The two objectives for the evaluation were to:
- Assess progress and implementation by assessing the relevance and effectiveness of GPSDD.
- Identify lessons learned and make recommendations for the future role and work of GPSDD.
As such, the primary audiences for the evaluation are the GPSDD Secretariat, the GPSDD Board, the Funders Group and the Evaluation Committee. The secondary audiences for the evaluation are GPSDD partners – namely global and national CSOs, governments and the private sector.
Over the past five years, the partnership’s initial focus on data production and data gaps has given way to an emphasis on data use and how best to utilise data for sense-making and decision making. In the same vein, GPSDD gradually shifted its attention from addressing complex technical problems, to issues that demanded a combination of technical expertise, advocacy and communication skills. One facet of GPSDD’s model, which has remained constant throughout the different iterations of its agenda, concerns its open and intensively participatory approach to collaboration.
The evaluation concludes positively about the role and effectiveness of GPSDD within the complex global system in spite of challenges. It seeks to respond to the surge of demand from interviewees for GPSDD to scale up, validated by a healthy and resilient organisational performance. As a partnership originating from the SDG discussions and with an influential Board and wider network, many could argue that GPSDD has an obligation and responsibility to do what is within its power to progress action over the next nine years.
Naturally, any scale-up comes with risks, however, the scale-up envisaged for GPSDD is one grounded emphatically in its shared values and institutional agility; a source of great internal strength for the Secretariat, reflected in its networks and partnerships. The scale-up would build on the current structure and not necessarily incur significant additional headcount. It would be catalysed by organically matching demand and supply within its networks and partners, for example, at the global level aligning action through a newly devised policy advocacy agenda amongst other initiatives. In essence, GPSDD needs to continue to do the work it does at the country level and smartly integrate new networks and partnerships to scale results.
Read the GPSDD management response and watch a video discussing Itad’s recommendations.
