Independent Evaluation of IFC's Development Results 2009: Knowledge for Private Sector Development

by World Bank Group, Isabelle Maillet

The 'Independent Evaluation of IFC's Development Results 2009' assesses the development outcomes and additionality (unique role and contribution) of IFC interventions. It analyzes factors driving results, and reviews performance patterns on a thematic topic. This year s thematic is IFC s Advisory Services (AS) knowledge services that IFC provides to either private companies or governments in support of private sector development. The report s main findings are: Investment Services results improved overall. Performance was especially strong in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Most operations were implemented prior to the crisis and thus results do not yet reflect the deterioration in global economic conditions. In terms of results, 70 percent of reviewed AS operations achieved high development ratings. Performance has been strongest in ECA and weakest in LAC. Results were significantly better for infrastructure, business enabling environment, and corporate advice operations and weaker in the case of environmental and social sustainability Key drivers of AS performance have been: client commitment; programmatic approaches; IFC s additionality; and monitoring and evaluation quality. Charging for AS has been associated with better performance. To enhance development impact, the report recommends that IFC: (i) Effectively manage the tension between protecting the portfolio and responding to opportunities during crisis; (ii) Set out an overall strategy for IFC advisory services, addressing the need for a clear vision and business framework and more closely linked with IFC s global corporate strategy; (iii) Pursue more programmatic AS interventions; (iv) Improve execution of the AS pricing policy; and (v) Strengthen AS performance measurement and internal knowledge management."

192 pages, Paperback

Published July 30, 2009

About the author

The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and most famous development bank in the world and is an observer at the United Nations Development Group. The bank is based in Washington, D.C. and provided around $61 billion in loans and assistance to "developing" and transition countries in the 2014 fiscal year. The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity. Its five organizations are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The World Bank's (the IBRD and IDA's) activities are focused on developing countries, in fields such as human development (e.g. education, health), agriculture and rural development (e.g. irrigation and rural services), environmental protection (e.g. pollution reduction, establishing and enforcing regulations), infrastructure (e.g. roads, urban regeneration, and electricity), large industrial construction projects, and governance (e.g. anti-corruption, legal institutions development). The IBRD and IDA provide loans at preferential rates to member countries, as well as grants to the poorest countries. Loans or grants for specific projects are often linked to wider policy changes in the sector or the country's economy as a whole. For example, a loan to improve coastal environmental management may be linked to development of new environmental institutions at national and local levels and the implementation of new regulations to limit pollution, or not, such as in the World Bank financed constructions of paper mills along the Rio Uruguay in 2006.