External review 2022

Every five years we commission an external review of our work. These findings help us remain fully focused on delivering our mission in the most effective way possible. In sharing the reports, we hope that our responses and the lessons we learn will be helpful to others.

15 August 2022

Cover of external reviewThis review, commissioned by IIED's main institutional funders, is a major undertaking, and requires work spread over more than a year with the engagement of a broad cross-section of IIED supporters, partners and users of our work.

The final report provides a hugely valuable assessment of the strengths and challenges facing the organisation, as well as shifts in the broader context in which we operate.

The most recent review was completed in August 2022. The review team of Zenda Ofir, Yves Renard and Louise Gallagher spent 18 months conducting a rigorous and deliberative process, which involved high levels of participation from IIED staff and a wider range of actors.

Their analysis identified several strengths within IIED’s structure and approach that are core to our demonstrable impact, as well as caution that all these elements are subject to internal and external pressures. 

IIED's management team produced a response to the review, which accepts the analysis and the proposed actions, and set out a proposal to act on the main findings.

I am grateful for these insights into the challenges IIED faces and our opportunities for action. It affirms that we have a special role, one that is growing with the scale and pace of the environment and development crises we face. The review team lay out a rich agenda for IIED to reflect on and take forward

Andrew Norton, IIED’s outgoing director

In the spirit of transparency and full disclosure, we have made these documents available on our website, including annexes with diagrams and tables.

We welcome any feedback on them, and are happy to share further details on the methodology and process followed.

Download the external review 

Related pages 

  • IIED's annual review focuses on how IIED is keeping up the pressure in a critical year for climate, nature and people
  • Our five-year strategy sets out how we aim to Make Change Happen. It identifies the key global challenges that we will address, and how we will fight for a fairer future for all
  • See an outline of the key findings from the previous external review in 2017

Contact

Stefano D'Errico ([email protected]), IIED's head of monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL)

Tom Bigg ([email protected]), director of IIED's Strategy and Learning Group