Reflections on private-sector evaluation in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: 1991–2010

Abstract

This article describes private-sector evaluation in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) from the beginning of the institution in 1991 until the end of 2010. It shows the way of undertaking ex-post project evaluation that was adopted by the EBRD’s Board during that period, against the background of a region that experienced severe ups and downs as a result of different financial crises. It describes how the EBRD’s theory-based evaluation system, anchored in a comprehensive evaluation policy, evolved over time, being reviewed and amended approximately every five years. At the heart of this evolving system was a progressively more independent evaluation function that followed the good practice standards of the Evaluation Cooperation Group (ECG), the working group for cooperation among multilateral development bank (MDB) evaluators. The article pictures the dual objective of evaluation through concentrating on generating lessons and being a Board accountability tool. It poses the question, ‘who evaluates the evaluators?’ and shows the importance of applying an established ECG peer-review system of evaluation functions in MDBs.