See below the key steps of an evaluation at UNODC, including roles and responsibilities of IES, project/programme managers and the evaluation team.
NEW TEMPLATES AND GUIDELINES FOR INDEPENDENT PROJECT EVALUATIONS INCLUDED BELOWREVISED UNODC EVALUATION POLICYSee also the Toolkit for Evaluating Interventions on Preventing and Countering Crime and Terrorism; Brief (2-pager).
EVAUATION AT THE DESIGN STAGE OF A PROJECT
When formulating a new project/programme or a revision thereof, Managers should: 1) Use prior evaluation results and recommendations for continuous improvement and learning; 2) Review existing evaluation plans to ensure coordination and coherence; 3) Carefully plan and update (if required) the timing of future evaluations; 4) Ensure that sufficient funding is reserved for evaluation (and available when it is time to initiate the evaluation) as calculated with the Evaluation Budget Matrix (new); and, 5) Consult with IES.
APPROVAL OF EVALUATION PLAN OF A PROJECT
The Evaluation Plan Template (English); Spanish) for IPMR and the project document requires the following details: 1) Type of evaluation (mid-term or final); 2) Quarter and year to initiate the evaluation(s); 3) Budget for the evaluation(s) as calculated with the Evaluation Budget Matrix (new). 4) Use of evaluation results; and, 6) Prior evaluations that have informed the design of the project/programme.
INITIATION
The Manager consults with IES and initiates the IPE in Unite Evaluations (IES initiates an IDE). See Unite Evaluations User Manual. Please note: Evaluations with insufficient budget and/or unrealistic timeframe will not be undertaken. If IES has further not been informed on the revised timing of an evaluation, IES capacity may not be sufficient, whereby it may need to be postponed.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Manager submits the draft ToR through Unite Evaluations for IES' review, comments and subsequent clearance.
Please note: IES shares the cleared revised draft ToR with the identified Core Learning Partners (CLPs) for review and comments.
At this stage, the Manager also starts compiling the desk review materials.
RECRUITMENT
Please note: IES clearance is required before the recruitment process may be initiated. The Manager is responsible for gathering and contracting the evaluation team.
Minimum number for an IPE: 1 lead Evaluation Expert and 1 Substantive Expert in the subject area. At least 1 in the evaluation team should have expertise in human rights and gender equality. An IDE requires additional experts.
INCEPTION REPORT
The evaluation team conducts an extensive desk review and initial analysis, develops the evaluation methodological approach and data collection instruments and, submits a draft inception report, using the Evaluation Inception Report Template for an IPE (new) or for an IDE through Unite Evaluations for IES' review, comments and subsequent clearance.
Please note: IES clearance is required before the field mission/data collection phase may be initiated.
DATA COLLECTION
The Manager provides logistical support, including travel arrangements, set up of interviews, independent interpretation, coordination with respective offices etc. to the evaluation team.
The evaluation team analyses and triangulates the collected data in a systematic manner and debriefs the Manager on its preliminary observations from the data collection.
EVALUATION REPORT
After IES' pre-clearance, the Manager reviews for any factual errors, followed by CLPs' review and comments.
The evaluation team submits the Final Report, a 2-page Brief, using the Evaluation Brief Template for an IPE (English; Spanish) or for an IDE and PowerPoint slides for IES' review. After IES' clearance, including of the Management Response, the lead evaluator presents the final results.
Please note: Completing the EFP and MR is mandatory and a pre-requisite for finalization of the evaluation process and clearance of the Final Evaluation Report by IES. For more information see Evaluation Follow-up and Use of Results at UNODC, as well as the Evaluation Follow-up Plan and Management Response Guidelines and Template (English; Spanish).
The Manager disseminates the Final Evaluation Report for learning and improved UNODC programming. IES shares evaluation results with Member States and UNODC's Executive Director, as well as publishes Evaluation Reports and Evaluation Briefs on its website. IES further commissions independent external quality assessments (EQAs) of all UNODC evaluation reports to ensure they provide credible information for evidence-based programming. See all EQA Reports and 2-page Summaries.
