UNICEF COVID-19 Learning Evaluation | Round 1
The COVID-19 Learning Evaluation is based on methods adapted from developmental and real-time evaluation.
About
Description / Rationale:
The evaluation is focused on UNICEF’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic including the public health response and the immediate, medium, and longer-term impact of containment measures. As such, this evaluation considers areas of operations (e.g. supply, communications and advocacy, programming, human resources, monitoring and reporting, coordination, resource mobilization, and partnerships) as well as strategy and technical response. The evaluation also considers response to longer-term socio-economic impacts. This scope is in line with the COVID-19 Programme Monitoring and Analysis Framework (18 June 2020).
This report covers one of several rounds under the COVID-19 Learning Evaluation (May 2020 to February 2021). Upon completion, the Evaluation Office will produce a synthesis for which a Management Response will be requested.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to unfold around the world and the response of the global community is unprecedented in both its scale and complexity. In order to support organizational learning and promote adaptive management in its response, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a learning evaluation of its global COVID-19 response in May 2020. The COVID-19 Learning Evaluation (CLE) was designed to provide ‘good enough’ evidence to equip UNICEF decision-makers with the information they need to adapt the organization’s approach throughout the pandemic response.
The exercise draws on elements of real-time evaluation and developmental evaluation to provide feedback and generate learning that is of use to the current response and the longer-term goals of UNICEF. The primary audience for this evaluation is UNICEF staff responsible for coordinating and leading the organization’s COVID-19 response, including the COVID-19 Global Secretariat and teams at UNICEF headquarters.
In terms of process, an embedded evaluation team worked collaboratively with UNICEF staff to develop an initial learning agenda to support the UNICEF response to COVID-19. The learning agenda was developed in a three-phase approach to source, synthesize and prioritize questions. Questions were synthesized and then validated in discussion with the COVID-19 Secretariat and Directors at headquarters. Finally, the team refined priority questions for Round 1, based on this input, to ensure focus, utility, and evaluability. The exercise resulted in three topic areas identified as priorities for learning.
Between mid-June and August, the evaluation team conducted stakeholder consultations (individual and small-group key informant interviews (KIIs)), document review and a fly-on-the-wall (FoTW) approach in which the embedded evaluators listened in on meetings and calls, attending as observers not participants. In August and September, initial findings were vetted internally and revisions were subsequently made.
