Evaluation of the African Development Bank’s Decentralization Programme

Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) is evaluating the African Development Bank Group’s (AfDB or “the Bank”) decentralization programme for the period 2015 to 2022. The Bank’s decentralization, which began in 1998, refers to the process of reallocating human and financial resources, functions and responsibilities from its headquarters towards offices based in its Regional Member Countries (RMCs). The Bank aims to improve its ability to deliver development impact and be more competitive by positioning resources where it can best meet the needs of RMCs. From 1999 to date, the AfDB has established 41 decentralized offices, including five regional hubs and one external to the continent.

The overall aim of the evaluation is to provide insights and lessons on the decentralization implementation that will inform further decentralization efforts under the Seventh General Capital Increase (GCI-VII) and the 16th cycle of the African Development Fund (ADF-16) commitments. The evaluation also presents an opportunity to close the knowledge gaps in the previous evaluations, and to undertake an independent review of former strategies, roadmaps, and action plans. 

The core evaluation questions will focus on the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of the decentralization programme. Emphasis will be placed on the implementation period of the Updated Decentralization Action Plan (2015-2018), the Bank's Development and Business Delivery Model (2016-2018), and other efforts to decentralize up to the end of 2022. The evaluation will focus on the systems, processes, and practices guiding decentralization, and adherence to Board-agreed criteria when opening new regional and country offices. 

The evaluation will deploy a combination of theory-based and appropriate innovative methodologies to address, both summative and formative perspectives.  It will use a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data sources comprising the following components: document review, key informant interviews, surveys, case studies, and comparative analysis. 

The evaluation is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2024. 
Task Managers: Mirianaud Oswald Agbadome and May Esther Mwaka, Principal Evaluation Officers