History

40 Years of Evaluation Heritage

Evaluation at the African Development Bank dates back to 1977; however, the first evaluation unit was not set up until 1980, when a special division was created within the Bank’s Research and Planning Department

A short history of evaluation at the African Development Bank

1980	First evaluation unit set up
1987	Unit becomes the Operations Evaluation Office, reporting to the President
1993	The Board of Directors assumes oversight of the evaluation function through the General Audit Committee
1995	The Operations Evaluation Office is upgraded to a department
1996	The Operations Evaluation Department is placed under the umbrella of the newly created Committee on Operations and Development Effectiveness
2002	The function of the Operations Evaluation Department is reviewed and a Presidential Directive defining the department’s mandate is issued
2007	The Board of Directors approves the independent evaluation policy and functional responsibilities of the Operations Evaluation Department
2012	OPEV undertakes a self-assessment that forms the basis for a revised Independent Evaluation Policy and a new Independent Evaluation Strategy, and informs the Rolling Work Programme for 2013-2015
2013	The Independent Evaluation Strategy 2013-2017 is adopted by the Board of Directors, and an update to the rolling Work Programme is presented for 2014-2016
2014	OPEV changes its name from operations evaluation to Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) to better reflect its independence and its mandate
2016	The Independent Evaluation Policy is revised and approved by the Board. IDEV presents the Comprehensive Evaluation of Development Results, and hosts the AfDB Development Evaluation Week in Abidjan, attracting 250+ evaluation stakeholders.
2018	IDEV delivers a record number of 15 evaluations. AfDB Development Evaluation Week 2018 attracts over 450 participants
2020	AfDB Development Evaluation Week 2020 attracts over 650 participants