International Civil Aviation Organization

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It develops policies and standards for aviation, undertakes compliance audits, performs studies and analyses, provides assistance and builds aviation capacity. ICAO's strategic objectives relate to safety, air navigation capacity and efficiency, security and facilitation, economic development of air transport, and environmental protection. The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 193 Member States. ICAO had 657 staff members as at 31 December 2023 and reported an annual expenditure of CAD 325,887,000 for 2023. ICAO is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, and has seven regional offices and one sub-regional office.
 

The Evaluation function of ICAO is part of the Office of Internal Oversight (OIO). The mandate of OIO is to assist the Secretary General in ensuring that ICAO is managed effectively, efficiently and economically, and in conformity with the applicable regulations and rules, and to provide him/her with independent and objective assurance, advice, insight and foresight through performing internal audits, evaluations, and other oversight assignments. OIO is also mandated to act as focal point for the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and in relation to the audits of the External Auditor. Additionally, OIO provides secretariat services to the Evaluation and Audit Advisory Committee (EAAC).

The purpose, authority and responsibilities of OIO are defined in the OIO Charter. The ICAO Evaluation Policy, approved by the ICAO Council in 2021, complements the Charter, and further defines the aims, principles, and planning process of the evaluation function, as well as its role in decentralized evaluations and quality assurance. The evaluation function is composed of the Chief, (C/OIO), one Evaluation Specialist and one Evaluation Officer (Secondee). C/OIO reports administratively to the ICAO Secretary General and functionally to the Governing Body (the ICAO Council). OIO’s annual and triennium plans are approved by the ICAO Council to which OIO presents its annual report. OIO's evaluation expenditure not related to staffing (consultancy and mission travel) during 2022 was approximately CAD 125,000. There is no dedicated decentralized evaluation staff. Nevertheless, some organizational units attempt to conduct decentralized evaluations. OIO intends to offer support to such evaluations, within the limits of its capacity.

Promoting a culture of evaluation in-house

OIO staff members participate in outreach activities in order to raise awareness among staff on the role of evaluation function at ICAO. OIO also provides informal briefings to Council members and senior managers to highlight and promote the value of the evaluation function.

Independence

The evaluation function of ICAO is co-located with the audit function under the Office of Internal Oversight (OIO). C/OIO has the authority to initiate, carry out and report on any action, which he/she considers necessary to fulfil his/her mandate. C/OIO is free from managerial interference in determining its annual work plan; in establishing the scope of internal audits, evaluations, and other reviews; in the performance of its work; and in reporting the results of its work. S/he has unrestricted access to the President of the Council, the Council, and the EAAC through both formal and informal lines of communication.

Quality Assurance

OIO adheres to the UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluation in the UN System. When required, OIO establishes an evaluation advisory committee both from internal and external experts The ICAO Evaluation Policy provides the evaluation function with a mandate for providing quality assurance services to decentralized evaluations, within the limits of its capacity.