This is the final report of the Working Group on Oversight and Evaluation of the Board of Executive Directors. It contains recommendations for consideration by the Board directed at improving the effectiveness of oversight and evaluation functions for which the Bank and Board are responsible. The Board established the Working Group on Oversight and Evaluation in the spring of 1998 to examine these functions in light of concerns that the Bank Evaluation System (BES) was not performing the role envisaged for it when it was approved in 1995.

 

In carrying out its task, the Working Group interviewed a wide range of Bank staff; Senior Managers, Country Office personnel, and staff in operational and policy divisions. The Working Group also received the opinions and suggestions of members of the Board. Special studies were commissioned including one prepared by a Task Group of Bank staff with EVO participation: The Oversight and Evaluation Function: A Shared Responsibility (December, 1998). The Working Group also contracted a consulting firm to interview all members of the Board and most Bank Managers to ascertain their views on the functioning of the Bank’s oversight and evaluation systems and to obtain their suggestions for improving the system. This report, Enhancing the Effectiveness of Oversight and Evaluation Function in the Inter-American Development Bank: Perspective of the Key Actors was completed in May, 1999. 

 

Both reports were discussed during the course of a day-long workshop on April 30, 1999 convened jointly by the President of the Bank and the Chair of the Working Group. The Task Group Report of December 1998 was the key document which guided the discussion. The workshop produced broad agreement on revisions which need to be made to the BES to make it an effective and useful tool for Management and the Board. This paper reflects this understanding.

 

It is clear from the studies and the workshop that there is agreement on the importance of oversight and evaluation among the interested parties. There is also agreement on the need for an independent entity for carrying out evaluations of Bank policies and operations related to the Bank’s development programs. There is strong support for the idea that this entity should report to the Board of Executive Directors. There is wide acceptance too of the concept of "shared responsibility," meaning that Management has important responsibilities in performing oversight and evaluation functions quite apart from those carried out by an independent evaluation office. The bulk of evaluation activities related to specific projects must be performed by Management, both as a means of maintaining focus on the achievement of development objectives during implementation and on reaching judgements regarding results after project completion. Management’s evaluation work, as well as that of the independent entity, should emphasize the need to identify and disseminate "lessons learned" as a means of improving the Bank’s performance as a development agency.

 

In preparing this report the Working Group identified key areas where specific action by the Board and Management is necessary to put needed changes in the system in place. 

Methodology and Consultations with Stakeholders

In its work, the Working Group drew from the wealth of experience and talent embodied in present and former Bank personnel to gain valuable insights into the performance and of the BES. Interviews were conducted with Project Officers, Deputy Managers, Managers, Country Office Representatives and Executive Directors. Additional information was collected through a survey. A special interview effort was conducted by Dr. Carol Adelman, Director, International Services, of McManis Associates Inc. which was contracted for this purpose. The interviews were carried out in February – March, 1999 with Executive Directors and Managers of the Bank regarding the functioning of the current evaluation system and what is required to provide the Bank and its shareholders with an effective oversight system.

Box 1: Essential Principles of Evaluation Relevance: For evaluation to affect decision-making, decision makers must perceive the findings as useful, timely, and geared to current operational concerns. To ensure a practical focus on development impact, evaluation involves operational managers, borrowers, cofinanciers, and beneficiaries of Bank assistance. Credibility: If Bank managers and staffs are to use the lessons learned from evaluation, they must perceive the evaluation as objective, rigorous, and impartial. The credibility of evaluation rests on the professional quality of the staff, the rigor of its methods, and timely availability of its findings. Transparency: All evaluation reports are issued to Bank member governments and to the Bank's management, and are available to all staff. The evaluation process itself (including self-evaluation) should be subject to independent annual reviews by the Policy and Evaluation Committee of the Board. Independence: If independent evaluation is to be impartial, its findings, analyses, and conclusions must be free from bias. This means that evaluation must be independent from line management at all stages of the process, including planning of work programs, formulation of terms of reference, staffing of evaluation teams, and clearance of reports.

The Working Group also drew heavily on a number of background reports available in the Bank in order to benefit as much as possible from the Bank’s own "lessons learned". It sought to understand why evaluation, in particular, did not appear to be meeting the expectations set out for it in authorizing documents including the Eighth Replenishment Agreement. The documents of main relevance are listed in Box 3. Reference is made in this regard to Document AB-1704 which stated that (in par 2.101) "The Evaluation Office will be endowed with a high degree of independence, … and contribute towards the Bank’s transparency by undertaking independent and systematic evaluations of the Bank’s strategies, policies, programs, activities and delivery support functions and systems. The office is also to provide oversight and support for the enhancement of the effectiveness of the Bank Evaluation System". The stated aim in Document AB-1704 is to establish evaluation as a tool for institutional learning and as an instrument for systematic assessment of the effectiveness of Bank development policies, and its development programs and their related processes.

TOP