In late 2011 the senior management of the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-HABITAT) initiated an evaluation of the programme Review Mechanism for the period December 2009 to September 2001. 'Strengthening of the Programme Review Mechanism was identified as one of the strategic 'quick wins' for the kick-start phase of the UN-Habitat Medium-Term Strategic and Institutional Plan (MTSIP).

The MTSIP mandate is "to ensure that the Habitat Agenda, relevant Millennium Development Goals and other mandates (as reflected by the newly formulated and results based MTSIP), are advanced through the development  and implementation of programmes and projects that are consistent with and contribute to the achievement of Focus Area results".