The Gender Approach Evaluation began with a synthesis of existing evidence in 2025 to lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive evaluation of the GCF’s gender strategies in 2026. The gender synthesis note was delivered to the Board at B.43 in October 2025, and its findings informed the design and scope of the ongoing 2026 gender evaluation. The purpose of this evaluation was to examine the GCF’s overall approach to mainstreaming gender across its operations – both at the organizational level and within its portfolio of funded activities. 

The evaluation of the Project Preparation Facility provides the GCF Board and Secretariat with an independent, evidence-based assessment of whether the PPF, as currently designed and implemented, is fit for purpose, coherent with the Fund’s broader suite of modalities, and positioned to effectively support access to the GCF through high-quality, country-driven funding proposals. It assesses relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, and emerging impacts. 

The Evaluation Quality Assessment (EQA) framework is designed for both accountability and learning purposes. AE-led evaluations are individually and collectively assessed by independent reviewers on the extent to which they meet GCF Evaluation Standards (2022), and relevant expectations set out in the GCF Evaluation Policy, in particular the Evaluation Criteria, and other guidance documents, as well as United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) standards. The document is designed to orient independent evaluators and others to GCF IEU’s quality assessment process. It has three sections.