9 April 2014: A high-level panel discussion on Evaluation and the Post-2015 Development Agenda took place during UN Evaluation Week at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Panelists urged countries in the region to strengthen national evaluation capacities and adopt better monitoring and evaluation tools, in view of the emerging post-2015 development agenda.

ESCAP Executive Secretary Shamshad Akhtar said that, as the countries move from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they will need to strengthen national evaluation capacities to adapt the global goals to their own specific circumstances. She highlighted that the MDG experience has shown the need for stronger national, regional and global monitoring and evaluation systems.

Deborah Rugg, Chair of the UN Evaluation Group (UNEG), emphasized the importance of ‘country-owned, equity-focused evaluation’ that provides information to enable mid-course corrections.

UN Evaluation Week took place in the Asia-Pacific region for the first time, from 31 March-4 April 2014, in Bangkok, Thailand. The UN Evaluation Development Group for Asia and the Pacific (UNEDAP) and ESCAP co-organized the event. Over 120 participants from the region took part, including representatives of more than 20 UN agencies and 15 countries. UNEG Evaluation Week is an annual event involving Member States and evaluators from across the UN system.

The upcoming 2015 International Year of Evaluation was highlighted in a UNEG event on 26 February 2014, during the Operational Activities for Development Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The side event explored ways to ensure an enabling environment for evidence-based decision making, and how to place the issue of national evaluation capacity building on the post-2015 development agenda. [ESCAP Press Release] [UNEG Website] [Webpage on ECOSOC Event]