What does it take to build the next generation of evaluators who can hold systems accountable and keep the Sustainable Development Goals on track? Across the UN system, a partnership between the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) is doing just that—placing young and emerging evaluators at the center of decision-making, giving them hands-on experience while strengthening how organizations learn and improve.
The UNEG-UNV Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEE) programme began in 2024 with its first cohort, including 10 UN Volunteer assignments in 8 countries. These volunteers were at an early stage in their careers and under the age of 35. Of these, 50 percent were women.
These UN Volunteers worked with six UN entities to track national progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) clearly and effectively. They helped entities learn from past work and build on those lessons to improve future efforts. This led to more targeted initiatives and stronger progress towards the SDGs, while also highlighting the value of evaluation.
You can read more about UN Volunteers' evaluation assignment with UNESCO in Thailand and WHO in Hungary.
What do the evaluation leads at UN entities say?
The Head of Evaluation at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, Claudia Ibarguen, shared: "One of our main challenges was how to ensure a meaningful and sustained presence of the Evaluation Office in regional contexts. Supporting decentralized evaluations exclusively from headquarters proved suboptimal, too distant to fully understand local realities, respond in a timely manner, or engage effectively with programme teams and partners. At the same time, it was not feasible to establish multiple staff positions across regions. UNV offered a practical solution: enabling us to deploy qualified evaluation professionals closer to operations, while remaining cost‑efficient and fully embedded within the organization."
By late 2024, UNESCO has recruited 5 UN Volunteers for 5 of its regional offices in Kenya, Qatar, Senegal, Thailand and Uruguay.
While the Evaluation Head at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Riccardo Polastro, had this to say about the WHO experience, which has recruited a UN Volunteer: "The UN Volunteer's integration has strengthened the evaluation team’s operational capacity and enhanced its intergenerational diversity. Working remotely, the volunteer has demonstrated flexibility, initiative, and a strong commitment to learning, contributing to a more adaptive and collaborative working environment. This experience highlights the value of integrating young and emerging evaluators. Initiatives such as the UNEG–UNV Young Evaluators programme offer a practical approach to strengthening evaluation capacity while fostering the next generation of professionals across the UN system and beyond."
Launching a new cohort
Building on the success of the first cohort, the UNEG UNV partnership will launch recruitment for a new group of young evaluator UN Volunteers for the 2026–2027 term, coinciding with the International Year of Volunteers.
Launched by UNEG’s Young and Emerging Evaluators Working Group, the programme helps youth gain experience in the UN while ensuring their perspectives shape evaluation processes. It also builds skills, supports national efforts, and develops future leaders in evaluation.