The Independent Evaluation Section (IES) delivers products and services in line with its three strategic pillars of mandated work.
Pillar 3: Knowledge Products, Communication, Partnerships and Innovation: IES synthesizes and aggregates key evaluation results and lessons learned of independent evaluations into innovative knowledge products, such as meta-syntheses. This also includes joint system-wide meta-syntheses developed together with partners of other UN organizations.
In line with UNODC Strategy 2021-2025: "UNODC will conduct evaluations in UNODC's mandated areas of work, as well as utilize evaluation and oversight results to provide information at an aggregate level, for example, through meta-syntheses." See below IES evaluation-based meta-syntheses of UNODC evaluation reports, thematic evaluation-based syntheses, as well as meta-syntheses jointly undertaken with other UN organizations and meta-syntheses by other UN organizations referencing UNODC evaluations.
For more information, see also the 2-pager IES Year in Review with achievements in relation to evaluation knowledge products and systems, as well as the 1-page Brief on Evaluation Knowledge Management at UNODC.
META-SYNTHESIS: 2017-2018 UNODC EVALUATIONS
This is the third meta-synthesis by IES, with an objective to increase knowledge and awareness of recurring recommendations and lessons learned and increase the utility of evaluation results relating to substantive recommendations in UNODC's mandated area of work. In addition, to contribute to evidence-based decision making at all levels.
The analysis covered 31 evaluation reports representing more than USD 300 million of UNODC's budget.
See the full Meta-synthesis Report and the 2-page Infographic sheet.
SYSTEM-WIDE SDG COALITION: META-SYNTHESIS ON PEACE (SDG 16)
The SDG Synthesis Coalition is a multi-agency initiative that aims to synthesize rigorous and evaluative evidence organized around the five pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals - People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. The objective is to complete all five meta-syntheses in time for the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024.
IES is co-chair of the meta-synthesis on Peace together with OIOS, UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and UNDP.
JOINT SYSTEM-WIDE META-SYNTHESIS: UN GLOBAL COUNTER TERRORISM STRATEGY
In response to requirements for evaluative evidence across individual entities, IES led the first ever joint system-wide meta-synthesis of work under the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, in coordination with UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) and in cooperation with the UN Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) and the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). The exercise forms part of a larger strategy to enhance cooperation between UN organizations on evaluation in the area of counterterrorism (CT) and preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE).
See the full Meta-Synthesis Report and the 2-page Brief.
EU-UN COMPENDIUM ON GOOD PRACTICES IN MEASURING RESULTS ON COUNTERING AND PREVENTING TERRORISM
As a result of the innovative meta-synthesis of work under the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, a joint EU-UN compendium has been developed, with an objective to strengthen monitoring and evaluation capacities in the area of CT and PCVE, thereby directly implementing the recommendations of the meta-synthesis. IES, as chair of the Sub-Group on Evaluation, and in coordination with TPB, took a leading role in the substantive guidance and as part of the management group for this initiative. The initiative will further build the basis for future collaboration and cooperation between the EU and the UN. The compendium was launched at a side-event during the Counter-Terrorism Week in New York in June 2023 and is currently undergoing editing.
UNODC CRIME PREVENTION META-SYNTHESIS
The importance of evaluation to inform policy-making and decision-taking has increased over the past years, driven by United Nations reform initiatives and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this context, IES developed an evaluation-based meta-synthesis of UNODC evaluation results on crime prevention, as well as related evaluation methods and best practices identified in these evaluations to prevent crime.
The innovative product further has a dedicated chapter on preventing violent extremism - one of the themes of the Fourteenth Crime Congress and a UNODC mandated area of work.
See the full Meta-synthesis Report and the 2-page Brief
Meta-synthesis Report of 2015-2016 UNODC evaluations
Meta-analysis Report of 2011-2014 UNODC evaluations
Analysis Report of good practices in UNODC's approach to capacity building (evaluations 2011-2016)
