IES is contributing within the Joint Programme to the development of the new na tional Masters' programme in Public Policy Evaluation of the University Moulay Ismail (UMI) of Meknes, the first of its kind in Morocco.

As part of this partnership, the ONDH Secretary General, Mr. El Hassan El Mansouri; the Dean of the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences of UMI, Mr. Abdelghani Bouayad; the Director, Mr. Mohammed Abdouh; and four students of the Master Programme, Mr. Mohcine Dounassi, Ms. Chaymae Zoghlal, Mr. Anas Baba Ahmed and Ms. Ikram Bouazzaoui, were invited to Vienna by IES through the ONDH-UN Joint Programme.

The Moroccan delegation formed part of the panel at the CCPCJ side-event on 22 May 2019, on  "Best practices in evaluation and accountability in the 2030 Agenda: the experience of the Kingdom of Morocco". The side event was co-organized by the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom Morocco to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna and IES, and chaired by Mr. Nordine Sadouk, Charge' d'affaires, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations and other international organisations in Vienna, and Ms. Katharina Kayser, Chief, IES. The participation of the Moroccan delegation was an opportunity to present the experience of Morocco in the evaluation of public policies related to human development as well as the progress made in institutionalizing evaluation practice.

"Accountability, transparency and evaluation of public policy are paramount for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals", remarked at the opening of the Side Event Mr. Nordine Sadouk, Charge' d'affaires, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations and other international organisations in Vienna." The new Constitution of Morocco established in 2011 the mandate to evaluate public policies, as a means of promoting transparency and accountability.

Mr. El Mansouri, ONDH Secretary General, stressed that "the evaluation of public policies is a fundamental commitment for all countries willing to increase transparency and accountability vis-a-vis their citizens and meet the challenges of the 2030 Agenda. For this reason, ONDH, UNODC-IES and the University of Meknes have partnered to train a new generation of professionals in evaluation, capable to contribute both at the national and the international level to the achievement of the SDGs." "This is a valuable, tangible contribution to country-led efforts for professionalising evaluation in Morocco", pointed out Mr. Carlos Asenjo Ruiz, IES' Evaluation Capacity Development Officer.

Ms. Cristina Albertin, Regional Representative, Regional Office for Middle East and North Africa, UNODC, highlighted the importance "that the UN looks for new partnerships, so that we not only work with ministries and governments but that we involve other stakeholders. In this case, the partnership with research institutions allows us to better address the evidence gap. We look forward to the results of this partnership between ONDH, UMI and UNODC."

During the closing session of the 3-day workshop, Ms. Katharina Kayser welcomed the fruitful partnership with ONDH and renewed its commitment to continue the programmed activities. Mr. El Hassan El Mansouri also welcomed the partnership and recalled it as a very rewarding experience, especially for young students of the Masters' Programme. Mr. Bouayad Abdelghani further emphasized the achievements and promising prospects of the partnership between the UMI, the ONDH and UNODC, pointing to the partnership as a "case of good practice to develop".