Terminal Evaluation of the UNEP/GEF Project “Strengthening Endogenous Capacities of Least Developed Countries to Access Finance for Climate Change Adaptation” GEF ID 10525 (2021-2025)

Simple item page
dc.contributor.approvalRecordDirector, Evaluation Office
dc.contributor.authorEvaluation Office of UNEP
dc.contributor.organizationEvaluation Office
dc.contributor.otherIva Bernhardt
dc.coverage.spatialAsia
dc.coverage.spatialSouth Asia
dc.coverage.spatialBangladesh
dc.coverage.spatialBhutan
dc.coverage.spatialAfrica
dc.coverage.spatialWest Africa
dc.coverage.spatialBurkina Faso
dc.coverage.spatialEast Africa
dc.coverage.spatialEthiopia
dc.coverage.spatialGambia
dc.coverage.spatialLiberia
dc.coverage.spatialMalawi
dc.coverage.spatialMozambique
dc.coverage.spatialNepal
dc.coverage.spatialRwanda
dc.coverage.spatialSenegal
dc.coverage.spatialUnited Republic of Tanzania
dc.coverage.spatialUganda
dc.date.accessioned2026-08-24T11:55:25Z
dc.date.issued2026-07
dc.descriptionThis report evaluates the UNEP/GEF project “Strengthening Endogenous Capacities of Least Developed Countries to Access Finance for Climate Change Adaptation” (GEF ID 10525), implemented from December 2021 to June 2025. The project aimed to improve LDCs' ability to implement climate adaptation by fostering technical services for project development, policy mainstreaming, and climate finance across 13 LUCCC member universities in Africa and Asia. The evaluation assessed relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability, gathering data through field visits in Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania, over seventy Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and document reviews. The evidence was analysed against a reconstructed Theory of Change. The project received an overall Satisfactory rating. Key findings include: (i) UNILEAD validated an innovative university-embedded think tank model for climate finance, with three of four outcomes achieved or exceeded; (ii) 423 people were trained (target 300), 13 demand-led technical outputs were delivered (target 12), and co-financing exceeded plans by 17%; (iii) sustainability is rated Unlikely mainly due to unsigned government MoUs, unproven fee-for-services model, and lack of transition funding for the four think tanks. Main recommendations for UNEP include formalizing MoUs within six months, mobilizing at least USD 200,000 in seed funding, and designing UNILEAD 2.0 with a two-step model and sufficient budget. Implementing parties should embed GESI requirements from the start, apply milestone-based due diligence to partners, develop a climate finance project repository on WeAdapt, and create succession plans to mitigate key-person risks.
dc.description.fundingModalityGEF
dc.description.reviewStatusinternal review only
dc.description.statusFinal
dc.description.urihttps://www.unep.org/evaluation-office
dc.identifier.urihttps://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/49853
dc.languageEnglish
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGOen
dc.rights.accessLevelPublic
dc.rights.copyrightUnited Nations Environment Programme
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/
dc.subject.sdgSDG 13 - Climate Action
dc.titleTerminal Evaluation of the UNEP/GEF Project “Strengthening Endogenous Capacities of Least Developed Countries to Access Finance for Climate Change Adaptation” GEF ID 10525 (2021-2025)
dc.typeEvaluation resource

Download

Original bundle

Showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
10525_2026_te_unep-gef_ca_msp_global_UNILEAD.pdf
Size:
2.99 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Terminal Evaluation Report
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
GEF 10525 UNILEAD_TE_TOR_Final.pdf
Size:
875.87 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Terms of Reference
Download

Collections

Evaluation reports