SPECIAL FEATURE
Accountability and transparency around development e ff ectiveness have become increasingly important.
Ulrike Haarsager, OPEC Fund, Head of Development E ff ectiveness
OECD-DAC EVALUATION CRITERIA Relevance: The extent to which the intervention objectives and design respond to beneficiary, global, country, and partner/institution needs, policies,and priorities,
What is development e ff ectiveness and why is it needed?
tackle the many remaining challenges. Accountability and transparency around development e ff ectiveness have therefore become increasingly important.
The Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD- DAC) defines development e ff ectiveness as “the extent to which a given development intervention’s objectives were achieved, or are expected to be achieved, taking into account their relative importance” 5 . Measuring the extent to which the development objectives were achieved requires the measurement of whether the expected development outcomes (and impacts, when possible) of a transaction or project that focuses on addressing a certain development challenge have in fact materialized. In turn, assessing the achievement of the results and therefore objective is only possible if the expectations had been clearly defined before undertaking a development intervention. Measuring development e ff ectiveness is meant to provide clear and objective data that allows finance providers and recipients to take informed decisions on where to best direct the limited resources, and how – in an e ff ort to target the most e ff ective interventions, and to design all interventions in a way that they can reach the largest impact possible. Clear data and information about the development e ff ectiveness of their activities also allows development finance providers to be accountable to their funders and other stakeholders. Knowing, and being able to show, the e ff ectiveness in the use of their funds can motivate funders – such as national governments who are accountable to their taxpayers – to continue supporting development causes and therefore to
Guiding principles for development e ff ectiveness
and continue to do so if circumstances change. Coherence: The compatibility of the intervention with other interventions in a country, The extent to which the intervention achieved, or is expected to achieve, its objectives and its results, including any di ff erential results across groups. E ffi ciency: sector or institution. E ff ectiveness:
The assessment of whether or not a development intervention has been e ff ective is usually performed after project implementation, as development benefits usually take some time to materialize. This evaluation typically considers a number of highly interrelated aspects. Most development finance institutions (DFIs) apply several, or all, of the evaluation criteria as defined by the OECD-DAC Network on Development Evaluation (see box, right) when measuring whether or not a development project has been successful. Whereas these criteria can be applied to all development interventions, the use of donor money for private sector interventions also requires an assessment of whether and why this assistance is needed in the first place – as opposed to private funds – to avoid distorting potentially functioning markets to the detriment of final beneficiaries. Providers of development finance to the private sector therefore typically also assess to what extent their financing o ff ers financial or non-financial value – also called additionality
The extent to which the intervention delivers, or is likely to deliver, results in an economic and timely way. Impact: The extent to which the intervention has generated or is expected to generate significant positive or negative, intended or unintended,
higher-level e ff ects. Sustainability:
– which is needed for development results to materialize, but which, at the same time, is not available from purely commercial financiers.
The extent to which the net benefits of the intervention continue, or are likely to continue.
ILLUSTRATIONS: MicroOne/Shutterstock.com
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