ECOPER has completed the evaluation of the UNCTAD project ‘Investment promotion partnerships for the development, marketing and facilitation of bankable Sustainable Development Goal projects’. The project aimed to enhance the capacities of investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in the preparation, promotion and facilitation of bankable SDG projects. ECOPER’s evaluation approach involved data collection through diverse information sources and methods: a documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews with project stakeholders and an extensive, multi-lingual online survey of IPAs.
The evaluated project, which was funded by the Netherlands, formed part of UNCTAD’s strategy for increasing investment in SDGs, outlined in its 2014 World Investment Report. The report advocates forming new partnerships for SDG investment, including partnerships between investment promotion IPA and outward investment agencies and institutions (OIAs), as well as for the development of pools of bankable SDG projects. Following on from this, UNCTAD aimed to leverage its longstanding relationship with IPAs by providing information about OIAs and investors’ priorities; showcasing successful practices of SDG-related investment promotion; providing tools and training on packaging investment project proposals, and promoting investment promotion partnerships formed around SDGs