ensure no communities or countries are left behind."

Oscar A. Garcia

Director Independent Evaluation Office, UNDP

"Evaluation is critical to UNDP and to the countries it supports. Evidence and understanding of what works, where and for whom, is essential to design policies and implement programmes that reach those who are furthest behind and sustain progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.  The GEI partnership is a great step forward in facilitating a coordinated approach to strengthen crucial national evaluation capacities.”

Sophie Sirtaine

Director, Strategy and Operations, Independent Evaluation Group (IEG)

"We all aspire to leave a better world for our children. This will require continuous evaluation of current actions to learn how to improve policy decisions for better results. Using data and evidence is the necessary foundation for this to happen. GEI will help build strong M&E systems globally to pave the way to a better future for future generations!"

Heather Bryant

Chief, Capacity Development Section Independent Evaluation Office, UNDP

"UNDP’s National Evaluation Capacities (NEC) Conferences have provided unique and vibrant opportunities for government officials engaged in evaluation to connect with and learn from peers around the world and the international evaluation community. The GEI will create many new pathways for exchanging lessons and innovations and connecting global and local expertise!"

Dugan Fraser

Program Manager, Global Evaluation Initiative

"The Global Evaluation Initiative is a pioneering partnership that supports countries to strengthen their Monitoring and Evaluation systems. The GEI supports the development and implementation of strategies and tools that make a real difference. The heart of our strategy is an inclusive and accountable partnership model that allows us to work effectively and collaboratively, which makes for sustainable improvements and stronger systems. In the exciting wave of change sweeping the world of evaluation and monitoring, we continue to adapt our contributions to ensure that our partners build systems that generate evidence that is fit-for-purpose, on time and in an inclusive way."