Abu-Ghazaleh Calls for New UNDP Evaluation Standards

Abu-Ghazaleh: There is a need for objective standards, transparent processes and an information-sharing culture
AMMAN ---February 4, 2007--- Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and CEO of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGorg), called for the establishment of new evaluation standards to be utilized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

This call came in a speech delivered at the Arab States Regional Workshop on UNDP Evaluation Policy, held in Amman on February 4, 2007, where he proposed that the UNDP head this effort with other funding agencies.

?I suggest that the UNDP take the lead in organizing a joint workshop aiming at the development of harmonized benchmarks for norms and standards for monitoring and evaluation of projects in the Arab region,? Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh stated.

Also, he attributed the institutional gaps and capacity weaknesses related to UNDP evaluations to matters of social and political culture in the region.

?In order to effectively evaluate and monitor a broad range of different projects, there is a need for objective standards, transparent processes and an information-sharing culture,? Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh pointed out.

?Within a culture that places value on relationships over rules, it is easy to countenance subjective-based distortions of the objective reality,? he elaborated.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh also alluded to the importance of promoting social-indicators, and the interrelationship between economic and social development.

He highlighted the efforts of the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGorg) relating to Corporate Social Responsibility and called on the UNDP to become partners with TAGorg in its mandate of establishing a Global Compact Arab Region Network and a Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID) regional Arab network.

In conclusion, Mr.Abu-Ghazaleh stressed the fact that ?Growing the Economy is not merely about finance, trade and economics; it is about people.?