Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) has an important role to play in ensuring sustainable, effective progress towards the UK’s climate change objectives.
The UK Department of the Environment, Farming & Rural Affairs (Defra) has contracted Itad, in partnership with Oxford Policy Management, to co-lead a consortium providing MEL for its international programming.
Project: Maximising the effectiveness of Defra programming
Making progress before 2030 remains the UK’s first thematic priority
As the effects of climate change worsen, so does the increasing risk of ecosystem loss and decreased livelihoods.
“The linkages between nature loss, climate change, health, food security, economic security and prosperity have never been clearer.”
– 2023 Strategic Framework for International Climate and Nature Action
The UK government’s 2023 Integrated Review Refresh ranked tackling climate change, environmental damage and biodiversity loss as the UK’s first thematic priority.
In response, the UK Department of the Environment, Farming & Rural Affairs (Defra) has set out an ambitious strategic framework to:
- Keep 1.5°C alive by halving global emissions
- Build resilience to current and future climate impacts
- Halt and reverse biodiversity loss
This framework goes beyond avoiding threats from climate change and considers the interconnected opportunities that a transition to net zero and climate resilience can afford, globally.
To deliver on these ambitions, Defra has built a portfolio of international development assistance programmes focused on:
- Climate change
- Terrestrial and marine biodiversity
- Food security
- Global health
- Poverty
Itad is delivering MEL for Defra’s International Programming
Defra has selected a consortium, co-led by Itad and Oxford Policy Management as its strategic delivery partner for MEL for all international programming.
Through this consortium, and with the support of a wider network of thematic, methodological and regional partners, we are providing tailored support to enable Defra to maximise the effectiveness of its programming.
We will provide insights that aim to improve programme delivery, promote evidence-based strategic direction, and enable Defra to account for and measure its impact.
To do this, we are supplying a wide range of MEL services to Defra, including:
- MEL framework development and evaluation design.
- Process, impact and value for money evaluations of Defra-funded programmes.
- Cross-cutting evaluations of particular themes of interest across Defra’s international portfolio.
- Wider evidence generation and support to strategic learning.
Find out more about our MEL services
Our core consortium partners are: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP), Howell Marine Consulting and Resource Futures.
This is bolstered by a wider network of thematic, methodological and regional partners that will enable us to provide tailored teams to meet the needs of a wide range of assignments.
