30 April 2015
Report Identifies Lessons from MDGs for Post-2015 Monitoring
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The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) released a report detailing lessons from the monitoring framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and exploring how they can be applied to the post-2015 development agenda.

United Nations15 April 2015: The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has released a report detailing lessons from the monitoring framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and exploring how they can be applied to the post-2015 development agenda.

‘Thematic Evaluation of monitoring and evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals: lessons learned for the post-2015 era’ details the variety of monitoring arrangements pertaining to the MDGs, and how they evolved over time. The MDGs themselves included no specific provisions for evaluation, the report notes, so the components were designed and housed by different actors and institutions. The report also describes how the Inter-agency and Expert Group (IAEG) on MDG Indicators was established to coordinate statistical information across bodies.

Based on these experiences, OIOS urges that a “clear, overarching framework of monitoring and evaluation objectives, role/responsibility definitions and coordination mechanisms” be included in the post-2015 development agenda from the time of its agreement. Similarly, it draws attention to the need for capacity building and mobilization of funds to develop statistical operations at the national level.

As a proposal for an overarching monitoring and evaluation framework, the report details a system of linked country, regional and global frameworks, with evaluation serving as a bridge among them. It looks to empower decision-makers at all levels to respond to progress made on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to make policy improvements along the way.

Finally, OIOS proposes that the UN Secretary-General create an overarching strategy and action plan for monitoring and evaluation, taking into account capacity development and relevance to decision-makers.

The OIOS report was issued by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) ahead of the substantive session of its Committee for Programme and Coordination. [Publication: Thematic Evaluation of monitoring and evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals: Lessons Learned for the Post-2015 Era]

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