ABSTRACT
Although evaluations always have a cost, their benefit depends on use: no use, no benefit. Evaluation contributes to the Global Environment Facility's (GEF's) accountability and development effectiveness, its institutional learning and evidence-based policy-making, and its organizational effectiveness. The GEF uses evaluation results to inform its planning, programming, budgeting, implementation, and reporting cycle. In particular, the GEF comprehensive evaluation (referred to as OPS, for overall performance study), completed every four years by the GEF Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), illustrates the implementation of the evaluation policy. This chapter explore the crucial factors beyond credibility for evaluation's use: timeliness (availability at the time that decisions are made), relevance (responsiveness to demand), engagement (of intended users), and clarity (user-friendly style).
