Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) has released its annual report for 2015, ahead of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings to be held from 23-27 May in Lusaka, Zambia.
“For IDEV, 2015 was another record-breaking year. We delivered 12 high-level, influential evaluations, the highest number in our 30 years of operation. In response to the growing demand for evaluation, IDEV was agile and proactive in seeking out opportunities to influence decisions to strengthen impact. In light of the available human and financial resources, the accomplishment was truly extraordinary,” says Rakesh Nangia, AfDB Evaluator General.
Titled “Strengthening Impact,” this 88-page document contains a comprehensive overview of the evaluations completed and the knowledge management, outreach and evaluation capacity development activities undertaken by IDEV in 2015 to promote accountability, learning and an evaluation culture in the AfDB and its Regional Member Countries (RMCs). Key findings from all evaluations delivered in 2015 are summarized in the document.
IDEV scaled up evaluation coverage and quality in 2015, focusing on timely delivery to influence key policy discussions. The high-level evaluations delivered accounted for more than UA 8.6 billion of Bank Group lending:
- Five country strategy and program evaluations: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Togo, and Senegal;
- Three thematic evaluations: Private Equity, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Public-Private Partnerships;
- Three corporate evaluations of the implementation of General Capital Increase-VI and African Development Fund-12 and 13 commitments: an overarching review of commitments; an evaluation of the policy and strategy-making and implementation function; and an evaluation of the management of the administrative budget;
- One cluster evaluation of Power Inter-connection projects.
In addition, IDEV launched evaluations of nine additional country strategies, two clusters, one sector, and over 200 Project Results Assessments (a new tool developed to systematically collect reliable development results data). IDEV also promoted the use of evaluative knowledge through the dissemination of knowledge products, the organization of learning events, and a revamped website. Moreover it strengthened evaluation systems in the Bank and in the RMCs, notably through initiatives aimed at governments (the supply side of evaluation) and parliamentarians (the demand side).
The report is candid about some of the challenges that IDEV faced in 2015, including a lack of reliable monitoring and development results data, a scarcity of qualified evaluators, higher evaluation costs, and delays in implementation. It also looks ahead to highlight key components of IDEV’s 2016 work program. Central is the delivery of the Comprehensive Evaluations on Development Results (CEDR). This synthesis report will elucidate the extent to which the Bank has achieved its objectives in the decade starting in 2004, and provide lessons on the drivers of or hindrances to its performance. It will also provide Bank Management with a basis for its decisions, particularly as a new delivery model is currently under consideration for focusing the implementation of the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy 2013–2022 on the ‘High 5s,’ the new priorities of the Bank.
A broad evaluation of the Bank’s assistance to the energy sector during the 2000–2014 period will be delivered in 2016, as will a cluster evaluation of rural electrification projects, both of which are expected to contribute to the ongoing discussion about how best to achieve the first of the High 5s, “Light Up and Power Africa”. Furthermore, IDEV expects to deliver eight country strategy and program evaluations: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia. Three more CSPEs, including a pilot mid-term review evaluation, will be launched in 2016, as will the evaluation of the Bank’s regional integration strategy in the East African region. In addition to delivering quality products, IDEV will consolidate its work on communication, knowledge management, and evaluation capacity development.
“I am confident that IDEV will build on [2015] and go from strength to strength in supporting the Bank to fulfill its ambitions for Africa and for Africans,” concludes Rakesh.