Tracking national portfolios and assessing results

1. Tracking national portfolios and assessing results Sub-regional Workshop for GEF Focal Points Dubrovnik, Croatia 11-13 February 2009

2. Outline • What is M&E? • Role of Focal Points in M&E: Key Messages • Tracking Portfolios: Tools and Approaches • Findings from Country Portfolio Evaluations: Costa Rica, The Philippines, Samoa, Benin, Cameroon, Madagascar, and South Africa • Findings from the GEF Annual Performance Report 2007 • Monitoring: Issues for Reflection • Available Sources of Information

3. Monitoring & Evaluation

4. What is Monitoring & Evaluation? • Monitoring provides management with a basis for decision making on progress and GEF with information on results. This involves: • Ongoing, systematic gathering of qualitative and quantitative information to track progress on project outcomes & outputs • Identification of implementation issues and propose actions to solve these • Evaluation provides lessons learned and recommendations for future projects, polices and portfolios. This involves: • Periodic assessment of results (i.e. outputs, outcomes and impact) according to the criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability

5. Relevance of Monitoring & Evaluation for Focal Points: →Monitoring: • Project Implementation Review (for each project annually) • Portfolio Monitoring (country specific) →Evaluation: • Mid-Term Evaluation of projects (in some cases – and often called a review) • Terminal Evaluations – of all projects • Portfolio Evaluations by country (e.g. Vietnam, China)

6. Role of Focal Points in M&E

7. Role of GEF Focal Point in M&E… Keeping track of GEF support at the national level Keeping stakeholders informed and consulted in plans, implementation and results of country GEF M&E activities Disseminating M&E information, promoting use of evaluation recommendations and lessons learned, particularly in new project proposals Assisting the Evaluation Office, as the first point of entry into a country, during evaluations: identifying major relevant stakeholders, coordinating meetings, assisting with agendas –coordinating country responses to these evaluations Other examples?

8. Examples of Good Practices • Inviting national project executing agencies to make presentations to coordination committee meetings (including project visits and reports from ongoing projects) • Regular access to the GEF Agencies monitoring and post-completion projects evaluation reports enables feedback on project performance in future project proposals

9. Key Message 1: It is very important for Focal Points to participate in and be informed of Monitoring and Evaluation in their countries because it enhances country ownership

10. Key Message 2: There is no prescribed role for the Focal Points in Monitoring and Evaluation – it depends in the institutional setting, capacity and portfolio scope, size.

11. Tracking the Portfolio: Tools & Approaches

12. Tracking the Portfolio: Tools and Approaches M&E of the portfolio: Creating a simple tracking system for GEF projects (see next slide) Including the GEF Support in national tracking system of international grants/loans Reporting GEF achievements against national development goals and objectives (MDGs? Reporting to Conventions?) Establishing a close collaboration with GEF Agencies M&E officer and projects managers Exchanging experiences and information in workshops – both sub-regional and national Supporting annual workshops to discuss project implementation, experiences and lessons and results with key GEF players in the country

13. Tracking the Portfolio - an example Portfolio Tracking System – • Project level data: • Project name and GEF ID (and your own ID number) • Focal area (strategic priority) • GEF Agency and National Executing Agency • Financial information: GEF grant (including preparatory funding, allocations from RAF) and cofinancing (including sources) • Project cycle dates (entry into pipeline, PPG, Council approval, CEO Endorsement, start up, completion: proposed and actual) • Objective(s) • Expected Outcome(s) • Expected contribution to GEF 4 targets • Project Status description (updated at least twice a year) • Ratings: implementation progress and likelihood of achieving objectives • Once completed: actual achievements and lessons learned • Project documents • Contact person in project and with GEF Agency • This information feeds into the progress of overall environmental achievements at higher levels, namely - the national targets, the MDGs and the GEF strategic targets. Keep it simple and only collect and record information that will be used!

14. Where to Find Information to Track the Portfolio? • Project Implementation Reports produced annually by the projects and GEF Agencies (self assessments) • Supervision reports from GEF Agencies • PMIS (project management information system)

15. Findings from Costa Rica, The Philippines and Samoa • Costa Rica: strong emphasis on biodiversity and conservation – but some lost opportunities on climate change/energy efficiency in transport • Result: strengthened national coordination and inclusion of ministries not previously involved • Philippines: strong overall portfolio – but internal tracking could improve • Recommendation: ensure that GEF is tracked by national donor funding tracking mechanism • Samoa: environmental framework established, now facing the challenge of implementation • Good internal coordination but other ministries will need to be involved in implementation

16. Findings from Benin, Cameroon, Madagascar, South Africa • The focal point needs to play a more effective role in providing strategic guidance and strengthening knowledge sharing • The village-based comanagement models developed by GEF projects in Benin are sustainable in the long term and can be replicated • In Cameroon GEF support was instrumental for the initial planning, expansion, and management of the Cameroon Protected Area system • In Madagascar, the GEF supported the first sustainable community protected area management in the Anjozorobe Forest Corridor • GEF support to biodiversity in South Africa has resulted in significant impacts, such as the formal protection of the internationally significant Cape Floristic Region and Succulent Karo; and significant influence on conservation policy, strategy, and management practice replicated beyond the project portfolio.

17. Findings from APR 2007 • Quality at entry of M&E arrangements is strongly associated with actual quality of monitoring during implementation • Results of capacity development activities in completed GEF projects are generally positive and sometimes significant; however, many gains are not sustained. A common underlying weakness in the projects is the tendency to plan and execute training as a “one shot” solution with little consideration for national or regional context.

18. Monitoring: Issues for Reflection

19. Monitoring: Issues for Reflection • How are the partners working together in monitoring? (Focal Point, Agency, project staff, technical ministry or department, beneficiaries…) • Who does what? How is information circulating? How can the Focal Point support the GEF portfolio in national management and decision-making? • Further development of tools for tracking portfolios. • How are available tools used? • What type of information is required? How will the information be used? • Who should be involved in national knowledge sharing forum? And how?

20. Available Information Sources: • Project evaluations: mid-term and final (independent) from GEF Agencies • National development goals tracking systems • Knowledge exchange during workshops(national coordination committees, with other focal points, annual workshops with implementing / executing agencies, other actors in the field – NGOs, CBOs etc) • Information from established focal area task forces, networks, environmental assessments and other relevant activities. • Evaluationsconducted by GEF-EO and independent evaluation offices of GEF Agencies

21. More information…. • GEF corporate evaluations and lessons learned: www.gefeo.org, under Publication or Ongoing Evaluations • The GEF M&E Policy: www.gefeo.org, under Policies and Procedures • Project information (including terminal evaluations): www.thegef.org, under Project Database, for search click on Evaluation Documents • Email contact: gefevaluation@theGEF.org