The Evaluation Cooperation Group (ECG)

Cooperation and coordination with the Multilateral Financial Institutions: the Evaluation Cooperation Group.

The Evaluation Cooperation Group was established by the heads of evaluation in multilateral development banks in 1996 to:

1. Strengthen the use of evaluation for greater effectiveness and accountability.
2. Share lessons from evaluations and contribute to their dissemination.
3. Harmonise performance indicators and evaluation methodologies and approaches.
4. Enhance evaluation professionalism within the multilateral development banks and to collaborate with the heads of evaluation units of bilateral and multilateral development organizations.
5. Facilitate the involvement of borrowing member countries in evaluation and build their evaluation capacity.

Membership includes:

• African Development Bank Operations Evaluation Department
• Asian Development Bank Independent Evaluation Department
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Evaluation Department
• European Investment Bank Operations Evaluation
• Inter-American Development Bank Office of Evaluation and Oversight 
• International Fund for Agricultural Development Office of Evaluation
• International Monetary Fund Independent Evaluation Office 
• Islamic Development Bank Group Operations Evaluation Department
• World Bank Group Independent Evaluation Groups

• World Bank
• International Finance Corporation
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

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  • Black Sea Trade and Development Bank Independent Evaluation Office
  • Council of Europe Development Bank Ex Post Evaluation
  • OECD-DAC Evaluation Network
  • United Nations Evaluation Group
  • Country Programme and Country Assistance Evaluation Methodology
  • Policy Based Lending Evaluation Methodology

• Observers:

  Scope

  The ECG may take up any matter relating to evaluation in the MDBs that will enhance the effectiveness of independent and self-evaluation, engage in the sharing of lessons and promote harmonization among them.

  Meetings
  
  Plenary meetings are held every six months.

  Work Progress

  In executing its activities, the ECG may set up working groups, as needed, with specific
  Terms of Reference. Working group members will be drawn from the ECG membership and consultants may be recruited for assistance.

  Work Programme

  The ECG has prepared two Good Practice Standards papers for the evaluation of individual public and private sector operations. Work is ongoing within the different MDBs to harmonise around these Good Practice Standards. Reporting on progress made and exhanges of experience are performed at each ECG plenary meeting.

  Considering the increasing importance of the Millennium Development Goals, the Monterey Consensus and management’s commitment to a results framework, the ECG is also focusing on the following priority areas of work:

  In addition to these priorities, ECG members will also devote greater attention to issues of comparative evaluation governance, disclosure, attestation and evaluability, regional and global public goods, annual reporting and joint evaluations.