The key objective of UNCTAD’s ECDE Programme is to enhance inclusive and sustainable development gains and economic benefits from e-commerce and the digital economy for people and businesses in developing countries, particularly least developed countries. To achieve this objective, the Programme has three main work pillars: research, technical cooperation, and consensus-building. In particular, the Programme provides a platform for generating research and better statistics to enable governments and other stakeholders to understand the implications of economic digitalization for sustainable development; providing assistance to developing countries as they seek to prepare for and adapt to digital disruptions; and fostering global multi-stakeholder dialogue and a more coordinated approach on e-commerce and the digital economy from a development perspective. 

Nordic Consulting Group and its partners Carsten Schwensen and Louise Scheibel Smed will implement this evaluation by providing an independent assessment of progress towards the achievement of the Programme’s development objective, assessing performance as per the established indicators vis-à-vis the strategies and implementation modalities chosen and programme management arrangements. The evaluation will cover all outcomes of the Programme, taking into account interventions that have previously been evaluated, and will pay particular attention to coherence and synergies across components and across countries, and the extent of gender and human rights mainstreaming.