EDITORIAL
THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE DECADE – AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Dear Reader,
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2023 World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings in October in Marrakech, the Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said poor countries should be provided with US$300 billion a year to finance their
funds for sustainable development is going to be more challenging than ever. The British government may not remain the only one to “adjust” its targets, citing a ff ordability concerns. One way to address the scarcity of funds is to make better use of existing ones. Assessment, monitoring and evaluation have been high on the agenda of development finance institutions for a long time, but never have they been more important. Here we are talking about a comprehensive approach influencing the whole lifespan of a project, starting with the design and ending with its impact, delivering better outcomes for the beneficiaries and better results for the states, taxpayers and investors who are funding the development finance institutions. In this issue of the OPEC Fund Quarterly we look into the theory and practice of development e ff ectiveness. Our team explores the discussion in the international community and the OPEC Fund’s approach. As part of the transformation of the institution the OPEC Fund introduced a Development E ff ectiveness Report this year for the first time and has created a unit in its Strategy Department to mainstream impact measurement throughout its operations.
The approach is anchored in the OPEC Fund Results Framework, which tracks key corporate performance, strategic alignment and results indicators across four levels (global/regional development progress, operations’ results, operational e ff ectiveness, and organizational e ffi ciency). An accompanying project- level toolkit ensures that operations are prepared in a way that ensures the consistent assessment, monitoring and evaluation of their development e ff ectiveness. OPEC Fund Director-General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa tells us: “We want to expand our activities and step up our delivery of development support. It is of paramount importance to deploy our funds in the most cost-e ff ective and e ffi cient way. This approach also commits us to lifelong learning and to constantly aiming to improve everything we do: By seeing first-hand what works today, we can refine our focus for the best results tomorrow.” That e ff ectiveness is a serious concern for all development finance institutions was echoed by our partners from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) who devoted considerable time and e ff ort to setting out their approach (see page 22). As a pioneer in the field the IsDB started with a first framework for the
fight against the climate crisis. As huge as this amount – to be
provided by the IMF as special drawing rights created by rich countries – sounds, it pales in comparison to United Nations’ estimates that developing countries need US$6 trillion in climate financing by 2030 in order to have any hope of achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 – Climate Action. Even if the US$300 billion Stiglitz proposes were to become available it would take 20 years to add up to the required US$6 trillion. Yet delivery of the SDGs is due in 2030 – approximately a third of this time span – and this is only 1 out of 17 goals. In any case, as Stiglitz acknowledged, the funds he, the UN, other development organizations and climate activists are asking for are not going to become available overnight. In a world where full-scale war is back on the agenda, the cost of living crisis is corroding even the wealthiest societies and widespread anger fuels populist movements, finding
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