01. Annual Reports & Independent Evaluations

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The World Bank Group’s 2018 Capital Increase Package - An Independent Validation of Implementation and Results

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-08-29) Independent Evaluation Group

This report presents the Independent Evaluation Group’s validation of the World Bank Group’s 2018 capital increase package (CIP). It assesses the World Bank Group’s progress in implementing the CIP’s policy measures and achieving its targets, as well as the quality of management’s CIP reporting. The 2018 CIP boosted the Bank Group’s financial firepower with a $7.5 billion paid-in capital increase for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), $5.5 billion paid-in capital increase for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), $52.6 billion callable capital increase for IBRD, and internal savings measures. The CIP also included a policy package that committed Bank Group management to policy actions linked to the Bank Group’s 2016 Forward Look strategy. The CIP committed to reporting annually on its implementation and an independent assessment after five years. This report fulfills the commitment to an independent assessment. This validation builds on management’s own reporting and other complementary evidence to assess the World Bank Group’s progress in implementing the CIP’s policy measures and achieving its targets. The report also assesses the quality of management’s CIP reporting. The report points to lessons on developing, implementing, and reporting corporate initiatives and commitments, such as the importance of having clear strategies or action plans, explicit buy-in from senior management, and accurate reporting with meaningful indicators and realistic targets.
The World Bank Group Outcome Orientation at the Country Level: An Independent Evaluation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-11-30) Independent Evaluation Group

The World Bank Group’s success rests on its ability to help its client countries achieve the development outcomes they desire. This demands a strong outcome orientation at the country-level, defined as the Bank Group’s ability to generate feedback on what works, what does not, and why, use this feedback to adapt country programs, and boost contribution to development outcomes. This learning-focused evaluation provides a new vision of how to strengthen the Bank Group's outcome orientation in countries. IEG finds that the model of how the Bank Group aims for outcomes in its client countries is sound. However, the results system does not capture the Bank Group’s contribution to country outcomes well, as its reliance on metrics, attribution, and short time-boundedness does not suit the nature of country programs. While country teams practice adaptive management, the country-level results system does not effectively support them in doing so. The report makes concrete proposals on how to rethink the country-level results systems, its tool kit; the accountability principles that underlies the system; and the incentives for staff to learn from experience and prioritize development results.
Rwanda Country Program Evaluation FY09-17: An Independent Evaluation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03-14) Independent Evaluation Group

The World Bank Group's positioning in relation to Rwanda's Vision 2020 goal of rapidly attaining Middle-Income Country (MIC) status reflected many of the elements that are critical to realizing the country's goal: (i) Under a first pillar of promoting economic transformation for sustained growth, it supported infrastructure (notably energy and transport); the business environment (including skills development); the financial sector (including rural finance); and in the latter years the urban sector. (ii) Under a second pillar of reducing social vulnerability and raising the productivity and incomes of the poor, it supported agriculture; health (initially); and social protection—including demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants. (iii) A third accountable governance pillar aimed to strengthen central and decentralized public financial management (PFM). This evaluation assesses the development effectiveness of the World Bank Group's country program in Rwanda over the period FY09-17. The report aims to inform future partnership frameworks between the World Bank Group and the Rwandan Government. The report is also of interest to individuals and organizations working with countries striving to consolidate economic progress after a successful transition from conflict, or countries striving to reach middle-income country (MIC) status.
Growing Our Influence: Celebrating 45 Years of Evaluation Excellence

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-09-30) Independent Evaluation Group

The World Bank Group began evaluating projects in 1970 when President Robert McNamara created an Operations Evaluation Unit in the World Bank’s Programming and Budgeting Department. In 1973, the unit became the Operations Evaluation Department, which reported to the Board of Executive Directors and became the first independent evaluation function in an international financial institution. After evaluation offices were established in the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in 1984 and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in 2002, the three evaluation functions were merged into the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) in July 2006. As the scope of World Bank Group operations and its portfolio of products grows, IEG continues to develop and adapt its approaches to evaluating development effectiveness. These approaches include assessing outcomes against stated objectives, benchmarks, standards, and expectations, or assessing what might have happened in the absence of the project, program, or policy. Across projects, IEG looks at the patterns of what works under what circumstances. IEG’s evaluation approach reflects and is harmonized with internationally accepted evaluation norms and principles, such as the quality standards for development evaluation of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, the good practice standards of the Evaluation Cooperation Group, and the norms and standards of the United Nations Evaluation Group.IEG adheres to a multilayered quality assurance model, which includes in-depth review of intermediate and final evaluation products by internal (IEG) and external peers. A Methods Advisory Function was established in fiscal year (FY)16 to promote internal knowledge sharing on evaluation design issues and methodological innovation. This fiscal year, the Bank Group introduced a Bank Group–wide evaluation framework, which reiterated the independence of IEG and made explicit our dual mandate of promoting accountability and fostering learning. IEG’s new Results Framework aligns with the World Bank Group’s evaluation framework and the revised IEG mandate.
A Thirst for Change: The World Bank Group’s Support for Water Supply and Sanitation, with Focus on the Poor

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06-30) Independent Evaluation Group

This evaluation assesses the World Bank Group’s effectiveness in supporting improved access to adequate, reliable, and sustained water and sanitation services in client countries. It also examines how well the Bank Group is equipped to support the countries in moving toward sustained water and sanitation services for all, with a focus on the poor, in keeping with Sustainable Development Goal 6. The World Bank Group provided $30.3 billion for WSS to client countries during FY2007-16. The World Bank accounted for the largest share with $28.4 billion (93 percent), followed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with $1.5 billion (5 percent), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) with $0.4 billion (2 percent). Lack of financial viability and accountability of service providers are at the core of gaps and disparities in global water and sanitation services, and the World Bank Group’s response has been inadequate. Securing financial viability and institutional accountability is also crucial to attract much needed investments into the water and sanitation service sector, including private sector finance. The water and sanitation services sector faces cross-sectoral challenges that are approaching crisis proportions in many areas, but the World Bank Group has not developed yet a systematic response to address such challenges. Without tackling financial viability and cross-sectoral impacts head-on, credible progress towards SDG 6 is unlikely. IEG’s evaluation also highlights pioneering and successful initiatives by the Bank in the WSS sector in several countries. The challenge is to replicate these positive experiences elsewhere.
Supporting Transformational Change for Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity: Lessons from World Bank Group Experience

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02-25) Independent Evaluation Group

Transformational engagements are a critical pillar of the World Bank Group’s strategy for achieving its twin goals of extreme poverty elimination and shared prosperity. This learning product uses evaluative evidence from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) to understand the mechanisms and conditions for transformational engagements and the implications for the World Bank Group if it seeks to rely on such engagements to more effectively pursue its goals.
Managing Environmental and Social Risks in Development Policy Financing

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-07-27) Independent Evaluation Group

Effective environmental and social risk management in development policy financing (DPF) is central to achieving the World Bank’s goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. If the World Bank is supporting far-reaching member country reforms that are intended to contribute to the twin goals, then it should seek to understand the impact of those reforms on the poor. It should also ensure that the country’s natural capital and long-term growth prospects will not be undermined. The objective of this learning product is therefore to assess the application of the elements of the World Bank operational policy (OP 8.60) governing DPF related to the implementation of the environmental and social risk management requirements of the policy, and identify lessons learned and good practices. The focus of the study is on Bank actions, policies, procedures, and guidance for environmental and social risk management, based largely on a desk-based portfolio review of a large, random sample of development policy operations (DPOs), complemented by assessment of other relevant documents, and interviews with key stakeholders. This approach requires the Bank to determine whether specific policies supported by a DPO are likely to have significant poverty and social or environmental effects. The Bank emphasized the potential of OP 8.60 to promote positive environmental and social development from the time the policy was approved in 2004.
The Quality of Results Frameworks in Development Policy Operations

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06-24) Independent Evaluation Group

The objective of this review is to synthesize existing evaluative evidence and generate new evidence on the quality of the Results Frameworks (RFs) of development policy operations (DPOs). The study is organized around a number of evaluative questions on various aspects of DPO design, implementation, reporting, and evaluation. Its focus is on the quality of RF, taking objectives and coverage for granted. The study does not cover the scope and coverage of reform programs underpinning DPOs, including the relevance of objectives, or the choice of policy areas and the links between DPOs and country assistance strategies. It generally does not look at program achievements and outcomes, except in cases when it is required for assessing the quality of prior actions (PAs). The structure of the review is: chapter one presents the methodology; chapter two has the findings with respect to the presentation and clarity of RFs; chapter three discusses evidence of the quality of PAs and their contribution to the robustness of RFs; chapter four discusses findings with respect to the use of programmatic approach in DPOs relevant for RFs; chapter five discusses strengths and weaknesses in the ME framework of DPOs; chapter six discusses reporting of DPO results at completion and implications for IEG validation and evaluation of DPOs.
Transforming Our World--Aiming for Sustainable Development: Using Independent Evaluation to Transform Aspirations to Achievements

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015) Independent Evaluation Group

The year 2015 is pivotal in international development. In the lead-up to 2000, the global community came together at various conferences to agree on, for the first time in known history, shared development goals. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set 18 targets that were aimed at significantly reducing disease, illiteracy, gender inequality, hunger, and poverty, and improving access to water and sanitation by 2015. Leading up to this point where the era of the MDGs concludes, progress has been monitored and discussions started well ahead of this momentous year to define and meet the more ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), building on and bringing to fruition what has been started under the MDG agenda. Much progress has been made toward achieving the MDGs. The world reached the poverty reduction target five years ahead of schedule, and progress has been reported in a number of other areas. However, considerable challenges remain: even while declaring success on MDG1, roughly a billion people remained in poverty. A large number of MDG targets will not be met by the end of 2015, and progress remains uneven among the different countries. Moreover, new challenges to progress are emerging deriving from natural and manmade calamities. To deliver on the twin goals and the post-2015 agenda, the Bank Group would benefit from a clearly articulated role, approach, and expected contribution to the SDGs, both externally for enhancing partnerships and internally to facilitate prioritization and synergies. As this paper has shown, the World Bank Group works actively in many areas relevant to the SDGs, actually many more than covered here, but various evaluations have pointed to the importance of multi-sector integrated approaches that challenge countries and their partners to find new ways of working. The challenges that the SDGs aim to address, and the SDGs themselves, are complex, and solutions will have to be tailored to context, bring together multiple actors, and benefit from dynamic, constantly adjusted planning and execution that is informed by ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
Financing for Development: Using Independent Evaluation to Turn Aspirations into Achievements

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015) Independent Evaluation Group

The development community is increasingly accepting the importance of evidence, feedback, and learning. Some of which is generated through research, monitoring, and self-evaluation during policy-making, program design, and implementation. Others come from feedback from people directly affected by interventions who have gained a greater voice, be it through third-party feedback mechanisms, social media, beneficiary surveys, or otherwise. And, there is independent evaluation. At the World Bank Group, the independent evaluation group (IEG) has over the past years deepened the evidence that can help development finance succeed in translating the sustainable development goals (SDGs) into actions and results. This paper brings together insights from a cross-section of relevant evaluations that cover various aspects of the large, multifaceted agenda of the SDGs and their financing needs.