Year
Document Type
Focal Area
Country
OPS
IEO conducts accountability and learning-focused evaluations that generate lessons learned for the GEF. The evaluations focus on results, impact and performance of the GEF, and address strategic issues of the partnership.
Overall Performance Studies (OPS) are performed every four years to provide solid evaluative evidence to donors. These evaluations provide an independent assessment of performance and results of the GEF over a GEF replenishment period. The comprehensive evaluations assess the extent to which the GEF is achieving its objectives and identify potential areas of improvement.
2021 Program Evaluation of the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)
Established in 2002, the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) is mandated to provide support to parties not included in Annex I of the UNFCCC. With its broad scope covering climate change adaptation as well as mitigation, the SCCF represented the only comprehensive climate change fund under the UNFCCC until the establishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Evaluation of GEF Interventions in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector (2020)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has a long history of investing in interventions to solve the environmental and health issues associated with the artisanal small-scale gold mining industry (ASGM). The signing of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2013 prompted an increased investment by GEF into the removal of mercury from human processes, including ASGM.

Evaluation of Knowledge Management in the GEF (2020)
Knowledge is an important resource of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) that supports its strategic objectives to address global environmental concerns. Over the years, the GEF facilitated generation and sharing of knowledge through its projects and programs, as well as through its corporate strategies and initiatives. However, sharing knowledge across the partnership has been a challenge due to differences in systems, processes, and procedures of member organizations.

Evaluation of GEF Support in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations (2020)
The GEF Independent Evaluation Office is collaborating with the Environmental Law Institute to assess GEF projects and programs in fragile and conflict-affected situations—in short, to determine whether and how GEF interventions are conflict-sensitive, and the implications thereof.

Evaluation of the Role of Medium Size Projects (MSP) in the GEF Partnership (2020)
The GEF medium-sized project (MSP) modality has provided an expedited mechanism for execution of smaller projects by simplifying processing steps together with review and approval procedures, thereby shortening the project cycle relative to GEF full-sized projects. MSPs were able to address the gap between the two funding mechanisms at the time—full-size projects and Small Grants Programme.

Program Evaluation of the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) 2020
The 2020 program evaluation of the least developed countries fund (LDCF) covers performance and progress towards LDCF objectives and results in the four years since the 2016 LDCF program evaluation. The main objective of this evaluation is to assess the progress the LDCF has made since the 2016 LDCF program evaluation and the extent to which the LDCF is in the process of achieving the objectives set out in the GEF Programming Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change for LDCF/SCCF (2018–2022).

African Biomes Strategic Country Cluster Evaluation (SCCE)
The African Biomes Strategic Country Cluster Evaluation (SCCE) covers GEF activities in 23 countries situated in two Sub-Saharan African biomes: the Sahel and the Sudan-Guinea Savanna. Selection of these two biomes is based on the countries’ comparable land-based environmental challenges. These countries also face challenges related to governance, demographics, migration, conflict and fragility, working as drivers for the environmental issues at hand. Most countries situated in the two biomes are Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and half are countries in fragile situations.


Least Developed Countries (LDC) Strategic Country Cluster Evaluation (SCCE)
The strategic country cluster evaluation (SCCE) of least developed countries (LDCs) covers all 47 LDCs, located in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Selection of the LDCs for an SCCE is based on the countries’ common LDC status and related economic, social and environmental challenges. LDCs are low-income countries confronting severe structural impediments to sustainable development. They are highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks, have low levels of human assets, and almost half of the LDCs are countries in fragile situations.

Evaluation of the GEF Country Support Program (CSP) 2020
The Country Support Program (CSP) is a GEF-funded corporate program with the objective to assist GEF stakeholders increase and maintain capacity necessary to navigate the GEF landscape and work more effectively with GEF financing in a way that increase country ownership.
Evaluation GEF Interventions in International Waters: Freshwater and Fisheries (2020)
The Independent Evaluation Office is undertaking a fourth study of the International Waters (IW) focal area, with the previous ones completed in 2002, 2005 and 2016. The 2020 IW focal area study features two special themes: fisheries and freshwater.