Evaluation of FAO Interventions Funded by the CERF: Final Report

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) undertook this evaluation of its CERF-funded projects in 2009–2010 to provide feedback and guidance to FAO’s management on operational processes, constraints, and project achievements, and to account for the use of CERF funds to the CERF Secretariat, the UN emergency relief coordinator, donors, governments of countries affected by crises, and other stakeholders. The evaluation was intended to contribute to improved relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness of future emergency activities carried out by FAO with CERF funding. It was timed to serve as an input in the food security sector for the 5-year global evaluation of the CERF, foreseen for 2010–2011. The evaluation noted that CERF funds were not disbursed rapidly, that under-funded emergency grant processing sometimes slowed rapid-response-window grant processing, and that there was a need for simple and standard approaches, for a timeline in the narrative report format, and for country teams to review reports and not just CERF applications.