Operations Evaluation
Evaluation at the African Development Bank
Evaluation plays two key roles at the African Development Bank:
- Evaluation provides an objective assessment of the Bank’s performance in achieving development results. It does so by assessing the development effectiveness of Bank policies and program/project lending, as well as non-lending activities, including business processes, advisory services, knowledge networks, technical assistance, coordination and partnerships.
- Evaluation helps ensure that the Bank is accountable to its governance bodies and to the public. It also promotes learning from experience, both within and outside the Bank to ensure improvement in the policies and operations of the Bank and of its development partners.
Effective evaluation contributes to better development results. Systematic evaluation helps to ensure that the Bank is accountable for its performance in delivering development results, and that it learns from its activities. Where performance is weak, evaluation promotes improvement; where performance is strong, evaluation helps to record and share good practice.
Two types of evaluations are conducted within the Bank:
- Self-evaluations implemented by the Bank’s operations departments
- Independent evaluations, carried out by the Operations Evaluation Department Self Evaluations
Self Evaluations
Self-evaluation activities are undertaken by all country, sector and thematic groups within the operations complexes, to inform and strengthen policies and operations. One of the key self-evaluation tools used at the African Development Bank is the Project Completion Report which is prepared by operations teams as implementation is concluded.
Independent Evaluations
Independent evaluation at the Bank is carried out by the Operations Evaluation Department Independent evaluation provides objective, systematic assessments of the Bank’s performance, as well as lessons and recommendations intended to improve policies and operations. It supports the Bank’s increasing emphasis on managing for development results.
The Operations Evaluation Department’s independent status helps to ensure the credibility of its work. However, the Operation Evaluation Department also seeks to be relevant, responsive and useful to the Bank’s senior management, technical departments and country teams as well as to the Bank’s regional and non-regional clients and partners.