The maintenance of an independent Evaluation and Audit function within Irish Aid is the responsibility of the Evaluation and Audit Unit (E&A Unit). The Units' Mission Statement is "To maintain an efficient, effective, relevant and independent Evaluation and Audit function within Irish Aid through the execution of evaluation and audit exercises, facilitating acceptance of their findings and contributing to policy development within Irish Aid."
The role of Evaluation in Irish Aid is to assess:
- The relevance of project outcomes to policy goals;
- The long-term impact and sustainability of the programme;
- The value of the results to the intended beneficiaries (in particular the poor, women and other disadvantaged groups) within the context of locally-owned, directed and implemented processes of sustainable development;
- Accountability and value for money of all Irish Aid expenditure.
The role of Internal Audit in Irish Aid is threefold:
- To provide management with assurance about the adequacy, application and effectiveness of the internal control systems, designed to ensure accountability and value for money of all Irish Aid expenditure;
- To alert management of significant weaknesses in control which have resulted, or may result, in material error, loss, exposure or other undesired events;
- To advise management on control improvement and risk management thereby minimising the potential for future occurrence of problems.
Structure of the E&A Unit
The E&A Unit reports to the Director General who is head of Irish Aid. The Unit currently comprises of five members, of whom one is Head of the Unit, one focuses primarily on assessment of projects and programmes, another two who are mainly responsible for financial audit work and the fifth member provides administrative support.
Finbar O' Brien
Principal Development Specialist - Head of Unit
Fiona English
Senior Development Specialist
Patrick Empey
Development Specialist
Laura Leonard
Development Specialist
Donal MacDonald
Assistant Principal
Donal Murray
Development Specialist
Evaluation and Audit Planning
The E&A Unit currently plans its activities on a calendar year basis. In addition to the annual plan, specific plans are developed for each evaluation or audit conducted. The Unit, in conjunction with relevant line management, compiles terms of reference for each assignment. Recently, the Unit has sought to improve the planning process by moving towards a Risk-based approach. The use of formal Risk Assessment techniques in the planning process will be associated with evaluation and audit planning over a longer period i.e. three to five years. This compilation of strategic evaluation, audit plans and the performance of risk assessment in association with management, will strengthen links with stakeholders and firmly establish joint ownership of the evaluation and audit process without compromising the independence of the function.
Evaluation and Audit Users
The main users of evaluation and audits to date have been the desk and country staff of Bilateral 1, Bilateral 2 and Multilateral. Other users include implementing partners and beneficiaries and organisations who benefit from Irish Aid funding or who supply services. |
