Chapter 8. IEO operations

8.1 Staff resources

In 2021, the IEO maintained a structure of 35 posts, including 27 professionals and 8 General Service staff, and five workstreams: corporate and thematic evaluations, country programme evaluations, capacity development, knowledge and data management, and operations.23 IEO staff members worked within and across these, and regularly exchanged views through staff meetings and peer reviews of draft evaluation reports.

Staff members represent countries in all regions and offer an average of 15 years of experience in development and evaluation gained from a range of organizations. They now include dedicated expertise on knowledge and data management. The office continues to strengthen professional capacities by exposing staff to collective and individual training, including on innovative methodologies such as sense-making and specific modules of the International Programme for Development Evaluation Training for recent recruits.

In 2021, the IEO again fully complied with corporate rules and regulations, ranging from financial norms to a well-tested business continuity plan to secure the execution of the annual workplan. The office sustained efforts to comprehensively abide by organizational policies and standards on zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, harassment, discrimination and abuse of authority by both staff members and consultants.

8.2 Financial resources

Recognizing the uncertainties surrounding development funding during the COVID-19 pandemic, the IEO budget for 2021 was set at $12 million. The IEO spent $11.42 million or 95.2 percent on evaluations and other institutional activities, drawing on regular and other resources.

23 The office also benefitted from seven long-term consultants with international professional service contracts.

In keeping with evaluation policy stipulations24 and the UNDP approved Strategic Plan integrated budget,25 the IEO has developed its 2022 work programme based on funding of $13.01 million, with anticipated step increases thereafter, to reach the $16 million target in fiscal year 2024. If realized, the planned allocation of $64 million between 2022 and 2025—an increase of 52 percent on the 2018-2021 period—will enable the IEO to better address methodological and technological challenges in its comprehensive programme of work, including through a significant expansion of support to improve the quality and use of decentralized evaluations.26

FIGURE 11. IEO expenditures, 2017-2021

9.03

2017 8.7

2018 10.9

2019 11.24

2020 11.42

2021

24 The policy cements a resource base for the IEO corresponding to 0.3 percent of total programme expenditure. 25 See: DP/2021/29, para. 38(d). 26 See: DP/2022/6.