IEU publications
To serve the needs of our stakeholders, the IEU issues a variety of publications related to our work, including in the context of evaluations and learning. Keep up with the IEU’s latest publications here.
Featured publications
Rapid assessment of the progress of the Green Climate Fund's Updated Strategic Plan
The rapid assessment of the progress of the GCF's Updated Strategic Plan is an IEU deliverable contributing to the Second Performance Review (SPR) of the GCF.
Report of the Synthesis Study
This synthesis report is an early, stand-alone SPR product and analytical tool that seeks to lay a foundation for common understanding of what is known about the current status of the GCF for all key stakeholders leading into the SPR.
Final report on the Independent evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of the Green Climate Fund's investments in the Least Developed Countries
This evaluation assesses whether the GCF’s approach and investments have been relevant and effective in reducing the vulnerability of local communities in LDCs and of their livelihoods to the effects of climate change, and whether these impacts ar
Final report on the Independent evaluation of the Green Climate Fund's approach to the private sector
The GCF is mandated to take a leading role in promoting private sector support for climate finance in developing countries. This evaluation assesses the relevance and effectiveness of the GCF’s approach to the private sector.
FPR2019 Topical Brief: What can the GCF private sector facility do faster, better, smarter?
June 2019
The IEU’s Forward-Looking Performance Review (FPR) encourages learning at the GCF. It achieves this by assessing if the GCF has delivered its objectives and by looking forward to the future through recommendations for enhancing the GCF’s performance. The overall objective of this review is to understand how the GCF can better serve the needs of developing countries by fulfilling the mandate provided by the UNFCCC. The third of four 2019 topical FPR briefs, this 2-page summary looks specifically...
FPR2019 Topical Brief: GCF's Accreditation Process
June 2019
The IEU’s Forward-Looking Performance Review (FPR) encourages learning at the GCF. It achieves this by assessing if the GCF has delivered its objectives and by looking forward to the future through recommendations for enhancing the GCF’s performance. The overall objective of this review is to understand how the GCF can better serve the needs of developing countries by fulfilling the mandate provided by the UNFCCC. The fourth of four 2019 topical FPR briefs, this 2-page summary looks...
FPR2019 Topical Brief: Summary of the Review
June 2019
The IEU’s Forward-Looking Performance Review (FPR) encourages learning at the GCF. It achieves this by assessing if the GCF has delivered its objectives and by looking forward to the future through recommendations for enhancing the GCF’s performance. The overall objective of this review is to understand how the GCF can better serve the needs of developing countries by fulfilling the mandate provided by the UNFCCC. The second of four 2019 topical FPR briefs, this 4-page summary provides an...
FPR2019 Topical Brief: 15 Quick Take-aways
June 2019
The IEU’s Forward-Looking Performance Review (FPR) encourages learning at the GCF. It achieves this by assessing if the GCF has delivered its objectives and by looking forward to the future through recommendations for enhancing the GCF’s performance. The overall objective of this review is to understand how the GCF can better serve the needs of developing countries by fulfilling the mandate provided by the UNFCCC. The first of four 2019 topical FPR briefs, this 2-page summary lists 15 key...
Challenges in real-world impact evaluations: Some learning on costs and timeliness
May 2019
The international development community has witnessed a surge in theory-based evaluations that use counterfactuals, also called impact evaluations, to establish the attributable impact of development interventions. Amid this growing interest in using impact evaluations, challenges exist in using these methods for real-world programmes and investments. Real-world impact evaluations are studies that evaluate and measure the causal change of government, non-government or multilateral assistance...
Complexity, climate change and evaluation
May 2019
As governments and multilateral institutions establish projects and programmes to mitigate and adapt to climate change, a question arises as to how we can determine their effectiveness. Impact evaluations have emerged in the social sciences as a prominent tool to determine the causal effect of policies and programmes in fields like health and economic development. However, climate change programmes tend to exhibit high levels of complexity, which may challenge their ability to be measured and...
Inception Report for the Independent Evaluation of the GCF's Country Ownership Approach
May 2019
This independent evaluation of country ownership will examine the extent to which the GCF has conceptualized and operationalized the principle of country ownership, as well as the extent to which country needs and country ownership have been incorporated into both the design and the implementation of GCF policies and practices.
Approach Brief: ESS2020
May 2019
To effectively and equitably manage the environmental and social risks of all its investments the GCF has adopted an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), comprising the Environmental and Social Policy and a set of internationally recognized Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) standards. This 2019 2-page introductory brief provides a pre-implementation summary of the IEU’s planned evaluation of the GCF’s assessment of the GCF’s ESMS. It describes the evaluation’s context,...
Approach Brief: COA2019
April 2019
Country ownership is central to the GCF’s pursuit of a paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development in developing countries. Better understanding how well GCF is succeeding in ensuring countries take ownership of climate change investments can help improve the effectiveness of climate change actions on the ground. This 2019 2-page introductory brief provides a pre-implementation summary of the IEU’s planned evaluation of the GCF’s country ownership approach. It...
Becoming bigger, better, smarter: A summary of the evaluability of Green Climate Fund proposals
March 2019
The goal of the GCF is to support a paradigm shift towards low-carbon, high-resilience pathways. It is thus important to understand if such a paradigm shift is occurring, and, if so, to measure the extent to which the GCF has contributed to this overall result. We review 93 proposals funded by the GCF and assess their ability to credibly report their impacts, efficiency and effectiveness, in an evidencebased and robust way. There are two main aims of the study: The first is to assess the...
Approach Brief: FPR2019
February 2019
The IEU’s Forward-Looking Performance Review (FPR) encourages learning at the GCF. It achieves this by assessing if the GCF has delivered its objectives and by looking forward to the future through recommendations for enhancing the GCF’s performance. The overall objective of this review is to understand how the GCF can better serve the needs of developing countries by fulfilling the mandate provided by the UNFCCC. This 2020 2-page introductory brief provides a pre-implementation summary of the...
Approach Paper for the Forward-Looking Performance Review of the Green Climate Fund
February 2019
This Approach Paper includes an overview of the background, aims and objectives, scope of work, the approach and methods as well as the deliverables and the associated timeline for the preparation of the Forward-Looking Performance Review of the Green Climate Fund.
GEvalNote 03: LORTA 2018
February 2019
The multi-year Learning-Oriented Real-Time Impact Assessment (LORTA) programme keeps track of the impact of GCF investments. Its goal is to assist GCF projects measure their impact in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing resilience to climate change, and if so, by how much. LORTA’s assistance includes, among other things, building and clarifying theories of change, co-building real-time and longer term measurement systems and helping projects use quantitative and qualitative...
Final report on the independent evaluation of the GCF's Result Management Framework (RMF2019)
October 2018
This review has two main objectives. The first is to assess the design, implementation, and utility of the GCF’s Results Management Framework (RMF). The second is to derive lessons and recommendations based on the review’s findings to help inform subsequent changes in the RMF so it may be employed effectively as a tool for achieving the longterm objectives and impacts of the Fund. To meet these objectives the evaluation team addressed three questions. What are we learning from the design of...
GEvalNote 01
October 2018
The GCF’s Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme (RPSP) supports developing countries’ develop a transformational long-term climate action agenda through country-driven initiatives that strengthen institutional capacities, governance mechanisms, planning and programming. This 2018 2-page note introduces decision makers to the key points in the IEU’s RPSP evaluation by describing in clear terms the report’s background, purpose and methods. It also summarizes the report’s recommendations...
GEvalBrief 01
October 2018
The GCF’s Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme (RPSP) supports developing countries’ develop a transformational long-term climate action agenda through country-driven initiatives that strengthen institutional capacities, governance mechanisms, planning and programming. This 2018 4-page brief introduces decision makers to the key points in the IEU’s evaluation of the GCF’s RPSP. It describes in easily understood terms the evaluation’s background, objectives, RPSP portfolio, findings,...
GEvalBrief 02
October 2018
The role of the GCF’s results management framework (RMF) is to effectively monitor and evaluate the outputs, outcomes and impacts of the GCF’s investments and portfolio and the GCF’s organizational effectiveness and operational efficiency. This 2018 4-page brief introduces decision makers to the key points in the IEU’s evaluation of the RMF. It describes in easily understood terms the evaluation’s background, objectives, RPSP portfolio, findings, recommendations and methods.
GEvalNote 02
October 2018
The role of the GCF’s results management framework (RMF) is to effectively monitor and evaluate the outputs, outcomes and impacts of the GCF’s investments and portfolio and the GCF’s organizational effectiveness and operational efficiency. This 2018 2-page brief introduces decision makers to the key points in the IEU’s evaluation of the RMF. It describes the evaluation’s background, purpose, recommendations and methods.
Transformational Change: the Challenge of a Brave New World
September 2018
Most multilateral development agencies aim for change that is ‘transformational’ or that shifts the ‘paradigm’. In many ways transformation has become the holy grail in development assistance, with most development and environmental aid agencies aspiring to deliver transformational change. Despite this, definitions for what constitutes transformational change remain elusive. Consequently, there is nearly a complete absence of evidence on whether transformational change has been achieved. What...