Cover: Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)

Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)

Stage 1a Evaluation

Published in: gov.uk website (2022)

Posted on RAND.org on March 23, 2022

by Susan Guthrie, Tom Ling, Catriona Manville, Mann Virdee, Ben Baruch, Hamish Evans, Carolina Feijao, Joe Francombe, Cagla Stevenson, Isabel Vogel, et al.

Stage 1a assesses GCRF's core commissioning and management functions via four modules that focus on management, relevance and targeting, fairness and the integration of gender, social inclusion and poverty as core concerns in the Fund. The aim is to provide a learning (formative) assessment to ensure that the conditions are in place to support GCRF's outcomes and impact. Stage 1a will produce an in-depth view of how GCRF works as a fund, where it is working well and where it could be improved.

The aim of the Management Review is to analyse the strategy, processes and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) within GCRF, and make an initial review of value for money (VfM) within the Fund. The Management Review addresses four sub-evaluation questions (EQs) as follows:

  • How is strategic leadership addressed in GCRF and to what extent does it cascade through the Fund to provide a consistent focus on development impact to realise the Fund's aims and purpose?
  • How do processes work and to what extent do these support the delivery of ODA excellence in line with aims and strategy?
  • To what extent does M&E drive learning and to what extent is information available to support effective decision making?
  • To what extent are systems in place to support and help manage the delivery of value for money?

The Management Review and the other three modules together contribute to addressing Stage 1a's main evaluation question (MEQ) 1: 'Is the GCRF relevant, coherent, well-targeted, fair, gender-sensitive, socially inclusive and well-managed?'

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