Global Evaluation Initiative - World Bank Global Evaluation Initiative - World Bank Strengthening of national monitoring and evaluation systems in developing countries is a neglected area. This despite the fact that strong such are an important component of democratic governance and constitute one of the principles for the follow-up of Agenda 2030.

The Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI) is a new global partnership for capacity development in evaluation that aims to respond to this. The overall objective of the initiative is to contribute to states in developing countries using evaluation evidence for increased adaptability, better results management and well-founded risk-taking in policy formulation and implementation. This will contribute to the achievement of national development plans and SDG objectives.

GEI is designed as a partnership between donors, implementing organizations in different parts of the world, and an international council. GEI brings together previous players in the field, but will also open the doors for new partnerships, method development and learning. Stärkandet av nationella system för uppföljning och utvärdering i utvecklingsländer är ett eftersatt område. Detta trots att välfungerande sådana är en viktig komponent av demokratisk offentlig styrning och utgör en av Agenda 2030s bärande principer för dess uppföljning. 

Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI) är ett nytt globalt initiativ för kapacitetsutveckling inom utvärdering för att svara upp mot detta. Initiativets övergripande målsättning är att bidra till att stater i utvecklingsländer använder utvärderingsevidens för ökad adaptivitet, bättre resultatstyrning och välgrundat risktagande i policyformulering och genomförande. Detta skall bidra till att nationella utvecklingsplaner och SDG mål nås. 

GEI är utformat som ett partnerskap mellan givare, genomförandeorganisationer i olika delar av världen, samt ett internationellt råd. GEI för samman tidigare aktörer inom området, men skall också öppna dörrarna för nya partnerskap, metodutveckling och lärande. The GEIs objective is to improve monitoring and evaluation frameworks, capacity, and use in supported developing countries for improved evidence-informed policy making - to improve people lives. GEI expects to be a catalyzer, bringing together key actors and experts in the monitoring & evaluation field to help governments in developing countries place evidence at the heart of decision making.

Robust M&E frameworks and capacities and incentives to use evidence and learnings are essential to effective public policy making. They enable institutions to assess the effectiveness of policy decisions and programs, monitor progress towards national goals and course-correct, as needed, to accelerate this progress. They also enhance public accountability for results and provide opportunities for dialogue between citizens and public institutions.

Against this backdrop, GEI will aim to scale up the provision, quality, coordination, and impact of evaluation capacity development (ECD) services. ECD supports the establishment and strengthening of both monitoring and evaluation functions. ECD involves strengthening and sustaining both individuals and organizations to access, build, and implement evaluative knowledge and skills; design, implement, and manage effective evaluation processes and findings; use evaluations as a performance improvement tool; and foster the implementation of M&E knowledge and practices. GEI will aim to scale up ECD support to governments and other stakeholders (such as non-governmental organizations, academic bodies, etc.) across the globe by providing a platform for coordinating and leveraging the provision of M&E diagnostics and technical assistance.

Through a range of capacity building measures, research and knowledge sharing the GEIs main expected outcomes include:
1. Better understanding and valorization by governments and other stakeholders in developing countries of the role of M&E in evidence-informed decision-making and increased willingness to use evaluative evidence for decision-making and adaptive management in policies and programs.
2. Better capacity of governments and other stakeholders in developing countries to conduct evaluations (tailored to national needs and priorities) and manage and use M&E frameworks to develop more relevant and effective policies and programs.
3. Better evidence resulting from M&E frameworks and quality evaluations made publicly available.
4. Better access by civil society and citizens in developing countries to evaluative evidence, leading to more effective citizen engagement in public policy.
Ultimately, the GEIs Theory of Change highlights that these outcomes will contribute to more relevant and effective policies and programmes, which in turn contribute to partner countries achieving their national development goals and contributing to the SDGs.