Evaluation of the AfDB’s Human Resource Management: Recruitment, Retention, Career development, and Performance management

Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB or the “Bank”) has launched an evaluation of the AfDB’s Human resource (HR) management. It will focus on recruitment, retention, career progression, and performance management. Over the past and recent years, the Bank has initiated major organizational changes and made it imperative to attract, retain and develop a high-quality workforce necessary to deliver on the Africa transformation agenda. This evaluation is the second of its kind following a previous evaluation conducted by IDEV in 2017 which covered the Bank’s human resource management policy and strategic directions.

The purpose of this formative evaluation is to examine the quality and performance of the Bank’s current HR management processes and practices, such as the current People Strategy (2021-2025) and subsequent reform actions, throughout the following topics: (i) The adequacy of key HR processes; (ii) The impact and quality of the measures taken by the Bank following the COVID-19 crisis concerning new forms of work (remote and hybrid working), and their impact on recruitment, retention, career development, and performance management; (iii) The efficiency and effectiveness of the reforms deployed by the HR complex since 2017 and (iv) The alignment of the Bank’s HR processes with those of comparator organizations and good practice standards in the four key areas of focus. The evaluation will draw lessons that can inform the effective execution and sustained benefits of ongoing HR reforms as well as guide the future direction of the Bank’s human resource strategy.
The evaluation will adopt a theory-based approach to serve as the analytical framework and will involve an extensive review of existing documentation and systems, analysis of human resource data as well as collection of information from key informants, through interviews and online survey, regarding their experiences and expectations in strategic human resource management.  

The evaluation is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2024.
Task Manager: Akua ARTHUR- KISSI, Principal Evaluation Officer