IFAD Reform towards a better development effectiveness

How can we all do better?Mohamed Béavogui

Director, West and Central AfricaJanuary 2009

Why reforming IFAD?

• 6th Replenishment, 2002: members requested Independent External Evaluation of IFAD

• In 2005, the Independent External Evaluation (IEE) measured IFAD’s performance in terms of relevance, efficiency and effectiveness, and made recommendations. IEE report found:

- IFAD’s low performance: “only a little over half of the sampled projects showed a satisfactory overall impact on poverty”

- To meet challenges, deep, far-reaching changes needed.

How IFAD was reformed?

• IFAD’s Action Plan to improve its development effectiveness (2006-2008) is the response to the IEE recommendations in terms of:

- strengthening strategic planning and guidance- enhancing project quality, performance and impact- improving capacity to innovate and manage the knowledge gained- improving financial and human resource management- building a values-based, enabling corporate culture- monitoring and reporting on development and organizational

effectiveness

What are the reform goal and targets?

• Goal to increase IFAD’s development effectiveness, efficiency and relevance in helping its member countries reduce rural poverty.

• By 2009,- RELEVANCE: 100% congruence with country development

objectives, strategies and priorities- EFFECTIVENESS: 80% or more of IFAD projects will achieve their

development objectives- EFFICIENCY: 60% or more of IFAD projects will have a high or

substantial level of efficiency

• Over 40 deliverables defined in areas of: - strategic planning and guidance; - project quality and impact; and - knowledge management and innovation- HR Reform

What are the key reforms? • New Strategic Framework 2007-2010: reference for all reform efforts

and guidance for all• Management for Development Results - focus on strategic priorities,

and monitoring and assessing results.• Innovation and Knowledge Management Strategies• New Operating Model:

- Working more closely with our country partners and within their poverty reduction strategies

- New project design guidelines and processes for quality enhancement at entry (QE)

- New arms-length quality assurance system (QA) - Direct Supervision (and new policy)- Enhanced country presence to contribute to the Paris/Accra

agenda on Aid Effectiveness• Core Values: focus on results, integrity, professionalism and respect• Reforming HR

Organizational effectiveness: Financial, HR management and alignment

Operational effectiveness: Improving country programmes and projects

Strategic objectives: Action Plan targets;

Strategic Framework 2007-2010

Measurement, managing and reportingAreas of reform

Report on IFAD’s

DevelopmentEffectiveness

Level 2: IFAD contribution to development

outcomes

Level 3: Progress in enhancing

IFAD’s operational effectiveness

Level 4: Progress in improving IFAD’s

organizational effectiveness

Level 1: Country progress in key development

outcomes

Management for Development Results coherent framework

Corporate Management Results (CMRs): Country-level results are critical• CMR 1: Better Country Programme Management

• CMR 2: Better Project Design (loans and grants)

• CMR 3: Better Implementation Support

• CMR 4. Improved Resource Mobilisation and Management

• CMR 5. Improved Human Resource Management

• CMR 6. Improved Risk Management

• CMR 7. Improved Administrative Efficiency

• CMR 8: Strengthened International Advocacy’

The New Operating Model

Key features of the New Quality-based Project Design

Country Programme Teams (CPMT): A Collaborative Tool to Operationalise the Paris/Accra Declaration

Composition- Ownership: Key Government & partner stakeholders

from the host country including core project management

- Technical: Staff in key thematic areas of the project & co-opted members

- Fiduciary: Legal and Financial personnel from IFAD and/or CI

- Peers: Other CPMs (including from other divisions) with relevant expertise, Regional Economists, Field Presence, Specialists and personnel from other rural development agencies/donors in host country

CPMT Role

• The end result is the Quality of Design and Implementation Proposals (internal quality enhancement)

• Collective responsibility and accountability• Outputs

• Parameters of a new project; • Main areas of investigation and analysis

required• Design Plan

• Project development timeline and budget• “Life File” development & management• CPMT to present the project in fora & committees

Objective and approach

• Knowledge for IFAD is development practice• Rationale: to learn systematically and

collectively through own programs, from the experience of partners, especially the rural poor people and their organizations

• Objective: to “improve knowledge sharing and learning and translate these into better projects, better programs and better implementation”

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Strengthening knowledge sharing and learning processes at country level• Within country program cycle to improve development

effectiveness:- Mainstreamed KM through R-B COSOP - M&E as a learning tool- Implementation support: supervision, MTR, learning - Country presence to foster knowledge sharing and

learning- In-country policy dialogue is systematically informed by

programme experience• Initiatives to value and stimulate local knowledge• Local knowledge with high potential to be scaled up

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Strengthening knowledge sharing and learning networks and processes• Strengthening a few thematic networks (e.g. Rural

finance, cassava, rice, CDD…)• Further expand FIDAfrique to cover Subsaharan

Africa• Expand knowledge services: information repository,

project webpages, facilitating learning initiatives (workshops, e-conf.)…

• Stronger linkages with Rural Poverty Portal• Two types of services: self-services, facilitated

services

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Operational (project) performance against IEE baseline and Action Plan targets

0102030405060708090

100

% S

atis

fact

ory

(4-6

)

IEE 2003

2005-06, PPR

2007, ARRI

AP/RMF Targets