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Evaluating Country Programmes
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Box 5.6. Guidelines for the preparation
of country assistance evaluations
1. Selection
– Country and period of evaluation, important political or economic landmarks,
data sources.
– Focus, budget, timing for completion and team selection (joint or parallel
evaluations with others).
– Level of evaluation and coverage of institutional instruments and activities.
– Possible involvement of country authorities.
2. Approach paper
– Country political, economic and social environment – why specific decisions
were taken.
– Relevant development issues and extent of assistance/exposure.
– Evolution and timeline of country strategies, key debates, decisions and
actions taken, disputes with country.
– Portfolio of operations and other non-project activities/assessment of information
and data sources.
– Comparison of institution’s objectives and achievements with those of country
and other donors.
– Level and extent of focus and key questions, over time and across sectors or
dimensions, macro-economic issues, cross-cutting and other issues.
– Methodology on how to assess evaluation issues of relevance, efficacy, efficiency,
sustainability, institutional development impact and overall impact.
– Co-operation and partnerships – extent of involvement of other donor agencies,
government, civil society, private sector.
– Budget and timetable.
3. Desk review
– Examination of institution, field office, country, IMF, other donor and other
relevant documents including academic analysis.
– Examination of strategies, economic sector work, portfolio performance
reviews, project and non-project results, completion reports, project, sector
and thematic evaluations and other documents.
– Discussion and interviews at desk with key staff, IMF and other donor officials
and visiting government officials.
– Clarification of strategy goal, objectives, targets, benchmarks, process indicators
and attribution (external shock, donor agencies, government and private
sector) and counterfactual (s) to be used in the evaluation.
– Executive summaries of issues to be raised during field visit prepared in
advance.
OECD 1999