Tunis — The African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank are making good progress in adopting Managing for Development Results (MfDR) practices, according to a joint report just released by them. These MfDR practices aim to improve the design, implementation, and evaluation of strategies and operations with a view to achieving relevant development results.

In the 2006 Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) Common Performance Assessment (COMPAS) report, the MDBs jointly publish information on how they conduct business and organize themselves to ensure that their operations are geared towards results. The purpose of the COMPAS is to report on MDB performance, not on country-level results, which are a joint product of several actors, including the MDBs. The COMPAS does not intend to encourage comparisons among MDBs but rather to provide baseline data against which each MDB may ascertain its own progress over time.

The COMPAS is based on a systematic framework for collecting consistent information among MDBs. Efforts have been made by the MDBs in the 2006 COMPAS report to improve the definition of performance indicators and increase the credibility and reliability of the information presented in it. The MDBs believe that the 2006 COMPAS report constitutes an acceptable baseline for measuring future progress.

The 2006 COMPAS shows that the MDBs are increasingly aware of the importance of results. Results frameworks and systems are being put in place aimed at measuring the development effectiveness of MDB-financed operations. Self- and independent evaluation functions are being strengthened. The 2006 COMPAS also shows that the application of MfDR approaches varies among MDBs, and that a common challenge is to obtain relevant results information and to use it for day-to-day decision making.

The report intends to contribute to transparency, accountability, and learning, satisfying increased demand from both managers and shareholders of MDBs for information on the effective use of resources.

The COMPAS report was issued in time for the Third International Roundtable on Managing for Development Results, which will take place in Hanoi on February 5-8, 2007. It was also issued as an input to the forthcoming 2007 Global Monitoring Report coordinated by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.