UNDP conducts evaluations within two different categories: independent centralised evaluations conducted by the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) and decentralised evaluations commissioned by programme units, including country offices, regional bureaus, and practice and policy bureaus.

The core function of the IEO is to conduct thematic and programmatic evaluations. The IEO also prepares the Annual Report on Evaluation, sets standards and guidelines on evaluation, monitors compliance on evaluation and shares lessons for improved programming.

Its mandate therefore covers the following overall functions:

• governance and accountability (recording and reporting)
• conduct of independent evaluations (planning and conducting evaluations)
• partnership and knowledge management (outreach and learning)
• united nations reform (harmonisation and joint evaluations)
• management (IEO budget and recruitment)
• decentralised evaluations (standards, methodology and good practice)
• national evaluation capacity development.

Evaluation within the UNDP is guided by an Evaluation Policy, supported by a set of Ethical Guidelines and a Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results.

The IEO reports to the UNDP Executive Board and is functioning as an independent body. The IEO is headed by a Director, who has full authority over the conduct and content of evaluations and presents them directly to the Executive Board. Evaluation work plans are derived from the organisational four-year strategy and subject to approval by the Executive Board.