6.3 Lessons

Key action(s) Completion date Responsible unit(s) Tracking* Status Comments

6.3. Update the UNDP project quality assurance standards and systems, as part of the UNDP RBM update, to improve targeting and measuring impact to advance the organization's LNOB and RFBF programming principle. Q4, 2023 BPPS

6.4. Conduct impact and portfolio evaluations of UNDP programmes, upon the availability of guidelines, to help measure, report and demonstrate impact from UNDP support, in the lives of people, especially those left behind. Q4 2023 BPPS

* The implementation status is tracked in the Evaluation Resource Centre. ** BPPS = Bureau for Policy and Programme Support; CB = Crisis Bureau; BMS = Bureau of Management Services; BERA = Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy; EXO =Executive Office; OHR = Office of Human Resources

These lessons were mostly derived from the comparator organizations study commissioned as part of this evaluation and from 35 years of gender mainstreaming efforts in UNDP.

Lesson 1. Comparator organizations with different mandates and scopes of work went through internal consultative processes to define how to best to integrate LNOB principles. In all successful cases, conceptual clarity has been key for operationalization and implementation of LNOB organizational strategies and to reach common understanding. Organization-wide consultations have helped debunk myths, reach shared definitions, assess knowledge gaps, identify needs and priorities at different levels and clarify responsibilities.338

Lesson 2. There is no ‘one size fits all’ for translating organizational commitments into effective programming for LNOB. In some comparator organizations, practical tools were developed to enable country-level staff to analyse their specific environments, determine the most feasible LNOB approaches, and select the right areas, groups and entry points to focus on (i.e., GIZ, UNFPA, and UNICEF). These can serve as inspiration to UNDP, in particular with regard to selecting priority populations. Further, continuous and tailored training and capacity development of personnel was seen as key to appropriate execution.339

338 Linked to Findings 5 and 6. 339 Linked to Findings 5, 6 and 8.

Lesson 3. Simply elevating LNOB in strategic documents will not necessarily lead to organizational focus and resource allocation. UNDP has included an outcome/Signature Solution on GEWE in its strategic plans since 2014, along with an accompanying gender strategy that is reported to the Executive Board. These strategic steps have increased awareness and action on gender issues, even as this evaluation has emphasized the need for aspirations to be matched by practical implementation. Signaling LNOB as constituting a directional change, as indicated in the UNDP Strategic Plan, 2022-2025, does not automatically guarantee sufficient organizational focus or adequate resources.340

Lesson 4. A group-by-group approach alone is neither practical nor efficient, as it creates overlapping accountabilities, is open-ended (ever more groups can be added) and neglects intersectionalities. Developing strategies for specific LNOB areas and groups can support conceptual clarity and short-term results, but this may fail to lead to sustainable organizational support, particularly where there is inadequate accountability for follow-up and allocation of resources. For example, the potential for adequate financial allocation to disability rights, indigenous peoples, and LGBTQI+ persons, on which there has only recently been focus, is not promising within UNDP and elsewhere. An intersectional lens open to mobilizing resources from multiple angles seems to deliver better results.341

Lesson 5. A change in mindset requires staff diversity, leaders and a common understanding of why LNOB and RFBF are central. All comparator organizations reviewed stressed that a mindset shift within their organizations and partners is seen as essential to strengthening LNOB and RFBF integration. Some ingredients quoted as potential success factors are a less hierarchical structure and atmosphere; leadership commitment; an organizational culture more open to creativity and less focused on achieving pre-determined results, compliance and bureaucratic regulations; staffing that in itself is more diverse; and common understanding between the entity and its partners on why LNOB and RFBF work is central to achieving its mandate and concrete results.342

Lesson 6. Obtaining and using data are critical for identifying those left behind and for relevance and effectiveness of interventions. Credible and accurate disaggregated data, both quantitative and qualitative, official and community-driven, are considered key for identifying those left behind and their needs and priorities, for designing appropriate (holistic and intersectional) interventions/initiatives, for monitoring progress and results, for evaluating outcomes and impact, and for credibly reporting on performance. Ensuring that the necessary data are generated also requires a nuanced understanding of the aspects on which data are needed in a given context.343

340 Linked to Finding 18. 341 Linked to Findings 3, 6 and 8. 342 Linked to Findings 5, 7,9 and 10. 343 Linked to Findings 10 and 11.

ANNEXES

Annexes to the report (listed below) are available on the website of the IEO at: https://erc.undp.org/evaluation/evaluations/detail/13687

Annex 1. Evaluation terms of reference

Annex 2. Theories of change

Annex 3. Country case selection

Annex 4. Process tracing – methodology and evidence

Annex 5. LNOB marker – contextual figures

Annex 6. Documents consulted

Annex 7. Stakeholders consulted

Annex 8. Ethical review approval

Annex 9. Evaluation learning group TOR