This evaluation aims to provide an independent assessment of the UNFPA country programme in China and to broaden the evidence base to inform the design of the next programme cycle. 

This evaluation aims to provide an independent assessment of the UNFPA country programme in South Sudan and to broaden the evidence base to inform the design of the next programme cycle. It also assesses the geographic and demographic coverage of UNFPA humanitarian action and the ability of UNFPA to connect immediate, life-saving support with long-term development objectives.

This evaluation aims to provide an independent assessment of the UNFPA country programme in Indonesia and to broaden the evidence base to inform the design of the next programme cycle. The evaluation had a clear forward-looking approach and included the provision of strategic and managerial recommendations for the next programme cycle.

This evaluation focuses on assessing the integration and operationalization of the UNFPA Strategic Plan’s six accelerators and twelve strategic shifts, as well as enabling factors, in the East and Southern Africa regional programme. The evaluation aims to inform the design of the next regional programme.

This evaluation aims to provide evidence to support learning related to what works and what does not to accelerate progress towards achievement of the three transformative results in West and Central Africa. The evaluation will inform the design of the next UNFPA strategic plan and regional programme.

The evaluation aims to inform the design of the next regional programme, focusing on understanding the enabling and inhibiting factors and the key lessons learnt, to provide valuable, in-depth insights to boost the capacity of the organization to remain relevant, increase effectiveness and impact orientation, maximize efficiency, be coherent and consistent, adapt to changes, learn and innovate to enhance its readiness for the future.

This evaluation aims to assess UNFPA’s organizational readiness and strategic positioning to accelerate progress towards achieving the transformative results in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region and to inform the design of the 2026-2029 regional programme. 

This evaluation aims to assess UNFPA's organizational readiness and strategic positioning in the Arab States and inform the design of the next regional programme. The evaluation also aims to provide evidence on what works and what does not to accelerate progress towards the three transformative results and contribute to the next global strategic plan.

A joint initiative of the United Nations and the European Union, the Spotlight Initiative is one of the largest targeted efforts to end all forms of violence against women and girls. UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office seconded a senior evaluation specialist to the System-Wide Evaluation Office to manage the final evaluation of the Spotlight Initiative’s first phase (2017-2023). 

The evaluation assessed how the Initiative shaped and influenced programming to address violence against women and girls, the effectiveness of management and operational systems in achieving results at all levels, the quality of partnerships and decision-making processes, the Initiative’s impact on the reform process, including its role in driving transformative change.

Overall, the evaluation found proof of concept for the Spotlight Initiative model while also highlighting areas for improvement. The comprehensive design demonstrates the ability of an integrated, inter-agency approach to ending violence against women and girls, contributing to higher-order changes at regional, national and local levels. The Initiative was able to respond to contextual changes to deliver important results across pillars. The governance model brought together expanded stakeholders with an elevated role for civil society engagement. At the same time, the evaluation found that programme delivery was significantly challenged by a complicated operational model and by limitations in the compatibility of United Nations administrative and financial systems. While some elements and activities of the Initiative show signs of continuation, the sustainability of the overarching approach is still to be determined.
 

The Global SDG Synthesis Coalition is a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to provide rigorous evidence around the five pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. The evidence synthesis for the partnership pillar of the SDGs provides evidence to understand what works, why, and in what context to accelerate progress towards SDG 17. 

The synthesis of the partnership pillar was conducted under the guidance of the Coalition and led by a management group consisting of Canada, Ireland, Spain, OIOS, UNDP, UNFPA, WFP, UN Joint SDG Fund, UNICEF and the International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS). The synthesis uses evidence from 183 impact evaluations and 70 performance and process evaluations to provide a comprehensive assessment of how to accelerate SDG 17 objectives. 

The synthesis captures key areas concerning SDG 17 such as horizontal cooperation, partnership models, trade opportunities, green technology, digital initiatives, inclusive development including the effective use of evaluative evidence and statistical data in Voluntary National Reviews. The synthesis also identifies evidence gaps and provides a roadmap for addressing them.

Impact evaluations evidence and gap map
Performance and process evaluations evidence gap map