Third Countries: Evaluation of Commission’s Aid Delivery Through Development Banks and EIB

Client: EC - Joint Evaluation Unit RELEX-EuropeAid-DEV

Partner(s):

Start/End Date: 27/10/2006 - 09/12/2008

Description:

ADE realised on demand of the EC an Evaluation of EC channelling of funds through the Development Banks (essentially the World Bank) and the EIB. It concerned thus the evaluation of an aid delivery modality, rather than more typically of a sector/ country/ programme/ intervention. The EC had indeed decided in 2001 to reinforce its contribution to the multilateral system. Accordingly, funds channelled through the WB and EIB increased significantly to represent levels of respectively € 500m and €150m EC aid in 2006. The EC has indeed delivered a growing part of its aid through external institutions, with as main objectives to enhance global governance, increase total aid, and improve efficiency and effectiveness of aid.

Conceived as a stock-taking and forward looking exercise, the assignment assessed to what extent the EC co-operation over the period 1999 – 2006 implemented through the WB and EIB had been relevant, efficient, effective and visible and what their impact was on the sustainable development. It covered the wide array of sectors, themes, and instruments for which the WB and EIB received funding, from debt reduction to post-crisis recovery, from health to environment, from budget support to interest rate subsidies. It covered aid to all third countries receiving EC funds through the WB and EIB; focused missions were organised to three countries: Ethiopia, Vietnam and Morocco, as well as visits to WB and EIB HQ in Washington D.C. and Luxembourg. A questionnaire has also been realised, covering all WB Trust Funds receiving EC funds

This evaluation was realised in parallel with another evaluation which has been carried out by ADE, focusing on the EC aid delivered through the United Nations family.

The following services were provided:

* an inventory and typology of the funds delivered through the Development Banks and EIB, to serve as a basis for the next stages of the evaluation;
* a reconstruction of the intervention logic, allowing to determine evaluation questions, judgement criteria and indicators,
* answers to these evaluation questions based on information gathered through a desk phase, a questionnaire and country visits
* a set of sound conclusions and related recommendations, to enable evidence-based decision-making
* an overall assessment on the EC co-operation with the WB and EIB
* a methodological annex with evaluation approach, tools and checklists
* a dissemination seminar organised to present the findings, conclusions and recommendations to the EC Services and the main stakeholders.