In November 2008 the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council asked the GEF Evaluation Office to carry out an evaluation of the GEF Strategic Priority for Adaptation (SPA) pilot program. The evaluation was conducted fully and independently by the GEF Evaluation Office with support from the GEF Secretariat, GEF Agencies, governments, and civil society organizations. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide lessons and experiences from implementation of the first climate change adaptation strategy supported by the GEF and thereby assist the GEF Council in making further decisions on adaptation. It included four areas of assessment:
- Relevance of the strategy to the GEF mandate and focal areas, as well as to countries' national sustainable development and adaptation agenda
- Effectiveness of the proposed adaptation measures
- Efficiency of project development and management in implementing the strategy
- Results of the strategy and projects thus far as well as their sustainability
With 26 projects in its portfolio amounting to $48.35 million financed by the GEF, the SPA reached its financial close at the end of GEF 4 (June 2010), and all of its resources are now fully allocated. The evaluation conducted a review of the 26 projects using a common project review protocol, and extensive interviews were completed with stakeholders at several stages of the evaluation process. In the field, two projects in Namibia were visited. The evaluation also included a comparative analysis with nine non-SPA GEF projects to assess how these projects addressed, or did not address, climate change and adaptation options.
The evaluation was presented to the GEF Council meeting in November 2010. Upon reviewing the document as well as the management response from the GEF Secretariat and GEF Agencies, the Council asked that the Secretariat continue to manage the implementation of the SPA portfolio and to ensure that mainstreaming resilience and adaptation in the GEF focal areas continues as a means of reducing the risks of climate change impacts to the GEF portfolio.