ADR Mongolia 2011

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ADR Mongolia 2011

August 12, 2013

This report presents an independent country level evaluation conducted by the UNDP Evaluation Office in 2010. The evaluation examines the strategic relevance and positioning of UNDP support and contributions to the development of Mongolia from 2002 to early 2010. The report assesses UNDP interventions under various thematic areas of the country programme, with
a view to providing forward-looking recommendations for the next country programme, for the period 2012-2017.


Since 1990, when Mongolia embarked on a transition to a democratic polity and a market economy, UNDP has provided support in a wide range of
areas. These have included development of democratic mechanisms and electoral reforms, and capacity development and modernization of public
institutions. Persistent poverty, recurrent winter disasters and environmental degradation emerged as critical challenges to the country during this period. UNDP provided support to the Government of Mongolia to analyse poverty, develop an institutional response to natural disasters and initiate innovative conservation projects.

The evaluation finds that the UNDP programme was well aligned to national strategies and addressed critical development challenges faced by the country due to the strength of our partnership with the Government. UNDP’s contributions were most notable in policy support, which has led to the incorporation of a human development perspective into the country’s broad policy framework. Analysis from a human development perspective has been catalysed through a series of National Human Development Reports. The Government articulated a National Development Strategy in 2008 that emphasizes attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. UNDP also contributed to human development through its programmatic activities, in areas such as access to justice, awareness of domestic violence and enterprise development.


However, the evaluation concludes that UNDP has largely remained an implementer of development projects that often were not followed up, scaled up or replicated by national partners. Several of our projects demonstrated innovative approaches and led to some tangible results on the ground. But many of these projects were not designed as an integral part of a national effort by the Government or other partners, and hence their impact was limited and their sustainability questionable. The report recommends that for UNDP to remain relevant the partnership with government and people should be strengthened. UNDP should provide strategic support to national efforts and refrain from running parallel programmes and projects. A critical challenge for Mongolia is to reap the benefits from the profits of extractive mining, which are the main economic engine of the country, for human development in the face of persistent poverty and environmental fragility. UNDP clearly has a role to play in assisting the Government and the country to tackle this challenge. This evaluation identifies the strengths of our work in Mongolia and the potential to increase our contribution in the future. We hope that the report will be useful in building an even more effective partnership in the years to come, leading to demonstrable results for the Mongolian people.

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