Page - (000107) - in Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development

5.5 Challenges andLessonsLearnt 5.5.1 InGeneral Preparing such a report on the effectiveness of the international cooperation in climate change is indeed a challenging exercise: one has to deal with a mass of information,with awide andhighly diverse portfolio andwith avariety of actors; moreover developing a method for assessing adaption is a crucial challenge. Another demanding task is to inform a larger public on the results presented in a comprehensive and highly technical report in a synthesised but still relevant manner.Theelaborationof the report has shownclear limits thatmustbebalanced with too high expectations. Given the lack of comprehensive and reliable data as well as efficient and agreedmethodologies to collect quantitative data, mainly in the field of adaption, there is a risk that the results are either too generic at a portfolio level or that “showcases” are reduced to a fewexamples. 5.5.2 ForEvaluators • Resources: Thenumerous challenges for evaluators in a complex exercise start with theallocationof sufficient resources for suchapioneeringassessment.The expectation to conduct a pure accountability exercise in a most efficient way often leads to the allocation of insufficient resources. The absence of well- developedmethodologies, the huge size of data and information to be assessed in a large portfolio, combined with the expected lack of direct evidence of climate effectiveness has to be taken into account. • Expectations: The expectations have to be alignedwith the size of the invest- ment.Theex-post reconstructionofbaselinesand theassessmentofquantitative results is an intensive and time consuming process. If rigorous climate change related quantitative and qualitative data are not available in final reports or evaluations of the assessed projects, it is illusive to think that an assessment covering a portfolio of several hundred projects is able to fill that gap and to produceaggregatedquantitativedata, forexampleonmitigatedGHGemissions. When producing data on proxies or qualitative assessments, the expectations must be realistic, not to saymodest. • Independence isoneof themost importantprinciples inevaluations focusingon accountability. Ensuring this independence of the consultants in such an inno- vativeapproachishoweverchallenging. Itcouldeitherundermineaconstructive exchange between the consultant and the commissioner if implemented too strictly, leaving theconsultants tooisolated.Or itcould lead to in-depth involve- ment andmicro-managementby thecommissioner especially if there aredispa- rate perceptions on how to approach and address the upcoming challenges in developing themethodology from thevery beginning. 5 Lessons fromTakingStockof 12Years ofSwiss InternationalCooperation. . . 89