Evaluating Country Programmes - OECD Online Bookshop

OECD 1999
Chapter 6
French Experience with Country
Programme Evaluations
by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance
and Industry, and The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, Paris
How can CPEs be designed so as to ensure linkage with the 21st century
Partnership Strategy goals?
Country programme evaluations (CPEs) are carried out to register the efforts
undertaken by member countries to achieve the goals of the 21st century Partnership
Strategy, but are not designed to respond directly to these goals.
CPEs, which examine certain aspects of French co-operation policy, notably
with regard to eradicating poverty, have clearly played a role in the introduction of
new project and programme indicators that take into account the orientations promoted
by the 2st Century Partnership Strategy. These evaluations compare operations
in a variety of sectors, thereby promoting cross-cutting themes such as
environment, gender, participation, and eradication of poverty.
Since CPEs are carried out by external agents through inter-sectoral co-operation,
enables reporting of evaluation results and feedback of recommendations. Concerns
that address these stakes are fed into new operations. Dissemination of these aims
does not entail constraints at procedural level, but primarily seeks to ensure that common
concepts and innovative approaches are shared.
Preparing and carrying out CPEs can also constitute components of the
21st century Partnership Strategy, in particular within the framework of the partnerships
established with beneficiary countries. To date, however, France has not conducted
a joint evaluation with a Southern nation. There are some hesitations as to
the relevance of pursuing this objective, because some of the results that France
hopes to obtain cannot be fully shared. Objectives set out in CPE terms of reference
go beyond merely evaluating public policy, instruments, programmes and projects.
CPEs allow us to review our operations, take stock of activities over a decade,
determine whether our actions are consistent with those of other lenders, and share
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