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IEU NEWSLETTER, Issue 15

IN THIS ISSUE

Evaluations
Getting ready for B.31
News Update
IEU Engagements
Communications and Uptake
Coming Up

Dear friends and colleagues,

I am pleased to begin this IEU Newsletter by informing you that the IEU has recently gained full membership of the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG), in what is exciting news for both the IEU and the GCF. This achievement reflects the IEU’s work in demonstrating its high-quality evaluation practices and methods, supplemented by supporting policy frameworks, such as the Board-approved Unit's Terms of Reference and Evaluation Policy for the GCF.

The first months of 2022 have also seen the IEU busy working on key deliverables for the GCF Board. The IEU shared with the Board the independent evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of the GCF’s investments in the LDCs in time for B.31. To disseminate lessons learnt, the IEU engaged with Board members and alternate members, as well as their advisors, in a Board Webinar on 17 February to discuss the report’s key findings and recommendations.

In order to inform the decision-making of the Board, the IEU also delivered a number of other key outputs to the Board ahead of B.31:

Synthesis Report for the Second Performance Review (SPR) of the GCF.
Management Action Report (MAR) on the Forward-looking Performance Review (FPR) of the GCF.
2021 Annual Report of the IEU.

The Board had also requested the IEU, through decision B.30/11, to prepare a summary of views expressed by members and alternate members of the Board on five evaluations, to inform Board discussions and decisions on related policy items.

The IEU is continuing to execute the Second Performance Review (SPR) of the GCF. Alongside the delivery of the SPR Synthesis Study, the IEU plans to make available a USP assessment report that provides an assessment of progress made against the objectives and targets in the USP by the end of March 2022. A Board Webinar was held with members, alternate members, and advisors on 16 February to provide an update and seek their input regarding the SPR.

In the coming months, the IEU will continue to work on the SPR and the independent evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of the GCF’s investments in the African States and the independent synthesis of direct access in the GCF. So, watch this space for further updates!

Thank you,
Andreas Reumann,
Head of the IEU a.i.

EVALUATIONS

The 'Report of the Synthesis Study: An IEU Deliverable Contributing to the Second Performance Review of the GCF' has now been published. The Synthesis is a stand-alone study that synthesizes and assimilates existing information related to GCF performance during its first replenishment period (GCF-1).

The evaluation report 'Independent evaluation of the relevance & effectiveness of the GCF's investments in the LDCs' was submitted in time for B.31, as per the workplan of the IEU. The following evaluation products are now available:

For the 'Independent evaluation of the GCF's approach to the private s ector', which was submitted in time for B.30, the following evaluation products are available:

The IEU's multi-year Learning-Oriented Real-Time Impact Assessment programme (LORTA) keeps track of the impact of GCF's investments. The recently published 4-page 2021 LORTA Portfolio Brief provides an overview of LORTA's portfolio as of January 2022 and captures six lessons that have emerged since the start of the programme in 2018.

The IEU has commenced work on two other evaluations: the 'Independent evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of the GCF's investments in the African States,' and an ' Independent synthesis of direct access in the GCF,' scheduled for delivery to the Board by the end of 2022. Approach papers for both evaluations will be published in the coming weeks.

GETTING READY FOR B.31

Ahead of B.31, the IEU held a virtual side event with Board members, alternate members, and their advisors to discuss progress and updates on the ongoing Second Performance Review (SPR) of the GCF. Held on 16 February 2022, it was led by the IEU's Head a.i. Andreas Reumann and Dr. Archi Rastogi, the evaluation task lead for the SPR.

The IEU also held a virtual side event on its recently conducted 'Independent evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of the GCF's investments in the LDCs.' It featured the IEU's Dr. Martin Prowse, Yeonji Kim and Byungsuk Lee as speakers. The event was held on 17 February 2022, and was open to Board members and alternate members, as well as their advisors.

NEWS UPDATE

In January 2022, the IEU gained membership of the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG), joining 51 other UNEG member organizations. The IEU has been a UNEG observer since September 2017 and submitted its application for UNEG membership in May 2021, following the GCF Board's adoption of the Evaluation Policy for the GCF. Read the full news story to learn more.

The findings from the IEU's LDCs evaluation and SIDS evaluation informed the advanced report of the '2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report (FSDR) of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development.' The 2022 FSDR assesses progress made in the seven action areas of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. You can read the advanced unedited report here.

The IEU's 'Independent evaluation of the adaptation portfolio and approach of the GCF' informed the work of some constituted bodies of the UNFCCC. Specifically, the UNFCCC's Adaptation Committee referred to the evaluation in its input to the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF), which helped formulate the SCF's draft guidance to the GCF. You can read the input document here.

IEU ENGAGEMENTS

IEU and the Secretariat: On 10 February 2022, the IEU held a webinar event with the GCF Secretariat to discuss the findings and recommendations of the 'Independent evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of the GCF's investments in the LDCs,' as well as a progress update on the 'Second Performance Review of the GCF.' The IEU's Andreas Reumann, Dr. Archi Rastogi, and Dr. Martin Prowse also took questions following the presentations.

The IEU also joined the Secretariat's Senior Management Team meeting on Tuesday, 15 March to present an overview of the 2022 evaluations, the 'Second Performance Review of the GCF', 'I ndependent evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of the GCF’s investments in the African States' and the 'Independent synthesis of direct access in the GCF.'

IEU and the evaluation networks: On 1 February 2022, the IEU's Andreas Reumann, Dr. Archi Rastogi, and Dr. Martin Prowse took part in the Wilton Park-hosted event "Making transformational change for climate action post-COP26 - How?" They presented on the IEU Learning paper No. 5 “Assessing the likelihood for transformational change at the Green Climate Fund” and the lessons learnt from the IEU's evaluation of the GCF’s Private Sector Approach. More information about the event is available here.

IEU and the NDA: On 20 January 2022, the IEU's Yeonji Kim took part in a climate finance capacity building forum organized by Belize's Ministry of Finance, Economic Development & Investment (the National Designated Authority of Belize to the GCF) and the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI). Learn more about the event here.

SPR WORKSHOP

The IEU held an internal SPR workshop on Tuesday, 1 March 2022. The IEU team members held a brainstorming session on the SPR evaluation questions and discussed the input and suggestions received from the GCF Board and Secretariat during the IEU webinars in February.

COMMUNICATIONS & UPTAKE

The 2021 Annual Report of the IEU is now available online. The report includes summaries of IEU evaluations completed in 2021, as well as details of activities related to the IEU's uptake, communications and partnerships function, and capacity-building and advisory services.

A good part of the IEU mandate hinges on communications and uptake work. In a new blog, we discuss the different avenues that the IEU communications team takes to increase uptake of our evaluations. The blog also shares some data-driven insights into the reach of different IEU knowledge products. Read the blog here!

COMING UP

IEU B.31 Side Event: Report of the Synthesis Study: An IEU Deliverable Contributing to the Second Performance Review of the Green Climate Fund The IEU will discuss the recently concluded ‘Report of the Synthesis Study: An IEU Deliverable Contributing to the Second Performance Review of the Green Climate Fund’ on Wednesday, 23 March 2022 at 09:00 PM KST. Register for the B.31 Side Event here!

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