Independent Evaluation of the Scale-up Phase (2008-2013) of the UNDP-UNEP Poverty – Environment Initiative

This report presents the findings of an independent evaluation of the Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) which is a global programme, jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The programme supports country-led efforts to mainstream the nexus between poverty and environment (PEN) into national and sub-national development planning, including policy-making, budgeting, and monitoring. The scope of this evaluation was the PEI Scale-up Phase, which was launched in mid-2007, started implementation in January 2008, and ended in December 2013. This evaluation was commissioned by UNDP and UNEP and had two main purposes: 1) to make a broad and representative assessment of the programme performance, and 2) to provide forward-looking recommendations to strengthen the sustainability/exit strategy of the PEI beyond 2017 to inform the discussions of the Joint Management Board (JMB) and PEI donors about the future of the programme.