Tackling environmental drivers at scale requires more than stand-alone projects, making programmatic approaches central to GEF’s strategy.

To assess their performance, the IEO reviewed programs from GEF-5 and GEF-6 using portfolio analysis, terminal evaluations, and comparative methods. The evaluation finds that projects implemented under programmatic approaches perform better than stand-alone projects on outcomes, cofinancing, and design coherence.

However, efficiency tends to decline as programs become more complex, with multicountry and multi-Agency arrangements creating higher coordination demands and transaction costs.

Country-focused programs demonstrate stronger ownership when closely aligned with national priorities, while regional and global programs rely more on set-aside resources and often show weaker engagement. Monitoring and evaluation frameworks are generally stronger at the design stage than in implementation, and limited evidence exists of program-level results or additionality beyond individual projects.

The report recommends continuing programmatic interventions while improving efficiency in complex settings, ensuring stronger alignment with national priorities, and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems that capture contributions at the program level.