Peer Review of Evaluation Function at United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

 The OECD/DAC Network on Development Evaluation designed a process of peer review of the evaluation function of multilateral organizations as an alternative to costly institutional evaluations conducted by donors. UNICEF was the second pilot following a first test with UNDP.

 This approach was developed as a complement to other methodologies to assess multilateral aid effectiveness. The general assessment of the Peer Panel is that the Evaluation Office of UNICEF is considered to be strong, independent and credible. The evaluation function at UNICEF is highly useful for learning and decision-making purposes and to a lesser extent, for accountability. However, there are gaps and weaknesses in the quality and resources at regional and country levels that reduce the usefulness of the evaluation function as a management tool. The Panel report was well received by UNICEF's senior management who is committed to implementing the recommendations of the report as outlined in their management response. The Executive Board requested to be kept informed of the follow up.