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The Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) was
created in mid-1999 when the evaluation function in the Bank was redesigned
after a thirty-year history. At that time OVE became independent of Bank
Management, reporting solely and directly to the Board of Executive
Directors. In this redesign, the Board mandated that OVE conduct Country
Program Evaluations (CPE); policy, strategy, thematic and instrument
evaluations; and oversee the Bank's internal monitoring and evaluation system,
processes and instruments. Moreover, OVE conducts oversight reviews of
corporate strategy, processes and instruments; provides normative guidance on
evaluation issues; and contributes to evaluation capacity building in the
region. In 2003, OVE began conducting ex-post project evaluations as
well.
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Independence:
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OVE is independent of Bank Management. It has organizational and
behavioral independence, and is free from external pressure and conflicts of
interest according to the criteria established by the Evaluation Cooperation
Group of the Multilateral Development Banks (ECG), of which the IDB is a
founding member. OVE's findings, analyses, and conclusions are free from
influence by line management at all stages of the process, including the
planning of work programs and budget, formulation of terms of reference,
staffing of evaluation teams, execution of evaluations and approval of reports.
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Disclosure
Policy:
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The Bank revised its disclosure policy as of January 1, 2004. The general
principle is to make information available to the public unless there is a
compelling reason for confidentiality. As a result, all OVE documents
will be made available to the public after the Board of Executive Directors has
completed its consideration of them. Restrictions apply, however.
Only summaries are disclosed if the borrowing member country objects to
disclosure of a Country Program Evaluation. In that case, information
deemed confidential and sensitive will be redacted and a notation as to what
section was redacted. In addition, written comments on evaluations
submitted by the country concerned or by the Bank's Management, if any, will be
made publicly available if the underlying evaluation is available.
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Guiding Principles:
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The Board of Governors and the Board of Executive Directors of the IDB seek to
ensure that evaluation drives the Bank's decision-making processes and provides
the means to measure the Bank's effectiveness so as to ensure
accountability. They have stipulated that evaluation is "a tool for both
institutional learning and for systematic assessment of the effectiveness of
Bank development policies, the results of Bank financed activities, and related
processes." [1]
This dual function of evaluation, illuminating lessons to be learned and
assessing accountability, is the foundation for the four critical principles
that guide OVE's work:
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Evaluation is a tool, not an end in itself. Like other tools, it must
constantly be scrutinized for improvement;
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Evaluation is focused on institutional learning. Lessons discovered from
evaluation work become relevant only when the institution learns from the work
and changes future behavior accordingly;
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Evaluation must focus on assessing the development effectiveness of Bank
activities; and
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Evaluation must focus on the results of Bank-financed activities, not only
outputs (projects approved, funds lent), but also the outcomes.
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Priority Areas of Work:
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