Several programs operate in the background but serve as the backbone of the evaluation practice at IEG. IEG invests in the development of cutting-edge evaluation methods through its Methods Advisory Function, ensures accountability for and follow-up on IEG recommendations through the Management Action Record, and promotes staff learning through the IEG Academy.

Methods Advisory Function

In FY25, the IEG methods team, in collaboration with IEG evaluators, scaled up the use of data science, generative AI, and other innovations across IEG products. The team provided methodological support to all 22 in-progress evaluations, developed generative-AI–powered tools, strengthened IEG’s community of data scientists, and continued internal and external evaluation capacity development and knowledge sharing activities.

The methods team is leading the development of IEG’s AI strategy and transforming IEG’s work through AI. The team is creating custom applications for leveraging AI in portfolio identification, annotation, and summarization, and by piloting AI use in validation. This required significant investment and close collaboration with the Information and Technology Services Department. The methods team also partnered with the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s Independent Evaluation Office to produce the first set of guidance on how to experiment with AI in evaluation practice.

IEG’s community of data scientists also grew in FY25. The methods team expanded the community of practice by recruiting and onboarding several analysts and contributed to the new data talent board and career stream at the World Bank.

IEG’s methods team continued sharing methodological research and other resources to promote evaluation knowledge both within IEG and with the broader evaluation community. The team built IEG’s capacity by delivering eight sessions in the Foundations of Evaluation Design Curriculum (IEG’s flagship evaluation capacity development curriculum, created in partnership with the IEG Academy); creating three e-learning modules to make this ambitious investment in IEG’s evaluation capacity sustainable; piloting an on-the-job training in geospatial analysis, and developing a competency framework and trainings on AI for evaluation.

Externally, IEG’s methods team continues positioning IEG at the cutting-edge of evaluation practice and as a thought leader in the broader community. The team published five articles in peer-reviewed journals and books, convened a high-level expert group on contribution analysis, presented at more than 20 conferences or forums, convened a World Bank–wide effort to improve the geotagging of Bank Group operations, led the Evaluation Cooperation Group Working Group on AI and Capacity Building, and published two new volumes in the IEG Methods and Evaluation Capacity Building Working Paper Series. The papers examine how to leverage imagery data and the application of process tracing methods in program evaluation.

Independent Evaluation Group Methods Papers Series

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Management Action Record

The Management Action Record is integral to the World Bank Group’s accountability framework. It supports accountability, learning, and adaptation for the Bank Group management’s implementation of IEG recommendations. In fiscal year 2024, the Bank Group’s management and IEG jointly updated the Management Action Record framework to prioritize engagement on recommendations, better define pathways for implementation, and enhance the involvement of management champions. Applying these three elements to prioritized recommendations enables a synthetic discussion on overall progress against recommendations.

The Independent Evaluation Group Validation of the Management Action Record 2024 tracked progress on 77 recommendations lodged within the 28 IEG evaluations reviewed by the Board of Executive Directors’ Committee on Development Effectiveness between FY19 and FY23. The validation finds that the Bank Group made swift and significant progress on some recommendations, and closed out older ones, but in some key areas relevant to Better Bank initiatives, focused follow-up is needed.

IEG Academy

The IEG Academy focuses on building and reinforcing the staff skills needed to carry out IEG’s mandate successfully. This year, the IEG Academy team delivered a year-long staff learning program organized around IEG’s priority of quality and rigor in evaluations.

The approach led to the creation of the Foundations of Evaluation Design curriculum in FY24. From February 2024 to June 2025, 12 Foundations of Evaluation Design learning sessions were delivered to 363 participations in virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats. By the end of FY25, the Foundations of Evaluation Design curriculum fully delivered two core consolidation modules and one specialized module. The Academy also held two trainings for evaluators on IEG ICRRs.

To address the learning needs of staff in all roles, the FY25 IEG Academy program delivered three clinics with 100 participations. The clinics covered World Bank Group Personal Data Privacy, the IEG Data Hub, and IEG’s new Main Deliverables Tracking System.

In addition to the synchronous learning sessions, IEG Academy launched learning bundles on (i) portfolio review analysis and (ii) the Foundations of Evaluation Design Curriculum; provided onboarding guidance, resources, and training to orient new hires; delivered two Peer Talks sessions; and coached staff on delivering effective presentations.