40 Years of Evaluation Heritage
Evaluation at the African Development Bank dates back to 1977; however, the first evaluation unit was not set up until 1980, when a special division was created within the Bank’s Research and Planning Department
A short history of evaluation at the African Development Bank
| 1980 | First evaluation unit set up |
| 1987 | Unit becomes the Operations Evaluation Office, reporting to the President |
| 1993 | The Board of Directors assumes oversight of the evaluation function through the General Audit Committee |
| 1995 | The Operations Evaluation Office is upgraded to a department |
| 1996 | The Operations Evaluation Department is placed under the umbrella of the newly created Committee on Operations and Development Effectiveness |
| 2002 | The function of the Operations Evaluation Department is reviewed and a Presidential Directive defining the department’s mandate is issued |
| 2007 | The Board of Directors approves the independent evaluation policy and functional responsibilities of the Operations Evaluation Department |
| 2012 | OPEV undertakes a self-assessment that forms the basis for a revised Independent Evaluation Policy and a new Independent Evaluation Strategy, and informs the Rolling Work Programme for 2013-2015 |
| 2013 | The Independent Evaluation Strategy 2013-2017 is adopted by the Board of Directors, and an update to the rolling Work Programme is presented for 2014-2016 |
| 2014 | OPEV changes its name from operations evaluation to Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) to better reflect its independence and its mandate |
| 2016 | The Independent Evaluation Policy is revised and approved by the Board. IDEV presents the Comprehensive Evaluation of Development Results, and hosts the AfDB Development Evaluation Week in Abidjan, attracting 250+ evaluation stakeholders. |
| 2018 | IDEV delivers a record number of 15 evaluations. AfDB Development Evaluation Week 2018 attracts over 450 participants |
| 2020 | AfDB Development Evaluation Week 2020 attracts over 650 participants |