Evaluation is critical for promoting accountability and for understanding what we are doing right or wrong. These were the words of Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General, as he opened the UN Evaluation Group (UNEG) High-Level Event on 9 March 2015.

As 2015, the International Year of Evaluation, moves forward, there is increased recognition that "evaluation everywhere, and at every level, will play a key role in implementing the new development agenda", Mr Ban added. In fact, after an internal review by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and an external assessment by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, revealed that Millennium Development Goals were not sufficiently monitored, a decision was taken to make evaluation play a key role in ensuring adequate monitoring and evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals. That is why evaluation will only grow in importance, as UN Member States will shape the post-2015 development agenda.

Mr Ban also stressed the importance of national capacity-building on evaluation, which represents a major opportunity for countries to be "in the driver's seat from making of policy to the monitoring of results". This is made possible thanks to the adoption last year by UN Member States of a stand-alone resolution on evaluation, inviting the UN development system to further strengthen evaluation capacity at the country level.

"Evaluation is not easy. Nor it is popular. But is it essential", Mr Ban concluded, recognizing the shared responsibility of all UN Member States and organizations in strengthening this important function.

The UNEG High-Level Panel Event - titled "Bridge to a Better World - Evaluation at the Service of the Post-2015 Agenda" - was organized in the framework of the 2015 UNEG Evaluation Week, which took place in New York at the UN Headquarters from 9 to 13 March 2015. The UNEG Evaluation Week had also  included an Evaluation Practice Exchange (EPE) meeting from 11 to 13 March.