Independent Magazine - Issue n.3, 2022

ACCESS TO

INDEPENDENT EVALUATION

AT

IFAD

TRANSFORMED

In a move that bears few precedents among International Financial Institutions and United Nations entities, the Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE) and the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Division of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) jointly announce the official launch of a standalone website dedicated to IFAD’s independent evaluation function.

For the first time in its over forty-year history, IOE independently manages all content production, publishing, display and presentation, in an effort to guarantee full communication transparency. The new website – launched twelve months after the arrival of Dr Naidoo as Director of IOE – ensures that the right evaluative products reach the right people, and that the most relevant messages are brought to the forefront through appropriate online resources and integrated channels. Opportunities for real, tangible change are fast emerging, as the website facilitates greater impact of IOE’s work.

We are very excited about the launch of the first dedicated IOE website. This further entrenches the independence of the Office. I wish to make a special commendation to Thomas Bousios, Director of ICT, and the ICT team for working with us to design and launch a website within record-time. This helps to advance the commitment of IFAD to transparency, as all evaluative information will now be easily accessible, and in the public domain.

- Indran A. Naidoo, PhD, Director, IOE

We are very pleased to have worked with the IOE team and to see the release of their new interactive and easy to navigate website. The IOE team’s strong professionalism and pragmatic focus on the project scope, coupled with their leadership in prioritizing and taking decisions promptly, allowed for an excellent collaboration, and for the smooth and quick release of the new tool. We are delighted for this fruitful experience in partnering with the IOE, and look forward to continuing our close collaboration.

- Thomas Bousios, Director, ICT

As the Fund’s official gateway to all independent evaluation-related knowledge and information, this one-stop-shop encompasses the multi-faceted range of IOE’s product mix.

The website’s articulate offerings present users with an immersive experience, spanning the full spectrum of the evaluation function. Everything is now just one click away.

Intuitive and easy to navigate, the website responds to the particular nature of IOE’s work, which calls for enhanced synergies between the Office and its stakeholders. To this end, the platform fosters greater user engagement by speaking to the core of what IOE’s audience looks for, bolstering direct and flexible avenues for interaction, and inviting exciting opportunities for people to create a personal connection with the Office in a dynamic fashion.

Innovation and tradition merge in the site’s visual branding, which draws inspiration from the most innovative and graphically appealing visual solutions adopted by award-winning designers, while maintaining continuity with IFAD’s corporate identity.

In addition to ensuring immediate access to the complete repository of IOE’s reports, searchable through the new dashboard interface, the website features a suite of tailor-made digital solutions, customized to maximise the end-user experience. These include unprecedented access to over six hundred evaluation reports, staff professional profiles, work programmes and budgets, quality assurance processes, evaluation policies, manuals, on-line trainings, the multi-year strategy, and ratings database, in addition to a wide selection of books, case studies, briefs and learning notes. A rich media centre rounds-off this portfolio, with a fast-paced turnaround of stories, events, blogs, videos, podcasts, newsletters and magazines, complete with full social media integration.

“Great website. Beautiful and easy to navigate with rich contents.”

Osvaldo Néstor Feinstein, Professor, Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

“This helps to advance the commitment of IFAD to transparency.”

Carlos Alberto Amaral, Minister, Counsellor, Deputy Permanent

Representative of Angola to IFAD.

“Congratulations, it is terrific. Easy to navigate and very clear.”

Pearl Eliadis, Associate Professor, McGill University.

“Congratulations for this initiative and for making IFAD the first agency to get there!”

Paolo Silveri, Country Director, IFAD.

“The new IOE website features a brand-new interface. Existing content has been reclassified for easier discovery and many new sections have been created to host additional independent evaluation knowledge and information. It has truly been a very positive and smooth project journey, thanks to the productive collaboration with the IOE team and their strong dedication to the project output.”

- Federica Verri, Digital Workspace and Collaboration Tools Coordinator, ICT

“It is a pioneering effort, which has broken the mould in record-setting time. ‘Clean, crisp, fresh and modern’ is what people are looking for – and that’s exactly what we are striving to give them. For us, cookie cutter solutions are a thing of the past. The web-based resources, now at the disposal of our stakeholders, open wide countless pathways to genuine connection, interaction and engagement through an immersive dynamic. This is what really excites me the most.”

- Alexander Voccia, PhD Coordinator, Evaluation Communication Unit (project lead), IOE