2010, spanning all Country Assistance Strategies (CASs) for 80 countries since introduction of the matrix system. Given the absence of baseline data, the evaluation undertook comparative analyses of findings from the universe of CASCR reviews to assess the responsiveness and effectiveness of country programs; time series data on budgets, staffing, and cross support, and thematic composition of the portfolio; incentives and constraints of regional matrix systems; data from manager interviews, a staff survey, and focus groups; and perceived strengths and weaknesses of the matrix system compared with those of the pre-1997 system.
Limitations of the Evaluation Attribution of impacts to the matrix is problematic because of changes in the external environment and the overlapping effects of other elements of the renewal strategy—decentralization, business process renewal for budget and human resources management, restructuring of network Vice Presidential Units (VPUs) in 2006, and the quality assurance mechanisms outside the sectors and networks— that have evolved in parallel but have a bearing on the matrix system. Isolating the effects of the matrix system from these overlapping reforms is not feasible. While focusing primarily on matrix issues, the evaluation has acknowledged and dealt with these collinear effects to the extent that they have had an impact on the effectiveness of the matrix system.
Strategic Alignment Alignment of client priorities with sector and corporate priorities is a relevant objective for maximizing the Bank’s development effectiveness. Central to the question of alignment of sector and corporate priorities with country programs is the relative power of country directors and sector managers and the differences in scope, time frame, and audience between sector and country strategies. By design, the country-based model is more responsive to short-term client demands within the three- to four-year time frame of a CAS than to longer-term sector and corporate priorities that take into account and should benefit clients with the global perspective of the Bank. In contrast, sector and corporate strategies are generic because of their global coverage and longer time frame, inhibiting alignment with country programs.
Responsiveness and Effectiveness of Country Programs The Bank’s record of delivering responsive and effective country programs is moderately satisfactory or better two-thirds of the time. On aggregate, CAS outcomes since the introduction of the matrix system (covering country programs from FY1998-FY2008) have been moderately satisfactory or better in nearly two-thirds of country programs. The Bank has been most effective in responding to client government demands but less so in establishing strategic priorities that are realistic and have broader ownership or in integrating corporate priorities, such as gender and environment within country programs,
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