As one of the first portfolio-level reviews, the 1999 PPR assesses 135 GEF projects to capture progress, lessons, and sustainability challenges.

The 1999 Project Performance Report presents findings from the Project Implementation Review (PIR), which covered 135 projects under implementation for at least one year as of June 1999 and incorporated insights from evaluations and studies. The review assessed project progress, results, and cross-cutting lessons to inform future GEF programming. Agencies rated 29 percent of projects as highly satisfactory and 64 percent as satisfactory, with only 7 percent unsatisfactory—an improvement from prior years as underperforming projects closed or were redesigned.

Successful initiatives often addressed the broader socioeconomic and political context and benefited from country ownership, yet gaps remain in systematically linking GEF activities with national policy frameworks and programs.

Stakeholder participation advanced in some cases but lagged in engaging women and the private sector, and participatory processes often required more time and resources than anticipated. Sustainability challenges persisted, highlighting the need for flexible, phased approaches with clear benchmarks and stronger capacity-building strategies.

The report recommends moving from an “approvals culture” toward managing for results by embedding monitoring and evaluation into program management, strengthening feedback loops, and ensuring lessons shape new operations.