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Evaluating Country Programmes
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decision-makers. The interdependence of economies makes this type of perspective
indispensable in CPEs.
What methodologies and evaluation criteria are relevant/useful in CPEs?
The criteria adopted and promoted by the DAC since 1991 are routinely
included in CPE terms of reference and will be the object of a memorandum
specific to the Treasury Department’s Evaluation Unit. However, for the French
Ministry of Co-operation, competitive practices have increased the diversity of
methodologies used by individual consultant and team evaluation reports. Furthermore,
new expert evaluations are being called for within the Ministry’s units
and in other ministerial departments in order to bolster skills and compare
experiences.
Although it is necessary to diversify experts’ profiles in order to acquire new
methods of assessing the French co-operation actions undertaken, it is nonetheless
indispensable to ensure a degree of uniformity among CPE reports. After the first
six CPEs, methodological analysis involving a comparison of various approaches
was carried out to establish a basic framework. Each new CPE offers an opportunity
to review and supplement this framework in the context of a country group where
the technical services and the main participants (Diplomatic Division, Treasury
Department, French Development Agency) are represented under the responsibility
of the geographic official representative for the country concerned.
Over the years, the expectations set out in the terms of reference have become
more specific. At the same time, however, demand has increased, as has the workload.
CPEs have to respond to increasingly urgent needs (those of geographic representatives
with regard to strategy, of sectoral representatives in their respective
areas, of financial representatives on good governance, of political representatives
on the position of France in relation to other partners, of elected officials on the
effectiveness of aid, etc.); as a result, tasks have multiplied and have become more
lengthy, reports have become more detailed, and costs have risen.
The time has come to identify more specific priorities and better determine the
stakes. One aim being considered is to focus the evaluation exercise on co-operation
policy and to separate it from preliminary tasks such as compiling documents, data
and statistics concerning the economic situation, aid received, and studies on sectors,
programmes and projects. It is not possible for the time being to eliminate the
assessment portion, but a new type of CPE is being carried out in which the evaluators
are steered more overtly towards analysis of co-operation policies.
The Treasury Department’s Evaluation Unit has shifted the focus of the exercise;
it is clearly defined as an instrument for assisting decision-making, one whose
approach must be more synthetic in nature. Specific terms of reference for CPEs
OECD 1999