“Both results management and independent evaluation are indispensable to the efficient and effective functioning of our organizations,” said ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao during the joint meeting of the Multilateral Development Bank Working Group on Managing for Development Results (MDB WG on MfDR) and the Evaluation Cooperation Group (ECG).
“At ADB, interaction between our Independent Evaluation Department (IED) and the rest of the bank, dialogue between the leadership of IED and the Board and Management of ADB, and coordination between results management and independent evaluation, while preserving the independence of IED, is a central institutional principle that I promote,” he added.
ADB President Takehiko Nakao (front, 7th from left) with participants of the Joint Meeting of the Multilateral Development Bank Working Group on Managing for Development Results and Evaluation Cooperation Group held at ADB HQ on May 30th 2018. (Source: ADB)
Both the MDB WG on MfDR and the ECG were established by the MDBs to share knowledge and experience among their members. This is the first time the two groups met to discuss how they can work together to enhance development results.
During a session titled “Assessing Performance—Boosting Results in MDBs,” panelists discussed ways to promote synergies and constructive engagement between the two functions. Other topics discussed during the meeting include ex-ante impact assessment, value for money, and the alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.Collaboration through the WG has strengthened MDBs’ corporate results frameworks, improved indicator design and measurement, and identified best practices to reinforce the results culture across MDBs.
ADB has practiced MfDR since 1995, and has enhanced this practice over time. ADB was the first MDB to introduce a corporate score card in 2008, and now work is underway to design a results framework which is aligned with ADB’s new long-term Strategy 2030, expected to be approved by the Board of Directors later this year.
In evaluation, the IFIs have been working together on joint evaluations, reviews of evaluations, assessing the feasibility of evaluations, and promoting the independence of evaluation offices. They have also developed a process for peer review of independent evaluation offices.
Independent evaluation is a critical function at ADB, involving the systematic assessment of projects, programs, policies, themes, and corporate issues. This function was first established in 1978. In 2003, it became independent and started reporting directly to the Board of Directors. In 2008, the new policy renamed the office as the Independent Evaluation Department (IED). Among the IED’s recent contributions to ADB is the evaluation of results-based lending, which found a good development potential for this funding modality and supported the case for increasing its ceiling./.