40. Evaluations for consideration by the Governing Bodies: During the 2004-05 biennium, the following major evaluations were presented to the Governing Bodies through the Programme Committee. For each of these evaluations the full report is available on the FAO evaluation website¹⁴, together with the management response to the evaluation and the reactions of the Programme Committee.

41. Evaluations of cross-organizational strategies, as defined in the FAO Strategic Framework, and of means of action and institutional arrangements of the Organization, have covered:

1. Evaluation of FAO’s Decentralization (evaluation brief 1);
2. Independent Review of the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) (evaluation brief 2);
3. Evaluation of the Cross-organizational Strategy on Communicating FAO's Messages (evaluation brief 3);
   
   Also completed in September 2005 but not as yet considered by the Governing Bodies:
4. Evaluation of the Cross-organizational Strategy on Broadening Partnerships and Alliances
   (evaluation brief 4).

42. Programme evaluations providing an integrated analysis of the normative and technical cooperation work (with separate internal annexes on TCP projects covered and recently, also on the individual programme entities):

1. Evaluation of FAO Activities in Crop Production (evaluation brief 5);
2. Evaluation of FAO Activities in Fisheries Exploitation and Utilization (evaluation brief 6); and
3. Evaluation of Livestock Production, Policy and Information (evaluation brief 7).

43. Evaluations examining the totality of FAO’s work in particular countries were summarised for the Governing Bodies in “Synthesis of Findings of Two Internal Evaluations of Work at Country Level: FAO Response to the Continuing Crisis in Southern Africa and FAO Post-Conflict Programme in Afghanistan”¹⁵.

44. Auto-evaluation: The auto-evaluations completed in 2004 were summarised and presented to the Programme Committee for information¹⁶. In future, summary information on auto evaluation will be provided as part of the Programme Implementation Report.

45. Global evaluations of individual trust fund programmes with FAO: For other evaluations conducted in the Organization, summaries are made available on the FAO evaluation website and the reports are provided in full for the funders, beneficiary countries and for FAO’s own use. They are also selectively made available to other interested parties on request. Global evaluations of trust funded programmes have been varied. During the biennium, evaluations were undertaken of:

1. The FAO Netherlands Partnership Programme (FNPP), first annual evaluation of the work with mission visits to a sample of countries;
2. Sustainable Livelihoods Development Programme (GCP/INT/803/UK) with the lead taken by an external consultancy firm commissioned by UK-DFID;
3. Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Facility (GCP/INT/804/UK);
4. Rural Women and Development Collection, Processing and Dissemination of Information (DIMITRA Phase II); (GCP/INT/810/BEL); and
5. Horticultural Variety Performance Information System (Hortivar) (GCP/INT/697/BEL).

46. Evaluations in cooperation with other agencies: High priority is given to UN system evaluation and the Evaluation Service is contributing to a study of the potential for collaborative and joint evaluation at country level. For the evaluation of the Tsunami response, the Service is working with a number of agencies¹⁷ on the evaluation of needs assessment and targeting of responses. Also for the Tsunami emergency, the Service is undertaking a real-time evaluation of FAO’s response, including missions by specialist teams and beneficiary assessments. This evaluation is being coordinated with that of other agencies through ALNAP¹⁸.

Country and Regional Project Evaluations

47. A table summarising the 29 project evaluations undertaken by independent missions during 2004-05 is provided as Annex 1.

Programme of Evaluations for 2006-07

48. The Evaluation Service is charged with facilitating the Independent External Evaluation of FAO (which at the time of writing was to be submitted for approval to the Hundred and Twenty-ninth Session of the Council). If requested by the independent evaluation core team, it is envisaged that staff will be assigned to provide the needed facilitation in each of the areas covered, i.e.: the technical work of FAO; management and organization; governance; and FAO’s role in the multilateral system. The Service will also provide the secretariat to the Council Committee overseeing the evaluation. This may have some impact on the remaining programme of work which includes:

1. Evaluations for consideration by the Governing Bodies:
1. Evaluation of the Strategic Framework Corporate Strategy D Strategic Objective D.2: Conservation, rehabilitation and development of environments at the greatest risk (initiated 2005 – for completion 2006);
2. Evaluation of TeleFood in follow-up to the evaluation of the Cross-organizational Strategy on Communicating FAO’s Messages (initiated 2005 – for completion 2006);
3. Independent evaluation of the workings of the International Plant Protection Convention and its institutional arrangements which will be reported to the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) and also feed as a case study into the overall evaluation of Strategic Framework Corporate Strategy B, Strategic Objective B.1: International instruments concerning food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and the production, safe use and fair exchange of agricultural, fishery and forestry goods (initiated 2005 – for completion 2006-07);
4. Evaluation of FAO's Work on Commodity and Trade Issues under Programmes 2.2.3 and 2.2.4 in the Commodities and Trade Division (initiation 2006 - for completion 2006-07);
5. Evaluation of FAO effectiveness at country level – a series of country-level evaluations from which lessons will be synthesised for presentation to the Programme Committee in the 2008-09 biennium (first evaluation initiated for Mozambique); and
6. Evaluation of FAO work in the assessment of food needs in emergencies and situations of unstable deficit - possibly jointly with WFP - (initiation 2006 - for completion 2007).
2. Other major evaluations:
1. Tsunami Response Real-Time Evaluation (completion 2006); and
2. Support to the Independent Multilateral Evaluation of the 2003-05 Desert Locust Campaign (initiation 2005 – completion 2006).

IV. EVALUATION BRIEFS - MAJOR EVALUATIONS

1. Evaluation of FAO’s Decentralization

2. Independent Review of the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP)

3. Evaluation of the Cross-organizational Strategy on Communicating FAO's Messages

4. Evaluation of the Cross-organizational Strategy on Broadening Partnerships and Alliances

5. Evaluation of FAO Activities in Crop Production

6. Evaluation of FAO Activities in Fisheries Exploitation and Utilization

7. Evaluation of Livestock Production, Policy and Information