ABSTRACT
This chapter probes the origins and evolution of the organization's mandate, assesses its record in aid delivery, and makes the case for a thorough reform of its evaluation arrangements. A credible evaluation function for the UN development system implies a genuine effort to involve developing countries in the process. Since then globalization has transformed the international system. Emerging markets have become the engine of the international economy. Trade, migration, and foreign direct investment flows have become major vehicles of resource transfer. The UN has played a major role in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Pragmatic multilateralism means exercising the art of the possible and accepting that multilateralism takes different forms. While the quality of evaluation systems and processes varies across the system, recurring themes nonetheless are striking: a lack of structural independence; failure to adopt explicit evaluation policies; inadequate budgets; spotty quality assurance; and limited use of evaluation findings. Two solutions impose themselves: external assessment and tracking; and independent system-wide evaluations.
