EVALUATION OF UNHCR-LED INITIATIVES TO END STATELESSNESS – FINAL REPORT – VOLUME I study module on statelessness is in the process of being updated in 2021. This is much needed but is not an adequately strategic approach to learning on statelessness within the organization. Ideally an overall learning strategy would include a review of the learning needs of different target groups, mandatory versus voluntary training, and suggestions for complementing e-learning with a more comprehensive approach to learning within UNHCR. Sharing of promising practices and innovation Finding 16: Sharing of best practices, innovations and lessons learned is one of the main ways that UNHCR staff and partners learn about effective ways of advancing the statelessness agenda. However, knowledge management related to statelessness is not systemized or prioritized within the organization. 163. UNHCR stakeholders in case-study countries and regions noted that one of the key ways in which they enhanced their own learning on statelessness was through the exchange of promising practices and innovation from other contexts. This was either done formally 95, or “We share learning in the region more often informally, with sharing of good practice and innovation and between regions. This facilitated by the Regional Statelessness Officers. The Statelessness happens between statelessness Section has also hosted a global NGO retreat and an annual meeting officers, also via UNHCR of the global statelessness team to facilitate sharing of practices and broadcast. But little goes beyond experiences, though with a very limited budget. those working directly on statelessness. We need all 164. Given the effectiveness of this kind of learning, there was some colleagues to feel ownership of frustration that the sharing of best practices on statelessness has statelessness issues in the same remained somewhat limited within the organization. A number of way as refugees.” – Key interviewees expressed the desire for a more systemized approach informant interview to knowledge management in UNHCR (in this case related to statelessness, but also more generally in the form of facilitated communities of practice covering different thematic areas and populations of concern). Such networks should not be limited to staff dedicated to statelessness, but open to a wider spectrum of personnel in order to nurture greater ownership of UNHCR’s statelessness mandate and learn from the experiences of those covering other issues and populations of concern. 165. Some stakeholders particularly valued the sharing of experiences related to statelessness within regions. In Europe, for example, there was a strong appetite for the exchange of best practices taking the specificities of the region into account; while others were keen to see more sharing of best practices across regions and between UNHCR and other actors. Interaction with partners for learning purposes was described as more limited in some regions than others – in the East and Horn of Africa region, for example, as well as in MENA – due to restricted networks of actors with which to share experiences with. Both virtual and face-to-face opportunities to share experiences were valued, with a particular desire among partners in the MENA region for more regional forums for discussing common challenges and sharing innovative solutions between UNHCR and other stakeholders. Prioritization and leadership Finding 17: Leadership attention and support, and allocation of financial resources for statelessness have been inconsistent over time and in different locations, and there is a gap in management roles related to coordination and integration of efforts across different divisions and functions. Country Representatives play the most critical roles of all, as the face of UNHCR with national governments and the most influential decision-makers regarding whether an operation will prioritize statelessness work. 166. Senior leadership attention to and support for work on statelessness was frequently cited by key informants as playing a critical role in mainstreaming and integration at a global level, though with the recent regionalization / decentralization changes some questioned whether “top down” prioritization guidance would remain as influential. Successive High Commissioners have very visibly supported 95 Examples of formal sharing of good practices include the series of Good Practice Papers on different GAP actions developed by the Statelessness Section, which were widely appreciated by staff; or within more spontaneous and reactive papers on new issues, such as the paper produced by the Europe Regional Bureau on good practices to address protection concerns, including for stateless persons, in the context of COVID-19: UNHCR (2020) Practical Recommendations and Good Practice to Address Protection Concerns in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic, 9 April 2020. UNHCR / May, 2021 47