Laying the Foundation for Better Results Through Monitoring and Evaluation:
The Caribbean Community Secretariat and the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank Announce Partnership to Collaborate Around Better Policy Results
January 21, 2020 – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank Group have agreed to work together towards advancing the Caribbean Community’s Results-based Management (RBM) System. The new partnership aims to contribute to the promotion of a results-oriented culture in the region by supporting the establishment and institutionalization of RBM policies and practices – initially in three pilot Member States and a regional institution, and eventually, scaling up these efforts. The support will assist Member States and Regional Institutions in designing policies based on lessons learned from the impact of past policies. Learning from evidence will help Caribbean governments better prepare for and respond to external shocks, natural disasters, and crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the global pandemic having driven as many as 100 million people into extreme poverty globally, it is essential for governments to work on developing robust systems that help make evidence-informed policies, and which support governments in tracking the progress and impact of those policies. Adopting a results-based management (RBM) approach and developing a culture of strong monitoring and evaluation gives Member States and Regional Institutions the crucial tools to measure progress, learn from experience, design and amend policies based on strongvalid evidence.
Speaking on behalf of CARICOM, Dr. Manorma Soeknandan, Deputy Secretary-General of the CARICOM Secretariat noted that “Over the last five years, CARICOM has steadily developed a results-based management system which has been institutionalized within the CARICOM Secretariat. Through this partnership, we aim to take more concrete steps to implement and realize the adoption of RBM among CARICOM Member States and Regional Institutions towards a results-oriented Community. Any progress in this area in our Member States and Regional Institutions will benefit our Community in its totality, including the Secretariat.”
The CLEAR Initiative, supported by IEG, will provide advisory services and technical support, through the Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Latin America and Caribbean (CLEAR LAC).
“We have identified a set of activities and processes geared towards supporting the pilot CARICOM Member States adopt and implement national RBM policies and in helping them strengthen their M&E capacity and systems. This will help improve the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of their projects and programmes,” said Dr. Gabriela Pérez Yarahuan, the Director of CLEAR LAC.
As a technical partner for the project, CLEAR LAC brings in extensive experience working on developing monitoring and evaluation systems in public sector initiatives in the region.
“As the 10-year countdown to the Sustainable Development Goals gets underway and countries struggle to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, effective M&E systems have become even more critical,” said Dr. Alison Evans, the Director General of IEG. “This new partnership with the CARICOM Secretariat will contribute to supporting the CARICOM Member States towards closing the M&E gap in the region.”
