Country Program Evaluation: Venezuela (1999-2007)

Date
Mar 2009
This country program evaluation (CPE) of Venezuela (RE-351) for the period 1999-2007 was prepared following the guidelines of a pre-established protocol that has made it possible to develop an independent, long-term view of the Bank's relationship with Venezuela, the results of which are presented as an input for the Bank's Management in its process of preparing the future country strategy with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The CPE found that from 1999 to 2007, the Bank program had proposed an ambitious set of 81 development objectives that, in practice, despite their relevance to the country's development, far exceeded the Bank's effective capacity to act in Venezuela. This paper offers a set of recommendations including: 1) Increase technical-cooperation activities and studies; 2) Develop an active niche strategy in the Bank's areas of technical expertise; 3) Increase the evaluability of the program and operations; 4) Unleash the potential of the Bank's new organization and tools; 5) Generate activities in the infrastructure and productive sectors, emphasizing optimization of social impacts.