ECG Paper
Additionality: A Stocktake and Discussion of Multi-lateral Development Bank Approaches
Additionality has long been part of MDBs’ modus operandi and all institutions considered in this report regard it as an important feature of their public purpose persona. For many, additionality is a principle embedded in their Articles of Association. Yet, for all that, it is a subject that has been somewhat neglected until recently. With significant efforts made to improve the assessment and reporting of development impact in recent years additionality has the feel of a poorer relation. It is an opportune moment for that to change.
The Report considers the approach to additionality taken by MDBs and reviews the available information from a number of angles - from the strategic perspective to its operational implementation and assessment, questions of clarity and coherence, ambiguities, tensions and trade-offs, and questions of monitoring, reporting and evaluation – before drawing some conclusions and making some suggestions.
This paper was initially published in November 2020 as an internal paper. Members agreed to make it public at the ECG Fall meeting in November 2022.