The Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) participated in the SITES 2025 Conference, the X Annual Conference in Development Economics, jointly organized by SITES (Società Italiana degli Economisti dello Sviluppo), the Italian Association of Development Economists, and the Fondazione Tor Vergata of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

Held under the theme “Africa and the Mediterranean: Economic Perspective and Sustainable Development", the conference explored the economic, demographic, and environmental interlinkages between Africa and the Mediterranean region. Discussions focused on trade, migration, renewable energy cooperation, and the shared challenges of climate resilience and sustainable growth.

Representing the IEU, Marco D’Errico, Impact Evaluation Officer, presented his accepted paper “Econometric Specification of the Resilience Threshold Model". The paper outlines estimation approaches and a conceptual framework for identifying climate resilience thresholds, contributing to improved evaluation of GCF interventions in fragile and climate-vulnerable contexts.

The engagement supports the IEU’s Learning-Oriented Real-Time Impact Assessment (LORTA) initiative and its efforts to strengthen analytical methods for assessing resilience and transformational change.