GUIDELINES FOR APPLYING THE CLIMATE AND ECOSYSTEMS HEALTH CRITERION IN THE COMMISSIONING, DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EVALUATIONS

In order for CEH considerations to be included in the evaluation of all government interventions, a new evaluation criterion entitled ‘Climate and Ecosystems Health’ has been developed, which is to be applied alongside the existing OECD DAC criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability.

The main purpose of this guideline is to introduce the CEH criterion and to provide guidance on how to apply the criterion in the commissioning, implementation and management of evaluations. The guideline is targeted at the programme managers and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) staff within government departments at national, provincial and local levels that are tasked with undertaking evaluations3. The guideline will also be of value to the evaluators (internal or external) commissioned to do the evaluations.

The guideline provides a roadmap, flagging at which points in the process of commissioning, implementing and managing evaluations CEH-related considerations could and should be taken into account. As such, it covers the steps involved in preparing for an evaluation; developing the terms of reference (ToR) for an evaluation; managing the evaluation; and the post-evaluation development of an improvement plan and communication of the evaluation findings and recommendations. Given the often technical and complex nature of CEH-related issues, the guideline also provides an overview of the key concepts and features of CEH that underlie the rationale and dimensions of the evaluation criterion. As such, the guideline also functions as a resource document with suggestions for additional readings, tools and so on provided throughout.

The guideline is structured as follows:

• Section 2: defines the key concepts related to CEH that are used in the guideline and provides an overview of the main features of the climate and ecosystems crises, globally and in the South African context. A systemic view of the interrelationship between the socio-economic and environmental is also offered as a way of understanding how interventions fit into the wider systems within which they operate.
• Section 3: explains the new CEH criterion by unpacking its various dimensions.
• Section 4: outlines the principles that underpin a CEH focus which commissioners, implementers and managers of evaluations need to apply within their respective roles.
• Section 5: discusses how to incorporate CEH into the evaluation process in a way that encourages the likelihood of use of the evaluation
• Section 6: considers what CEH considerations need to be addressed in the preparation for the commissioning of the evaluation.
• Section 7: focuses on the various elements of the ToR, offering suggestions for how to incorporate CEH into the TORs.
• Section 8: considers the management of the evaluation, and how CEH can be brought in.
• Section 9: considers the post evaluation process and how CEH should be brough in.