Introduction to Environmental Evaluation Approaches and Tools

Are you looking to expand your evaluation skills? Have you been wanting to integrate environmental targets in your tracking of the Sustainable Development Goals? Do you wonder how to report on your project’s achievements in relation to the SDGs when it can take years to see concrete changes on the ground?

This course is a self-paced online training designed to provide foundational frameworks and tools for evaluating the environmental dimensions of a development intervention. With the increasing global awareness on how social and economic issues are interrelated with environmental issues, this course aims to fill the knowledge gap on how to integrate environmental considerations when evaluating development interventions.

What Will I Learn?

This course distills the key approaches and tools we have developed, particularly for evaluating the environmental dimensions of development interventions. The course consists of five modules:

  • Module 1 provides a background on why it is important to integrate environmental concerns in evaluations of development interventions.
  • Module 2 introduces the use of a systems approach when developing or expanding an intervention’s theory of change.
  • Module 3 introduces the benefits of using geospatial approaches in evaluating environmental concerns.
  • Module 4 gives examples of how geospatial approaches can be combined with more common quantitative and qualitative evaluation approaches.
  • Module 5 provides tools to assess the likelihood of long-term impact occurring, such as through indicators of transformational change.

This course was developed by the Independent Evaluation Office of the Global Environment Facility (GEF IEO). Celebrating our 20th year in 2023, we are the longest running independent evaluation office focused exclusively on evaluating environment-related topics. This course draws on our 20 years of evaluation experience.

How Do I Access the Course

To access the course, you will need to create an account on the WBG Edcast site using an email address, or a Microsoft or Google account. Click here to get started.

We hope you enjoy the course! Any comments or suggestions to help make the course more learner-friendly and relevant are appreciated. You can give feedback at any time by clicking here or emailing jgarcia2@thegef.org.