Fair and transparent allocation of resources is essential for the GEF to maximize global environmental benefits and strengthen country ownership.

The Resource Allocation Framework (RAF), introduced in 2006 for biodiversity and climate change, was revised in 2010 as the System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR) and expanded to include land degradation. At the request of the GEF Council, the Independent Evaluation Office conducted a midterm evaluation of STAR in 2013, using portfolio reviews, statistical modeling, expert panel assessments of allocation indexes, interviews, and an online stakeholder survey.

The evaluation finds that STAR improved transparency, predictability, and national ownership compared to RAF, while the GEF-5 replenishment of $4.34 billion enabled larger and more widely distributed allocations.

Challenges included limited flexibility for countries with small allocations, calculation errors and data gaps that constrained replicability, and indexes that required refinement to capture ecosystem-level and socioeconomic factors. Debate also continued on whether to extend STAR to additional focal areas.

The report’s recommendations to increase flexibility, improve indicators, and strengthen implementation informed the subsequent GEF-6 adjustments, which were later assessed in the 2018 review.