IEU publications
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.
Approach Paper for the Rapid Assessment of the GCF's Request For Proposals Modality
May 2021
The objective of this assessment is to examine, primarily, the relevance of the RFP modality to the mandate of the GCF, to look at its effectiveness, and to inspect the implementation process of the modality. It will look at past RFPs to draw lessons from their implementation and find recommendations for the modality’s improvement. The assessment will not, however, focus on recommending topics for future RFPs.
Behavioural science, decision making and climate investments
May 2021
This paper builds a bridge between how climate interventions are conceived and implemented and the nascent field of behavioural science as a practical, low-cost but potentially rewarding route for increasing the effectiveness of climate interventions.
Assessing the likelihood for transformational change at the Green Climate Fund
March 2021
This paper reviews the project documents of GCF investments through March 2020. It uses bivariate statistics and multivariate cluster analysis to examine whether mitigation, cross-cutting or adaptation thematic areas show the greatest likelihood of contributing to transformational change.
Final report on the Independent evaluation of the adaptation portfolio and approach of the Green Climate Fund
February 2021
In climate change science, adaptation means preparing for and adjusting to climate change's current and future effects. This evaluation of the GCF’s adaptation portfolio and approach assesses what it takes for the GCF to contribute to adaptation interventions with greater scale, depth and duration in developing countries. It highlights how the GCF can facilitate scaling and growth through its unique ability to finance projects at scale. The evaluation shows how the GCF: Can apply its convening...
GEvalBrief 09
February 2021
In climate change science, adaptation means preparing for and adjusting to climate change's current and future effects. This 2021 4-page brief introduces decision makers to the key points in the IEU’s evaluation of the GCF’s adaptation approach and portfolio. It describes in easily understood terms the evaluation’s context, background, findings, recommendations and methods.
GEvalNote 09
February 2021
In climate change science, adaptation means preparing for and adjusting to climate change's current and future effects. This 2021 2-page note introduces decision makers to the key points in the IEU’s evaluation of the GCF’s adaptation approach and portfolio. It describes in easily understood terms the evaluation’s context, purpose, scope, methods, country engagement and output and timing..
Evidence Review on Results-Based Payments: Evidence Gap Map and Intervention Heat Map
December 2020
The evidence review presents a systematic, multisectoral search of publications in the academic and grey literature. The search was restricted to quantitative studies published between 2000 and 2020 that assessed the effectiveness of one or more RBP interventions using experimental, quasiexperimental or non-causal designs. Based on sector-, intervention- and implementation-related characteristics extracted from a sample of 428 studies that met these inclusion/exclusion criteria, we developed an...
How to bridge the gap between complexity science and evaluation - A new analysis tool as a first step
November 2020
This paper builds a bridge between the science of complexity and climate change adaptation activities conducted in the field. It provides an introduction to complexity science, introduces a diagnostic tool for mapping complex human–climate systems, and concludes with lessons that may be learned for designing, managing and evaluating climate projects.
Going the Last Mile: Behavioural Science and Investments in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
November 2020
This paper makes the case for behavioural science analysis and interventions in project design. Current approaches to behaviour change in the GCF portfolio are likely to ignore several psychological barriers. We base our analysis and recommendations on both portfolio-level data as well as case studies of 11 purposively-chosen projects from a random sample of 20 projects in the GCF portfolio. This is a revised and extended version of the paper presented to the Climate2020 online Conference.
Final report on the Independent Evaluation of the Relevance and Effectiveness of the Green Climate Fund's Investments in the SIDS
October 2020
SIDS are an exceptionally heterogeneous group of countries. But they all have one thing in common: they are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. SIDS face numerous climate threats, including rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, flooding, drought, reduced availability of fresh water, coral reef decline and sea level rise. SIDS suffer inordinately more from climate change than they contribute to it through greenhouse gas emissions. They have been vocal about...
GEvalBrief 08
October 2020
Small island developing states (SIDS) face numerous climate threats, such as rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, flooding, drought and coral reef decline. Due to rising sea levels many SIDS expect to face food and freshwater insecurity. This 2020 4-page brief introduces decision makers to the key points in the IEU’s evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of the GCF’s investments in SIDS. With the effective use of graphs and tables and clear text, it describes the evaluation’...
GEvalNote 08
October 2020
Small island developing States (SIDS) face numerous climate threats, such as rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, flooding, drought and coral reef decline. Due to rising sea levels many SIDS expect to face food and freshwater insecurity. This 2020 2-page note introduces decision makers to the key points of the IEU’s evaluation of the relevance and effectiveness of the GCF’s investments in SIDS. It describes in clear terms the evaluation’s background, context, conclusions,...
Impact Evaluation Baseline Report for FP073: Strengthening Climate Resilience of Rural Communities in Northern Rwanda "Green Gicumbi Project"
September 2020
This report presents the findings of the baseline survey for strengthening climate resilience of rural communities in Northern Rwanda commonly known as the "Green Gicumbi Project".
Final report on the independent evaluation of the GCF's Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme (RPSP2019)
August 2020
This report presents the findings of the Independent Evaluation of the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme (RPSP) of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The RPSP was launched in 2014, less than one year after the GCF officially opened its permanent headquarters in Songdo, Republic of Korea in December 2013. It is a strategic priority of the GCF Board, as stated in decision B.05/14 and again in decision B.08/11. With its decision B.17/07, the Board invited the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU...
IEU brochure
August 2020
The Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) ensures GCF is accountable and effective. It conducts independent evaluations of GCF’s activities to guarantee its accountability, and synthesises learnings from these assessments to support GCF’s effectiveness as a learning institution.
GEvalNote 07
August 2020
The simplified approval process pilot scheme (SAP) aims to expedite the GCF’s efforts of bringing innovative climate solutions from concept to impact through easier documentation and clearer application guidelines. This 2020 2-page note introduces decision makers to the key points of the IEU’s rapid assessment of the SAP pilot scheme. It describes in clear terms the evaluation’s background, the GCF’s SAP modality, findings, recommendations and methods.