UNDP – United Nations Development Programme
01 Jan 2010-pp 706-711
TL;DR: In response to the criticism of donor states, the UN launched the Multi-Year Funding Framework (MYFF) in 1999, a concept that combines long-term strategies with the evaluation of on-going projects.
Abstract: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP is the world's largest technical cooperation agency operating on the basis of non-repayable contributions (grants). Its funding consists of the governments' annual voluntary contributions. UNDP's main area of activity consists of country-related programmes, although it also has regional, interregional and global programmes. However, in the past UNDP has failed to perform its tasks appropriately. The major donor countries in particular stress that UNDP is not efficient or effective enough. Governments of developing countries, on the other hand, appreciate the fact that UNDP allocates resources with few strings attached and compared to other development institutions provides considerable opportunities for involvement in decision-making. In response to the criticism of donor states, the UN launched the Multi-Year Funding Framework (MYFF) in 1999, a concept that combines long-term strategies with the evaluation of on-going projects. Keywords: Multi-Year Funding Framework (MYFF); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
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29 Nov 2010
TL;DR: The Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) as discussed by the authors was created with the specific purpose of being comparable across time, and aggregates five years of data and seeks to reveal country progress in a transparent manner.
Abstract: The Global Gender Gap Index was created with the specific purpose of being comparable across time. The 2010 Report aggregates five years of data and seeks to reveal country progress in a transparent manner. By doing this we hope this Report will serve as a call to action to the international community to pool its knowledge and resources and to leverage the current unique window of opportunity so that faster progress can be achieved. Every moment that we wait entails colossal losses to the global society and economy. (Excerpt)
975 citations
Book•
15 Dec 2010TL;DR: A core focus of the book is introduced, namely, how a program’s available resources, eligibility criteria for selecting beneficiaries, and timing for mplementation serve to structure options in the selection of impact evaluation methods.
Abstract: Development programs and policies are typically designed to change outcomes such as raising incomes, improving learning, or reducing illness. Whether or not these changes are actually achieved is a crucial public policy question, but one that is not often examined. Impact evaluations are part of a broader agenda of evidence-based policy making. This growing global trend is marked by a shift in focus from inputs to outcomes and results, and is reshaping public policy.The first part of the book presents an overview of impact evaluation. Chapter 1 discusses why impact evaluation is important and how it fits within the context of ethical, evidence-based policy making. The authors contrast impact evaluation with monitoring, introduce the defining features of impact evaluation, and discuss complementary approaches, including cost-benefit analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. The authors introduce a core focus of the book: namely, how a program’s available resources, eligibility criteria for selecting beneficiaries, and timing for mplementation serve to structure options in the selection of impact evaluation methods. Finally, the authors introduce different modalities of impact evaluation, such as prospective and retrospective evaluation, and efficacy versus effectiveness trials and conclude with a discussion on when to use impact evaluations. Chapter 2 discusses how to formulate evaluation questions and hypotheses that are useful for policy. These questions and hypotheses determine the focus of the evaluation. The authors also introduce the fundamental concept of a theory of change and the related use of results chains and performance indicators. Chapter 2 provides the first introduction to the fictional case study, the Health Insurance Subsidy Program (HISP), that is used throughout the book and in the accompanying material found on the Impact Evaluation in Practice website (www.worldbank .org/ieinpractice).
838 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review several approaches to include economic considerations in biodiversity conservation, and show cases where monetary valuation is relevant and other cases where it is controversial and even counterproductive, as it undermines the objectives of conservation.
Abstract: After 1992 many conservation biologists thought that the use of economic instruments would be more effective to halt biodiversity loss than policies based on setting apart some natural spaces outside the market. At the same time there was a new elaboration of the concept of ecosystem services and, since 1997, there have been attempts at costing in money terms the loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity, including the high profile TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) project (2008-2011). Our discussion rests on instances showing the analytical implications of three main socio-economic meanings of biodiversity loss: 1) the loss of natural capital; 2) the loss of ecosystem functions; and 3) the loss of cultural values and human rights to livelihood. We review several approaches to include economic considerations in biodiversity conservation. We show cases where monetary valuation is relevant and other cases where it is controversial and even counterproductive, as it undermines the objectives of conservation.
729 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a definition of the Footprint Family as a suite of indicators to track human pressure on the planet and under different angles, based on the premise that no single indicator per se is able to comprehensively monitor human impact on the environment, but indicators rather need to be used and interpreted jointly.
693 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that institutional arrangements operating at other governance scales, such as national government agencies, international organizations, NGOs at multiple scales, and private associations, also often have critical roles to play in natural resource governance regimes, including self-organized regimes.
Abstract: This article seeks to shed new light on the study of decentralized natural resource governance by applying institutional theories of polycentricity—the relationships among multiple authorities with overlapping jurisdictions. The emphasis on multi-level dynamics has not penetrated empirical studies of environmental policy reforms in non-industrial countries. On the contrary, many of today’s decentralization proponents seem to be infatuated with the local sphere, expecting that local actors are always able and willing to govern their natural resources effectively. Existing studies in this area often focus exclusively on characteristics and performance of local institutions. While we certainly do not deny the importance of local institutions, we argue that institutional arrangements operating at other governance scales—such as national government agencies, international organizations, NGOs at multiple scales, and private associations—also often have critical roles to play in natural resource governance regimes, including self-organized regimes.
661 citations