Conference 2024 Sessions

The opening plenary provides an overview of the themes and challenges that will be grappled with during the Fourth Conference on Evaluating Environment and Development, organized by the GEF Independent Evaluation Office. This year’s theme is the integration of various environmental domains, including between environmental and socioeconomic and policy domains, and what this means for evaluation…

This panel will present the four key elements involved in ensuring sustainable food security. First, we will discuss how we develop methods to assess the sustainability of food security (specifically, ensuring the sustainability of food production) in the context of a rapidly changing climate. The second element involves scaling up and refining this method, which will be presented as steps…

The session is focused on how transformational change is conceptualized and accounted for by evaluation organizations, and how evaluators and evaluation systems are capturing - and encouraging - transformational change. We will explore a selection of approaches and case studies to discuss the intersection of transformational change and meeting global development and environmental goals. We…

In regions marked by fragility, conflict, and vulnerability (FVC), traditional evaluation methods often fall short in capturing the nuanced dynamics and complexities at play. This session delves into the unique challenges and opportunities of evaluating environmental programs and interventions in such contexts, offering insights and strategies for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers…

The session title uses the word “Quest” with the following meaning: “A long search for something that is difficult to find, or an attempt to achieve something difficult.” A quest is a journey not an end state.

Think of a quest as a journey up a mountain where people are on different paths. The paths may diverge and converge along the way. The questers may have different intentions,…

Environmental sustainability is critically important, yet most evaluations do not include it unless it is a stated goal of the intervention. This session will cover why environmental sustainability must be mainstreamed in all evaluations, what it will take to do it, and early experiences thinking this through for a specific evaluation system. This session will explore both the “supply side” (…

This session will cover both depth and variety in content as we examine the topics of pollution, chemicals, and water from an organizational perspective, with case studies of bringing the socio-economic dimension into interventions, and through the lens of communities of practice. We will explore how evaluation can capture and influence the environmental, health, and social repercussions of…

In evaluation practice, the integration of scientific principles and methodologies ensures rigor, reliability, and relevance to analyses and findings, and can bring legitimacy to decision-making. This conference session will illuminate the symbiotic relationship between science and evaluation, showcasing how insights from various scientific disciplines enrich and inform evaluation…

In this dynamic and collaborative session, we will convene leaders from pivotal evaluation organizations, alongside managers, facilitators, and users engaged in key evaluation networks, communities of practice, and resource platforms. The overarching objective is to delve into an insightful discussion regarding the diverse roles and functions of these networks.

As part of the…

Cities account for 56 percent of the world's population, approximately 80 percent of global GDP and energy consumption, and contribute to 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Due to the rise in population and income levels, urban demand for goods and services is on the ascent. Cities grapple with diverse challenges related to sustainability, encompassing economic, environmental, governance…

This session will draw from research, case studies, and an institutional perspective to highlight the demands placed on evaluation to reflect the intersectionality of socio-economic and environmental domains. Panelists bring a wealth of experience and knowledge on integrated evaluation approaches, and measuring social-economic and key development impacts in the context of environmental and…

Join us for an immersive plenary centered on Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and their pivotal role in addressing contemporary environmental challenges. This conference session will delve into the transformative potential of harnessing nature to generate sustainable solutions to meet development needs, while emphasizing the importance of robust and fit-for-purpose evaluation methods to measure…

This plenary gathers panelists with extensive experience in building, advising on, and sustaining the environmental portfolios of philanthropic organizations, foundations, and other private actors. The session will center around Q&A on private sector financing toward meeting global environmental goals (not only mitigation but also adaptation, ecosystem management, biodiversity, etc.). The…

The evaluation of private sector engagement in climate and conservation finance is a complex and evolving field. This session will address lessons learned from studies of enabling policy, innovative financing mechanisms, interdisciplinary approaches and partnerships on sustainability, scalability, and replicability to enhance our understanding regarding effectiveness of leveraging private…

Join us for a comprehensive session on inclusion, covering various aspects such as evaluating inclusion in development projects or programs, adopting approaches to ensure inclusive evaluation practices, and exploring inclusivity within the evaluation field. Our panelists will share their experiences, including assessing inclusion in project evaluations, utilizing innovative methods to…

This session aims to provide an overview of case studies, current practices, and advancements in climate change mitigation and evaluation practice. Each expert presenter brings in-depth perspective and experience through the lenses of the private sector, a development bank, government, and academia. We’ll explore the role and significance of evaluation in ensuring consistent and reliable data…

This session will focus on how large environmental funds have sought to define and capture sustainability through evaluation practice and through institutional standards and policies. This panel of speakers brings a breadth and depth of experience from operational and strategic perspectives to highlight current best practices and innovations in measuring sustainability and the challenges it…

This session will explore case studies, lessons learned, and tools and practices shaping the way adaptation and climate resilience have been defined and evaluated. We will touch on institutional efforts reflecting progress and challenges with adaptation efforts across Asia and the Pacific, and in the Caribbean. We will also examine evaluation best practices and innovations in relation to…

The aim of this session is to foster an understanding of why we need to integrate ecosystem health and an equity perspective into all evaluations and some practical ways of how we might do this. Recent environmental and humanitarian disasters, including flooding, fires, droughts and pollution, have starkly highlighted the interconnectedness of human and natural ecosystems, underscoring the…

This session will provide space for evaluators, researchers, and practitioners to share experiences, challenges, and successes in employing mixed methods approaches in the complex landscape of integrated environmental interventions. We will explore the significance and necessity of mixed methods in capturing the socioeconomic and environmental dimensions of policies and interventions for…

Evaluation practice in the health sector has long drawn on behavior sciences to assess mechanisms and conditions for behavior change. These tools and frameworks have made their way into other sectors, including cross-cutting environmental topics in the context of development, to help capture and analyze uptake of training and capacity building efforts, and understand larger scale adoption of…

As the world strives towards achieving environmental sustainability, the need for robust quantitative evaluation methods becomes increasingly evident. This conference session aims to delve into the design and use of such methods, approaches, and tools, and their pivotal role in addressing pressing environmental challenges while promoting equitable development. Drawing from interdisciplinary…

Achieving forestry, land-use management, and biodiversity conservation goals are pivotal to achieving the global environmental goals tied to sustainable development. This conference session will delve into the critical importance of evaluation and evaluation methodologies in assessing the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of interventions in these interconnected domains. Attendees will…

The panel discussion aims to explore how countries can transform and strengthen evaluation systems and practices to mainstream sustainability, inform on systemic challenges and use evaluative findings to advocate for better policies for people and the planet. The plenary will showcase experiences across countries and discuss challenges and opportunities to how evaluation practices can better…

The objective of this session is for participants to experience a range of perspectives on why decolonizing evaluation and evaluation systems is ​essential​ and how this affects their practice - whether they work in ​local, ​national or donor evaluation systems, whether they are commissioning, undertaking or using evaluation evidence. The session explores how a focus on decolonization helps to…

This session pulls together a diversity of accomplished panelists with experience supporting country-driven evaluations to explore the significance of country-led evaluations in shaping policies and programs that are contextually relevant, equitable and inclusive, and sustainable. Participants will gain insights into how such evaluations can empower local stakeholders, including governments at…

Many people attending the conference are involved in initiatives that seek to change the way evaluation is undertaken in influential institutions. These efforts are sometimes known to each other and in some instances operate independently. The purpose of this session will be to create a sense of shared endeavor. This will be an opportunity for people working on integrating environmental and…

As we conclude this enlightening conference journey, we will reflect on the pivotal role of evaluation in navigating the complex terrain of global environmental challenges and advancing sustainability goals worldwide. This closing plenary will serve as a call to action, inspiring attendees to harness the power of evaluation as a catalyst for transformative change in the face of urgent…