Technical Review Guide - Chapter 6 Preparing for Technical Review

Nov 1, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man

Technical review preparation is grounded in user-provided information and evidence. Before review activities begin, the user gathers and makes available the necessary materials so a prospective technical reviewer can draft a review proposal and support the selection process. The chapter outlines key recommendations: determine required reviewer qualifications, prepare assessment documents and supporting evidence, and develop written terms of reference that specify competencies, team composition, deliverables, timing, revision phases, meeting formats, stakeholder consultation, scope, costs, confidentiality, and any public claims.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

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Pages6

Reading Time15 min

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6 Preparing for technical review

Checklist of key recommendations

6.1 Identify necessary technical reviewer qualifications and select technical reviewer

6.2 Identify and prepare the necessary documents and supporting evidence

Example: selecting a technical reviewer (Box 6.1)

Overview of steps in the chapter (Figure 6.1)

| 6 Preparing for technical review | | | --- | --- | | Technical reviews are based on information and evidence prepared by the user. Before engaging in review activities, all necessary information and evidence is prepared and made available to a prospective technical reviewer. This will enable the prospective technical reviewer to prepare a proposalfor the review and for the user to select a technical reviewer.
Checklist of key recommendations

• Request sufficient information from the user to make an informed determination as to the knowledge, skills and experience needed by the review team to conduct the technical review
6.1 Identify necessary technical reviewer qualifications and select technical reviewer
Chapter 4 provides information about qualifications of technical reviewers. Users should identify the needed qualifications given the objectives, scope and type of the technical review. For example, a technical review of GHG impacts with the objective of demonstrating results to a donor is likely to require different qualifications from a review of sustainable | development impacts for a domestic audience. Box 6.1 provides an example of how the technical reviewer was selected to conduct the technical review of an impact assessment of a nationally appropriate mitigation action (NAMA) .
6.2 Identify and prepare the necessary documents and supporting evidence
To prepare for a technical review, a complete assessment report is needed. Each ICAT assessment guide has a chapter on reporting that specifies the information that should be included in an assessment report. The assessment report and supporting evidence should be prepared and provided to potential technical reviewers as part of the selection and planning process. The quality of the assessment report and supporting evidence provided to the technical reviewer can either facilitate (if the quality is high) or hinder (if the quality is low) their understanding of the policy to be evaluated.
It is helpful for the user to prepare a “terms of reference” document for the potential technical reviewer so that they have these in writing. The terms of reference set out a plan or a proposal | | FIGURE 6.1 | | | Overview of steps in the chapter | | |
Identify necessary technical reviewer qualifications and select technical reviewer (Section 6. 1)

Identify and prepare the necessary documents and supporting evidence (Section 6. 2)

Submit proposal or scope of work (Section 6.3)

Plan for stakeholder participation (Section 6.4)
Completed by the user
Completed by the reviewer | | | BOX 6.1 | Part III: Technical review process | 31 | | --- | --- | --- | | Example of selecting a technical reviewer | | | | The Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda, a national NGO in Mexico, is coordinating the implementation of the NAMA “Subnational mitigation actions for the regeneration of landscapes”. The NAMA includes state-led policies and actions for the regeneration of forests, and the implementation of planned grazing in 12 states. An ex-post assessment of impacts was conducted for the mitigation actions already implemented, and an ex-ante impact assessment was conducted for the scale-up and replication of the mitigation actions. Impact assessment reports were prepared following the key recommendations of the ICAT Forest Methodology, Agriculture Methodology, Non-State and Subnational Action Assessment Guide and Transformational Change Methodology.
Some of the mitigation actions included in the NAMA were implemented as part of a Grupo Ecológico project with financing from the Multilateral Investment Fund of the InterAmerican Development Bank. Therefore, Grupo Ecológico decided to pursue technical review of the impact assessment reports in conjunction with the final evaluation of the project. It was necessary to select a technical reviewer with the combined experience and qualifications necessary to evaluate the results of the comple

FAQs

What should be prepared before starting a technical review?

The user must prepare all necessary information and evidence so the prospective technical reviewer can develop a proposal and support the selection process.

How does the user determine the needed qualifications for technical reviewers?

The user identifies the qualifications based on the review objectives, scope, and type; different impact assessment goals may require different reviewer expertise.

What should the terms of reference include for the technical reviewer?

The terms of reference should cover required competencies, CV/resume requests, team composition and team leader scope, deliverables and timing, revision phases and comments, delivery timeframes, in-person or remote meeting requirements, stakeholder consultation expectations, scope requirements, costs, travel and expenses, confidentiality handling, and any public claims based on the review report.

Nov 1, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man