The evaluation report aims to inform the UNDP and stakeholders in the Arab region NCCs on how effectively UNDP has supported national development aspirations with a view to informing future activities and corporate policy decision making. It is particularly timely for the UN in view of the number of middle-income countries likely to graduate to NCC status over the coming years. The report was commissioned by the UNDP Evaluation Office and involved collecting information on all areas of UNDP programmes and projects in the five NCCs of the Arab region, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

To ensure a broader inclusion of stakeholder opinions, 'National Stakeholder Perception Reports' were commissioned in three countries, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In Bahrain, the BCSR was chosen to carry out the National Stakeholder Perception report which elicited views from over 70 stakeholders working in government, the private sector and civil society.  The research focused on two main themes; Awareness of UNDP and its Ideal Role and the Relevance and Effectiveness of UNDP programmes.

The final evaluation report concluded that there was 'strong justification for a continued and strengthened presence' in all NCC countries although recommended that the relationship with UNDP move away from a 'traditional agency-client' to a more 'equal partnership at all levels'.