The African Development Bank Group (AfDB or "the Bank")’s Results Measurement Framework (RMF) 2016–2025 is designed to measure and enhance the Bank’s development impact in Africa. To facilitate understanding of the RMF’s performance and to help improve its execution for the remaining period until 2025, Independent Development Evaluation undertook a mid-term evaluation of the RMF for the period 2016-2020. The evaluation assessed the robustness of the RMF’s design in supporting the Bank’s development effectiveness, and the extent to which it has achieved its strategic objectives of being an accountability, decision-making, and learning tool for the Bank. It also assessed to what extent, and how, it has been optimal in achieving its strategic objectives.
The evaluation found the RMF to be relevant in supporting the Bank’s development effectiveness. Design quality was assessed as good and in conformity with the characteristics of a good corporate results framework, albeit with some weaknesses in indicator selection, target setting, and stakeholders’ consultation. The evaluation found the RMF to be an effective tool for accountability, which has improved the communication of corporate performance. However, its use for learning and decision-making was not optimal. The evaluation drew attention to the relatively large number of RMF indicators compared with other Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), which has implications for cost efficiency. It also pointed out that the AfDB is the only MDB that has chosen to report exclusively on its own contribution and the results that can be attributed to it, and not on the aggregate project contribution, which includes co-financiers.
The evaluation outlined lessons on the credibility of the Bank’s self-evaluation system, ownership among key stakeholders, the flexibility of the RMF to accommodate future indicators, and the need to balance realism and ambition in setting RMF targets. Finally, it made recommendations to the Bank to (i) improve the design of the RMF; (ii) improve its results reporting; and (iii) enable better results-based management and evidence-based decision-making.
Task Manager: Joseph Mouanda, Chief Evaluation Officer, IDEV.1