Evaluation of the ESCAP Pacific Office

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Evaluation of the ESCAP Pacific Office Evaluative Review of the ESCAP Pacific Office Final Report Final report: 4 November 2011 Evaluator: Jonathan Hampshire Management response completed: 1 June 2012 Commissioned by: ESCAP Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................................................................................................I ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................. II MANAGEMENT RESPONSE .............................................................................................................................................. III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................................... VI 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................1 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE EVALUATION.......................................................................................................................1 1.2 PURPOSE, OBJECTIVES AND OUTPUTS ....................................................................................................................1 1.3 SCOPE.............................................................................................................................................................2 2 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................3 2.1 METHOD AND TOOLS .........................................................................................................................................3 2.2 LIMITATIONS ....................................................................................................................................................4 3 FINDINGS.......................................................................................................................................................6 3.1 CONTEXT .........................................................................................................................................................6 3.2 EPO RELEVANCE ...............................................................................................................................................7 3.3 EPO EFFICIENCY..............................................................................................................................................14 3.4 EPO EFFECTIVENESS ........................................................................................................................................16 3.5 OTHER FINDINGS.............................................................................................................................................27 4 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................................. 29 4.1 EPO RELEVANCE .............................................................................................................................................29 4.2 EPO EFFICIENCY..............................................................................................................................................30 4.3 EPO EFFECTIVENESS ........................................................................................................................................30 5 RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................................. 32 5.1 STRENGTHENING EPO OPERATIONS ....................................................................................................................32 5.2 IMPLICATIONS WITH RESPECT TO OTHER SROS ......................................................................................................35 ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................................. 36 ANNEX 1 – ESCAP MANAGEMENT RESPONSE....................................................................................................................37 ANNEX 2 – TERMS OF REFERENCE ...................................................................................................................................44 ANNEX 3 – LIST OF DOCUMENTS REVIEWED.......................................................................................................................50 ANNEX 4 – SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS HELD.........................................................................................................................53 ANNEX 5 ‐ CONSULTANT’S WORKPLAN SUMMARY ..............................................................................................................57 ANNEX 6 – ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE AND RESPONSE SUMMARY.............................................................................................58 Evaluative review of ESCAP Pacific Office/Final report Acknowledgements The author would like to sincerely thank all those who supported and contributed to this evaluative review, namely: • The staff of ESCAP Bangkok and the Pacific Office who helped organize the consultant’s schedule of meetings, travel arrangements and access to documents and data. • The managers and staff of ESCAP Bangkok and the Pacific Office who provided substantive input during face to face consultations. • The representatives of governments, government agencies, regional agencies, other UN organizations, donor partners and non-government agencies who provided their views, insights and additional reference documents during face to face consultations; and • All those who completed the on-line questionnaire. A list of those who were formally consulted during the evaluation is provided at Annex 4. Not surprisingly, different people have different views regarding the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of ESCAP’s Pacific Office, and indeed the operations of ESCAP more generally. It is hoped that the ‘findings’ presented in this report accurately reflect these different views. Nevertheless, the conclusion and recommendation sections of this report primarily reflect the views and judgments of the report author. As an ‘independent’ evaluative review, this is as it should be. The author thus also takes full responsibility for any errors or omissions in this report. ESCAP’s management response to this report can be found (in the final version) at Annex 1. I sincerely hope that the report proves useful in helping ESCAP management improve the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the Pacific Office as well as its other Sub-regional Offices. i Evaluative review of ESCAP Pacific Office/Final report Abbreviations ACPR Advisory Committee of Permanent Representatives ADB Asian Development Bank ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations BKK Bangkok CROP Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific DESA Department of Economic and Social Affairs EPO ESCAP Pacific Office EPOC ESCAP Pacific Operations Centre ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ECOSOC Economic and Social Council of the UN FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations IDD Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division IMIS Integrated Management Information System IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature MDG Millennium Development Goals MSI Mauritius Strategy for Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island States NSDS National Sustainable Development Strategies OEI Organisational Effectiveness Initiative PFTAC Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre PIFS Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat PMD Programme Management Division RC Resident Coordinator RCM Regional Coordination Mechanism SIDS Small Island Developing States SMT Senior Management Team SOPAC SPC Applied Geo-science and Technology Division SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community SPREP South Pacific Regional Environment Programme SRO Sub-regional Office TA Technical Assistance TOR Terms of Reference UN United Nations UNCT United Nations Country Team UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework WHO World Health Organisation YWAM Youth with a Mission ii Evaluative review of ESCAP Pacific Office/Final report MANAGEMENT RESPONSE This section provides the response by ESCAP management to the evaluation and to the specific recommendations. General remarks by management The role of EPO and SROs more broadly, is a key issue facing ESCAP, including through the Organisational Effectiveness Initiative (OEI). A key question that needs to be answered in order to define the role of EPO, and possibly other SROs, is ‘Does ESCAP want a centre/periphery organization or one which has empowered nodes?’. This evaluative review makes a strong case for the strengthening of alignment of the work of SROs and divisions in Bangkok, in order to improve the overall impact of the collective work of ESCAP in the Pacific. The findings and recommendations of the consultant are clear, practical and relevant. Regarding the conclusions of the report, Management response, apart from
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