considered past project, programme and thematic evaluations, as well as reports produced by key UNDP partners. To bolster utility, the IEO also commissioned a “formative analysis”19 to feed into the ICPR report. While the overall availability and adequacy of documentation from the country office was good, in some instances, evidence to substantiate claims made by the country office on contribution was limited (see finding 12 on monitoring and evaluation). Annex 6 lays out how confident the ICPR is with regard to each rating given on UNDP Mongolia’s performance over this planning cycle. Despite variations, confidence is overall fairly high.
2. PROGRESS TOWARDS OUTPUTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUTCOMES The country programme for UNDP Mongolia, and its accompanying results framework, is organized around two strategic priorities, set in UNDAF 2017-2022. 20 •
Inclusive and sustainable development: This strategic priority includes four sub-themes, namely (i) mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda in Mongolia; (ii) ecosystem services to support livelihoods of vulnerable groups; (iii) resilience of rural and urban poor to shocks; and (iv) equitable, sustainable and low carbon urban development. Voice, participation and accountability: Two sub-themes are covered in this priority area, namely (i) strengthened governance for increased voice and accountability; and (ii) effective civil service.
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UNDP Mongolia’s strategic priorities are addressed by three programme officers responsible for (i) Climate Change, ii) Natural Resource Management and iii) SDGs and Governance. The overall planned CPD programme budget for 2017-2022 is US$ 50.47 million, with $25.7 million of available budget and $17.6 million spent as of December 2020.21 Annex 1 presents details of the progress made by UNDP Mongolia towards achieving its stated outputs and contributing to outcomes. The narrative below considers the entirety of those achievements and challenges, to point to higher-level findings and strategic reflections, including in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outcome 1 - Inclusive and sustainable development By 2022,22 poor and vulnerable people are more resilient to shocks and benefit from inclusive growth and a healthy ecosystem. Review question: What progress has UNDP made towards planned country programme outputs, and how is this contributing to UNDP/UNDAF outcomes in the current programme period? Overview of progress and ratings: The UNDP contribution to meeting the outcome-level targets was rated as “moderate”. In other words, UNDP moderately influences the resilience of poor and vulnerable people to shocks and their benefits from inclusive growth and a healthy ecosystem in Mongolia. The work to mainstream the 2030 Agenda in Mongolia is on track to meet the indicator target (which however does not appropriately reflect the anticipated results at output level). Efforts to mitigate climate change and effectively manage natural
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This analysis sheds light on the coherence of UNDP work with that of other key actors and seeks to inform future positioning. Cognos International LLC undertook this analysis in collaboration with the international ICPR team. 20 The CPD is linked to the UNDAF 2017-2022, which is the umbrella programme of the United Nations with the Government of Mongolia and which has been extended for one year, from 2021 to 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Future documents will be called United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). 21 UNDP Intranet - Executive Snapshot, December 2020; accessed 3 December 2020. 22 The original CPD states 2021 as its end date.
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