Publication: Partnership in Joint Country Assistance Evaluations: A Review of World Bank Experience
Loading...
Date
2005
ISSN
Published
2005
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This paper reviews World Bank Operations Evaluation Department experience with partnerships in joint country assistance evaluations. The emphasis is on identifying emerging benefits and costs of joint evaluations and on extracting lessons for future partnerships. Country Assistance Evaluations examine Bank performance in a particular country, usually over the past five to ten years; report on its conformity with relevant Bank Country Assistance Strategies (CAS) and on the overall effectiveness of the strategies; and provide lessons for future strategies.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Hassan, Fareed M. A.. 2005. Partnership in Joint Country Assistance Evaluations: A Review of World Bank Experience. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36701 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2012-08-27)This is the Global Program Review (GPR) of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). The objectives of the Facility are: (a) to assist eligible Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) countries in their efforts to achieve emission reductions from deforestation and/or forest degradation by providing them with financial and technical assistance in building their capacity to benefit from possible future systems of positive incentives for REDD; (b) to pilot a performance-based payment system for emission reductions generated from REDD activities, with a view to ensuring equitable benefit sharing and promoting future, large-scale positive incentives for REDD; (c) to test ways to sustain or enhance livelihoods of local communities and to conserve biodiversity; and (d) to disseminate broadly the knowledge gained in the development of the Facility and implementation of readiness preparation proposals and emission reduction programs. This review concludes that that the FCPF has been an innovative program that has added significant value at the global level in defining the modalities of REDD+ and has produced a roadmap for countries to achieve REDD+ readiness. The FCPF has been willing to take risks and pioneer new ways of doing business. It has created a space for inclusive and transparent debate among donors, forested developing countries, civil society, indigenous peoples' groups and forest-dependent communities around REDD+. FCPF management could enhance its effectiveness by revisiting its supervision formulas, taking advantage of internal World Bank reforms relating to micro and small grants, and by developing a programmatic results framework that is more reflective of the technical assistance and financial services that it provides.Publication Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics, Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century, and Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06-30)This is the Global Program Review (GPR) of three related global partnership programs that aim to develop statistical capacity in developing countries the Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics (MAPS), the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21), and the Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB). The three programs have been reviewed together in a single GPR because they have similar objectives, because the World Bank has been heavily involved in all three programs, and because of the potential to learn cross-cutting lessons of experience in relation to statistical capacity building (SCB). This GPR has also reviewed relevant internal materials (progress reports, results frameworks, minutes of governing body meetings, etc.) and other information available on the web. In addition, IEG has independently obtained opinions and views on the three programs by interviewing staff of the Bank and the PARIS21 Secretariat, and selected members of the PARIS21 Board at the 2010 Board meeting in Paris, France. This Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) review has identified a number of weaknesses in the external evaluations. First, while all three external evaluations clearly state that the assessment of program effectiveness was in their terms of reference, the focus was predominantly on processes and activities, with insufficient emphasis given to outputs and outcomes. While this may be justified by technical and conceptual challenges, the evaluations could have identified concrete ways in which the programs have contributed to the improvement in statistics and statistical capacity. Second, while all three evaluations share the common concern on the inadequate implementation of National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDSs), they did not provide useful insights on how or to what extent NSDSs have helped with the development of national visions for statistical development. Third, there could have been a sharper focus and more specific recommendations on the notable lack of progress in the use of statistics in sub-Saharan Africa. Lastly, it would have been useful to have more systematic cross-references to the results of the analyses in the three evaluations.Publication Jordan : Supporting Stable Development in a Challenging Region, A Joint World Bank-Islamic Development Bank Evaluation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004)This evaluation, prepared in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank, looks at the effectiveness of Bank assistance to Jordan during the 1990s, from three perspectives: an analysis of the Bank's services and products, development impact, and the contribution of the Bank and its development partners, to development outcomes. The Bank's strategy since 1990, based on wide-ranging and influential analytic and advisory activities, was to support macroeconomic stabilization and pro-market structural reforms to foster growth. The increased focus on the social sectors was aligned with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The strategy was relevant to the government's priorities outlined in a series of five-year economic and social development plans. The Bank's programs, in particular, were successful in promoting policy reforms. Substantial tariff, trade and financial sector reforms, together with the removal of disincentives for investment and the privatization of government enterprises, were achieved. Bank assistance also contributed to significant progress in the agriculture, water and social sectors. With Bank support, Jordan made excellent progress in almost all areas covered by the MDGs, and is likely to meet the target levels by 2015. However, these gains have been achieved in an inefficient manner and the cost in terms of public expenditures has been relatively high. Recommendations outline much needed public sector reform, for despite some public expenditures being curtailed, the country's vulnerability to external shocks, remains high, and the potential for regional instability is also considerable. Future Bank assistance should focus on public expenditure restructuring, enhanced water management and conservation, and poverty reduction.Publication Country Financial Accountability Assessments and Country Procurement Assessment Reports : How Effective Are World Bank Fiduciary Diagnostics?(Washington, DC, 2008-04)World Bank analysis of a country's public financial management system is typically undertaken both to help the client country strengthen its system and to safeguard funds that the Bank provides against misuse, and is an important component of fiduciary diagnostics. The Bank's instruments for such analysis have generally been relevant; the resulting diagnostics have been of satisfactory quality and have fostered reform agendas in client countries. Country Financial Accountability Assessments (CFAAs) have contributed substantially, and Country Procurement Assessments Reports (CPARs) modestly, to development outcomes in a sample of 10 countries examined. Client consultation and donor collaboration in the preparation of CFAAs and CPARs have been increasing, but internal Bank coordination among the three sets of units dealing with public financial management has lagged, resulting in fragmented action plans for clients. Both instruments have had a more limited effect on managing risks to Bank assistance, owing to the lack of a sound analytical framework for assessing fiduciary risks and of associated guidance on how identified risks should be reflected in the design of country assistance strategies. The evaluation recommends: (i) ensuring that fiduciary instruments use an integrated risk analytical framework that includes a common approach to defining fiduciary risk; (ii) issuing revised guidelines along with implementing an integrated training program for relevant staff; and (iii) supporting the client in preparing a single integrated, prioritized, costed, and monitorable set of actions within an agreed framework for Public Financial Management (PFM) reform.Publication Results and Performance of the World Bank Group 2013 : An Independent Evaluation, Volume 2. Appendixes(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014)The global extreme poverty rate has fallen by half since 1990, but progress within the developing world has been uneven. Extreme poverty remains widespread in most low-income countries while many middle-income countries also continue to have substantial levels with many people there who have escaped extreme poverty remaining poor and vulnerable. Nor has there been robust progress in sharing prosperity: in many developing countries rapid growth has been accompanied by rising inequality, often with a geographic and ethnic dimension as progress in isolated areas has lagged behind. This appendix describes select elements of the evaluation systems in the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) that are the basis for this report. They illustrate commonalities as well as differences in evaluation practices across the institutions. The World Bank, IFC, and MIGA differ in the instruments and approaches they use to achieve development results. Each institution has an evaluation system tailored to its needs. In each organization, the evaluation system comprises different components, self-evaluation, independent evaluation, and validation of self-evaluation.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.