Evaluation of the Fund for Special Operations during the Eighth Replenishment (1994-2010): Part II

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Date
Sep 2012
The objective of this evaluation is to complete the assessment of the performance of IDB's concessional lending program focusing on financial and developmental results. The evaluation found that the IDB remained the largest single source of concessional financing for the five poorest countries in the region. It was also a major source of debt relief. To ensure the sustainability of FSO, the number of beneficiary countries was reduced significantly. The levels of conditionality after 2007 (except to Haiti) also decreased. An analysis of aggregate and country level outcomes indicates substantial progress, especially in infrastructure and social development, but it has been insufficient to reduce the gap between FSO countries and the regional average significantly. While outcomes are not attributable to IDB projects, the IDB has been a development partner making an important contribution. The IDB's new self-evaluation system can be instrumental in the evaluation of FSO going forward. Thus, the indicators contained in the IDB-9 Results Framework should be disaggregated at the country level to allow the IDB to track the evolution of regional development goals in the FSO countries and FSO's operational and development effectiveness. Once the new Project Completion Report template has been validated, project-level results for FSO countries should be reported on a regular basis.