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Evaluation Report 2020 Using Knowledge 20% Logistik Relevance Effektiveness EVALUATION REPORT 2020 USING KNOWLEDGE GOVERNANCE 93 Development policy results 82 Efficiency 87 Sustainability 70 GIZ PROFILE As a provider of international cooperation services for sustainable development and inter- national education work, we are dedicated to building a future worth living. GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment, energy and the environment, and peace and security. The diverse expertise of our federal enterprise is in demand around the globe, with the German Government, European Union institutions, the United Nations, the private sector and governments of other countries all benefiting from our services. We work with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions, fostering successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields and areas of activity. The German Federal Ministry for Eco- nomic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is our main commissioning party. All these commissioning parties and cooperation partners place their trust in GIZ by work- ing together with us to generate ideas for political, social and economic change, develop these into concrete plans and implement the envisaged change processes. As a public- benefit federal enterprise, German and European values are central to our work. Together with our partners in national governments worldwide and with our partners from business, academia and civil society, we work to deliver flexible and effective solutions that offer people better prospects and sustainably improve their living conditions. The registered offices of GIZ are in Bonn and Eschborn. In 2019, our business volume was around EUR 3.1 billion. Of our 22,199 employees in some 120 countries, almost 70 per cent are national personnel working in the field. In our capacity as a recognised sending organ- isation, we currently have 556 development workers in action in partner countries. In addi- tion, the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM), a joint operation of GIZ * and the Federal Employment Agency, placed 262 integrated and 515 returning experts with Personnel and local employers abroad in 2019 while providing them with financial support and advisory business figures as at 31 De- services.* cember 2019 Cover: USING KNOWLEDGE: sharing knowledge and learning how to use it forms the focus of the Academy for International Cooperation in Bonn. More than 15,000 participants each year know the benefits of this approach. The image on the cover directs the viewer‘s gaze up the stairwell of the Academy on Campus Kottenforst – GIZ’s educational site. The graphics come from the ‘Cooperation with the private sector’, ‘Corporate culture’ and ‘Methods of impact evaluation’ sections. Evaluation report 2020 Using knowledge Contracting evaluations of particular strategic importance to the commis- Evaluations by GIZ sioning party, GIZ and its partners, for example. If there is a particular epistemic interest that can- not be addressed by GIZ’s standard evaluations Corporate strategic evaluations either in terms of the time frame or the methods used, the Evaluation Unit also offers internal Corporate strategic evaluations investigate how clients evaluations for specific reasons. GIZ delivers its services and how the company is Central project evaluations Corporate strategic Cross-section evaluations organised in terms of its policies, strategies and GIZ also provides evaluations for external for BMZ business evaluations of evaluation products processes and the approaches, concepts, instru- commissioning parties in the German public on behalf of the Management Board • Evaluation of a representative regarding • Evaluation syntheses for com- ments and portfolios it uses to deliver services. ector and the International Services business sample pany-wide learning The Management Board, departmental directors sector. Here, the objectives, design and criteria • Given a rating according to • Service provision and • Meta evaluations for insights binding DC evaluation criteria • Corporate development into evaluation quality general and corporate unit directors propose of the evaluation are always agreed with the - topics for evaluation depending on which deci- corresponding commissioning party or client, Steered by the Evaluation Unit Steered by the Evaluation Unit Steered by the Evaluation Unit sions and change processes are pending within without affecting our quality standards. Reports are published Reports are published Reports are published the company. The Evaluation Unit reviews these based on significance in terms of corporate policy, Evaluations of co-financing arrangements need for decisions in the medium term and need for evidence and the feasibility of the evaluation. Evaluations of co-financing arrangements assess Contracting evaluations Evaluations of co-financing Evaluative studies The Management Board decides what projects the project or just one part of it. for external or internal commis- for specific information requirements will be included in the corporate strategy evalua- sioning parties/clients • Evaluation of the co-financed sub-project or project • During implementation tion programme. • Object of evaluation and • Flexibility regarding the object Evaluative studies • According to DC evaluation • Evaluation criteria criteria of the evaluation, evaluation in consultation with the criteria, the evaluation process Cross-section evaluations Evaluative studies provide insights for steering commissioning party/client Steered by the Evaluation Unit or and evaluation methods and learning in ongoing projects. The Evaluation operational units • No rating given Steered by the Evaluation Unit or Evaluation syntheses entail synthesising the Unit offers advice – particularly for evaluative operational units Reports are published following Steered by operational units content of several evaluation reports. Evaluations studies that are especially demanding in terms of approval from the commissioning Results are communicated as and, if necessary, evaluative studies with appropri- the methods used, such as randomised control tri- Reports are published following party/client approval from the commissioning needed ate methodology from a given year, sector, region als, as well as for evaluative studies of innovative party/client or regarding a topic are analysed and factors influ- or strategically important projects. encing success or failure are identified, along with best practices. Existing experience-based knowl- External evaluations edge and expertise are pooled, thereby supporting Central project evaluations the planning and implementation of projects as GIZ’s work is also evaluated by other organi- for bilateral projects, by region too. This results well as the further development of services or sations: for example, the European Union, the Central project evaluations account for the vast in budgets set on the basis of specific topics, with sector and country strategies. The Evaluation German Federal Foreign Office, the German majority of GIZ evaluations. GIZ uses central approximately 40 per cent of the projects covered Unit receives suggestions from the company and Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature project evaluations to evaluate the results, cost- being selected at random. proposes topics itself. The unit decides which Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the effectiveness and sustainability of projects that topics to select in consultation with the managing German Institute for Development Evaluation it carries out together with its partners on behalf Central project evaluations provide evdence-based director responsible for the evaluation. (DEval). These evaluations examine individual of the German Federal Ministry for Economic information for accountability, the planning of a projects as well as overarching themes, strategies, Cooperation and Development (BMZ). To this follow-on commission, steering of the ongoing Meta evaluations evaluate evaluations. They instruments and programmes in order to focus end, since 2017 all BMZ projects coming to an project or strategic reflection with partners and review the usefulness, process quality and German development cooperation. end in a particular year that have a commission commissioning parties/clients. If necessary, pre- methodological quality of evaluations and value of EUR 3 million upwards have been placed decessor projects are also taken into consideration evaluative studies and provide insights into in the pool of samples – separately for each in order to be able to provide a more robust basis how these factors can be improved. region, from Asia to Africa through to global for statements on long-term results and sustain- programmes. Since 2020, this sample has been ability. Central project evaluations can also be selected according to BMZ budget items and, implemented for individual projects if they are Evaluation report 2020 Using knowledge Contents Editorial Core theme 1. GIZ profile Foreword Focus: Governance Cover Managing Director 9 Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel GIZ’s evaluation system 4 ‘Governance’ – a key role in sustainable development Cover Introduction ‘Increasing the value 10 and use of evaluations’ Interview with Albert Engel, More effective institutions – but a limited impact on Director of the Evaluation policy Unit Corporate strategic evalu- 6 ation on ‘advisory service on governance’ 11 ‘Promoting Good Financial Governance in Zambia’ Central project evaluation 20
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