ECG Good Practice Standards
GPS on the Independence of International Financial Institutions' Central Evaluation Departments
The Development Committee Task Force on Multilateral Development Banks recommended in 1996 that:
"The heads of the five MDB evaluation units …. should….. be allowed to issue final evaluation reports to the MDB President and Executive Directors without prior clearance by anyone outside the unit.”
--Development Committee, Task Force on Multilateral Development Banks, Serving a Changing World: Report from the Task Force on Multilateral Development Banks (15 March 1996)
Implicit in this statement is the notion that the Central Evaluation Department (CED) of an International Financial Institution (IFI) should exercise independence in conducting and reporting on its evaluation work. Since 1996, the concept of evaluation independence has been articulated further. These Good Practice Standards are intended to guide IFI policies and procedures for ensuring the independence of the CED, and to be used in self-assessments, peer reviews, and governing Board reviews of the CED.