The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is unique within the United Nations due to its mandate of investing and catalyzing capital for sustainable growth and inclusiveness in least developed countries (LDCs).
To inform development of its next five-year strategic plan and framework, UNCDF engaged a consortium comprised of Le Groupe-conseil baastel ltée and Momentus (formerly IFCL) to lead the first-ever independent evaluation conducted for UNCDF, covering the fund’s strategy and impact performance, against the objectives of its institutional strategic framework.
The evaluation team took a multi-pronged approach, addressing UNCDF’s impact at the institutional level and at the program level. We furthermore incorporated an additional thematic evaluation of the gender-based dimensions of UNCDF’s strategy and results. This included six comprehensive case study reviews across UNCDF’s different programs and thematic areas.
Critical to the success of the evaluation was UNCDF’s strong buy-in from the onset. A highly participatory and collaborative approach was possible, including extensive consultations with more than 80 key internal and external stakeholders and input from key UNCDF decision-makers from around the world.
The evaluation not only enhanced UNCDF’s accountability to its funders and stakeholders and promoted organizational learning, its findings and recommendations also supported UNCDF in better understanding its important role as a development finance actor, and how it can more fully achieve its capital mandate at scale. As a result, the relevant findings and insights are now being incorporated into UNCDF’s next strategic planning exercise. https://erc.undp.org/evaluation/evaluations/detail/9961
