evaluations—including the 2008 Annual Review of Development Effectiveness and evaluations on the environment (IEG 2009b) and the global economic crisis (IEG 2010)—highlighted the tension that arises when the country-based model is called upon to contribute to the supply of global public goods (GPGs) and address other cross-country issues. Evaluations also raised concern about the internal pressure to lend and resulting preference for operations with large commitments, noted in evaluations of governance and anticorruption (IEG 2011) and climate change (IEG 2009a). This lending pressure has also resulted in an insufficient focus on the sharing of knowledge, as noted in evaluations of GPGs, agriculture and agribusiness (IEG 2010a), transport (IEG 2007), and knowledge (IEG 2008). IEG is evaluating the Bank’s matrix system, at the request of the Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE),2 as a contribution toward strengthening the Bank’s effectiveness in assisting its client countries. The primary motivation is to build on the findings from IEG’s previous evaluations to assess the relevance and effectiveness of the Bank’s matrix system and its ability to provide highquality services to its clients in order to inform the Bank’s ongoing reforms. The objectives of the 1997 reforms were to create a new Bank culture through increased client responsiveness and delivery of quality services. Client responsiveness was to be improved through a new country compact and strong country managers who are closer to the client, hold budget authority, and are accountable for delivering the country program and ensuring results. Quality services were to be achieved through strong sector groups working together across the World Bank. These sector groups would deliver quality through product teams tasked with providing client solutions and results, building the Bank’s global knowledge base, and ensuring quality and accountability.3 The evaluation examines the extent to which the twin objectives of enhancing client responsiveness and establishing strong technical networks to deliver quality services have been attained and have enhanced the Bank’s development effectiveness. The evaluation focuses on the implementation of the current matrix system rather than on the 1997 matrix design, and it follows an objectives-based approach to assess the relevance and effectiveness of the matrix reform. To the extent feasible, the evaluation also examines the efficiency of matrix arrangements. In this evaluation, the terms “matrix system” and “matrix reform” refer to both the organizational structure and the accompanying institutional rules and behaviors.
Adapting the Bank to Changing External Realities The 1997 reforms were aimed at adapting the organization to changing circumstances and addressing concerns among external stakeholders about the role of aid in development. External circumstances changed dramatically in the 1990s with the increasing importance of private financing of development leading to a decreasing share of official development aid, including Bank financing, in total flows to developing countries. This trend has continued after
Introduction and Context
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