Improve the integration of IEs into design and review of projects at the World Bank and IFC to sharpen the focus of project operations on results by: Stating clearly in the implementation design of the IE how it will achieve operational usefulness, serve the key decision points of the project, engage operational teams and local counterparts, and disseminate the findings to the relevant audience, in particular local counterparts. Strengthening the use of IE evidence in the appraisal and ex-post assessment of World Bank and IFC projects, wherever such information is available. Effectively communicating IE evidence to the global audience through maintaining a central repository of IEs and undertaking thematic syntheses of existing IE evidence. Building capacity of project teams and other local counterparts to understand and integrate IE evidence in program and policy decisions.
3. Integration of IEs into project design In IFC: The evidence indicates that IFC IEs were often used by the project teams, while their use beyond the project has been less common. In particular, the link between IEs and learning has not been established fully. The evidence indicates that there is a limited awareness of IE applicability to operational work and policy which constrains wider uptake and use of IEs.
Original Response: IFC: The learning agenda is at the center of the evaluation strategy approved in FY12. IFC is now using a checklist for IE design requiring articulation of how IEs will achieve operational usefulness, etc., and the extent to which findings may be disclosed to external audiences. IFC has also developed a database of all its evaluation documentation (including IE documentation), available to all staff and actively utilized to feed lessons from prior evaluations to address ongoing and planned (pipeline) interventions. Formal training in evaluation (including IE) began in FY12 as part of the strategy and will be consistently undertaken on an annual basis, with the goal of developing a core cadre of staff with IE expertise.
Specific Action: Make IEs useful for operations (including at appraisal and ex-post assessment), maintain an evaluation documentation archive/database, and train M&E staff across IFC on use of IEs.
Indicators: (a) % of IEs designed with written plan for use and dissemination, including reference to use for appraisal and ex-post assessment; (b) % of active IEs archiving reports in CDI database; (c) % of regions, BLs, and GIDs that receive at least one formal IE-related training
Baseline: (a) 0% of IEs designed with written plan for use and dissemination; (b) 67% of IEs archiving documentation in the database; (c) 0% of regions, BLs, and GIDs receiving at least one formal IE-related training.
Target: (a) 100% of IEs designed with written plan for use and dissemination; (b) 100% of IEs archiving documentation in the database; (c) 100% of regions, BLs, and GIDs receiving at least one formal IE-related training
Timeline: FY14
IEG has been commending all the improvements have been taken place in respect to impact evaluations in IFC. According to the IE database, all five IEs that were active or completed during the FY15 had at least their TOR saved in the evaluation database.
IEG could not reach any information on the IE related training. Building capacity of project teams and M&E staff is a key aspect for improving the IE culture in IFC. IEG recognizes that IFC's training programs included IE methods in its evaluations, but it is not clear how many people attended, and how in depth the training courses covered IE methods, whether these events were one off events. IFC management team should make sure that these training programs continuous provided to the staff and CDI should monitor the understanding and learning of staff closely.
IEG welcomes all these improvements. They are considerable steps towards better and high quality IEs. IEG continues to recommend that Management would strengthen the use of the IE evidence in the appraisal and ex-post assessment of projects, wherever such information is feasible.
Another important area is availability of IEs to internal and external audiences. CDI made strong progress with development of evaluation database. IEG is also looking forward to seeing the formalization of a policy that evaluation findings will be available in the public domain.
Building capacity of project teams and M;E staff is a key aspect for improving the IE culture in IFC.IEG recognizes that IFC's training programs included IE methods in its evaluations, but it is not clear how many people attended, andhow in depth the training courses covered IE methods, whether these events were one off events. IFC management team should make sure that these training programs continuous provided to the staff and CDI should monitor the understanding and learning of staff closely.
IEG has reviewed the policy and web resources established by IFC. IEG commends the policy of publicly disclosing redacted executive summaries of all evaluations, but notes needed progress on implementation -- specifically, the external website contains summaries of only 6 evaluations for calendar year 2014, 8 for 2013 and 18 for 2012
(c) 100% of regions etc. received training.
(a) 100% of IEs in IFC's evaluation database now have a written plan for use and dissemination. (b) 100% are archiving reports in the database
IEG welcomes IFCï¾s initiatives in this area. Historically, the use of IEs beyond the project was limited. Therefore, besides the project ownership, ownership of the operational departments and their relevance to operational strategies are important. IEG also recommended that Management would strengthen the use of the IE evidence in the appraisal and ex-post assessment of projects, wherever such information is feasible. IFC management should ensure that the IEs are operationally relevant, teams are using IEs as an input to their project designs,.
Another important area is availability of IEs to internal and external audiences. IFC management should make sure that IEs are easily accessible to staff. In this respect, IFCï¾s initiative to develop a web enabled database and including IE reports in this database are commendable. IEG is also looking forward to seeing the formalization of a policy that evaluation findings will be available in the public domain. Building capacity of project teams and M;E staff is a key aspect for improving the IE culture in IFC. IEG recognizes that IFC's training programs included IE methods in its evaluations, but it is not clear how many people attended, and how in depth the training courses covered IE methods. IFC management team should make sure that these training programs are high quality and teaching in a way that staff learning and capacity are improving. CDI should monitor the understanding and learning of staff closely.
IFC is committed to ensuring that all our evaluations, including impact evaluations, are useful for operations. All self-evaluations are undertaken with explicit ownership of the relevant operational department, never by CDI alone. CDI has established the practice that all impact evaluations culminate in BBLs, and 3 IE BBLs were held this year. Also, seven of the nine IEs considered for launch this year had written plans for use and dissemination.
In April 2013, IFC established a practice (intended to soon become a formal policy) that requires all evaluation teams(including IEs) to decide whether their evaluation findings will be available in the public domain and expresses a strong institutional preference for public dissemination.
CDI is in the process of developing a web-enabled database, which is currently being beta-tested and should go live in FY14; more than half of IFC's active IEs are archiving reports in the database, and we expect full compliance when the database is fully operational.
Moreover, CDI has scheduled a series of evaluation training sessions in which staff from all regions, BLs, and GIDs have participated, covering a wide range of topics including RCTs,qualitative methods, rapid assessments, cost-benefit analysis, etc.
Status: Active