Development Effectiveness

How effectively are we doing our job as a development institution, in other words, how effectively are we promoting the social and economic development of our borrowing member countries? Trying to answer this question is a continuous effort at the IDB. To Bank staff, this means focusing always on the ultimate results of our lending and nonlending activities.

It is important to know what benefits arise from the projects we help finance. For instance, how many young people received training in metal working as part of a youth training project is important, but beyond that, it is essential to know what was the broader impact of that project on the local economy. How much of an impact did the project have on employment figures for that age group? Was there an increase in worker productivity in the local metallurgic industry? Did the project help increase incomes and, therefore, reduce poverty levels among youth in the local area? Did the project contribute to building the local capacity of public and private sector entities so they can better serve the needs of their clients?

The Bank’s efforts to improve its own development effectiveness currently focus on a number of key areas:

• Strengthening the Public Sector Capacity of Borrowing Member Countries
• Partnership with other Development Institutions
• Country Strategies
• Project Preparation
• Project Execution and Monitoring
• New Lending Instruments and Approaches
• Internal Organization and Activities