Assessing the monitoring and evaluation systems of IFC and MIGA : biennial report on operations evaluation

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has advanced systems to gather, analyze, and apply investment and advisory project information. It has made strides in developing, aggregating, disclosing, and strategically using its development indicators. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has made progress in upgrading its system of assessing its development performance. There are gaps in terms of measuring private sector development for investment projects and use of relevant standard indicators in advisory services projects. Reliability of data can be enhanced by adding more independent verification. Most self-evaluation has been project focused, but there is much that could be learned by extending evaluation to cover programs and strategies. The systems could be improved in several aspects to make evaluation more effective and to get more value from evaluation lessons. This biennial report on operations evaluation is an evaluation of these systems. It takes stock of the strengths and weaknesses of the development results frameworks in place for IFC investment services, IFC advisory services, and MIGA guarantees, and determines whether they: (1) provide mechanisms to generate credible, timely, and relevant information; (2) support evidence based decision making and learning; and (3) improve the performance and results of IFC's or MIGA's activities. Where they fall short, this report offers recommendations for improvements.