Evaluability of Country Strategies: Methodology Note

The report's (RE-253) primary objective is to propose a methodology for evaluating country strategies, understood as the set of strategies or ways of doing things in order to achieve preestablished objectives. This task involves examining the strategic concepts contained in country papers (CPs), in the context of the Bank's planning process, with a subsequent discussion of the evaluability of the strategies set forth in the CPs. The first conclusion is that there is a general lack of clarity, precision and explicitness in the ideas presented. Typically, CPs offer numerous objectives-specifying what is to be done-but fail to detail strategic alternatives and options for executing the objectives, shifting this responsibility, instead, to a group of projects. The present report highlights some of the difficulties of formulating country strategies in Bank documents.