Overview The use of impact evaluation (IE) to assess causal effects of development interventions and complement other evaluation approaches has expanded rapidly over the past decade, as the development community has focused more sharply on measuring results. Consistent with this trend, the production of IEs at the World Bank Group has also grown rapidly, from an average of 16 initiated per year in the period 1999–2004 to an average of 62 per year in 2005–10. In parallel, the role of IEs in furthering the learning and knowledge agenda has received increased corporate attention, particularly at the World Bank, starting with the creation of the Development Impact Evaluation Initiative (DIME) in 2005. More recently, the replenishment discussions for the International Development Association (IDA) recommended institutionalizing IEs at the World Bank under a strategic framework. In the study, the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) examines the relevance, quality, and influence of World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) IEs on operational, institutional, and knowledge priorities by examining their experience throughout the IE production cycle, from initiation to implementation to dissemination and uptake. IEG finds that the Bank Group portfolio of IEs is largely aligned with project objectives and sector strategies. In particular, World Bank IEs initiated more recently are better integrated with operations and cover a broader range of sector and knowledge priorities than earlier ones. Still, some areas for improvement need to be addressed, in particular in consideration of the relatively high cost of producing IEs. Strategic IE selection and coordination has been improving over time at the World Bank, led by DIME and the Spanish Impact Evaluation Trust Fund (SIEF). Through SIEF, for example, a systematic approach to identifying and financing IEs has been rolled out, most widely in the Human Development Network (HDN). Other initiatives, such as the creation of new IE thematic programs and the adoption of the programmatic model by an increasing number of IE programs, have improved strategic prioritization of IE topics as well as coordination between DIME and project teams in the initiation of IEs. In IFC, where the use of IE is relatively more recent and much smaller than in the World Bank, the selection of IEs has not yet been guided by a strategic framework, though a new Evaluation Strategy—approved in FY12—moves in this direction. Across the World Bank Group, issues related to funding, staff capacity, and incentives still constrain the scope and coverage of IEs. Most World Bank IEs meet either medium or high technical quality standards, and about half of IFC IEs did. With some exceptions, notably SIEF-financed IEs, there are at present no formal and standardized mechanisms at the World Bank to ensure that all evaluations go through similar quality controls. A more formal process could guarantee that individual evaluations receive the feedback and scrutiny needed to ensure high quality. The lower technical quality
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