[stop-imf] IMF Evaluation Unit

[Robert Weissman]

From: Angela Wood <awood@gn.apc.org>

EXTERNAL EVALUATION AT THE IMF

Dear friends,

The IMF Executive Board will meet before the end of March (no date has yet
been set) to decide how external evaluation of the IMF's work will be
organised in the future. The likely options are between:
-       continuing with the pilot external evaluation project, which has
produced
only three evaluations since it was started in late 1996 and is
coordinated
by an Evaluation Committee comprised of Executive Directors; or 
-       to establish a dedicated unit which would be independent of IMF
staff but
which would report to the Executive Board and have dedicated staff.

The IMF staff are currently assessing the pilot project for the Evaluation
Committee. Their report should be finished in the next week or two. It
seems likely that the report will recommend establishing a dedicated,
independent unit. The Board's discussion is likely to focus on the
principles of evaluation with agreement reached on these in time for the
Spring Meetings. A subsequent paper and meeting will focus on how to
operationalise these. 


WHAT CAN YOU DO?
1) If you have comments on the effectiveness and outputs of the pilot
project then send them to <publicaffairs@imf.org> and cc them to Thomas
Bernes, chair of the Evaluation Committee <tbernes@imf.org>. To influence
the report comments must be sent by 10th March.

2) Call and write to your executive director, Ministry of Finance
officials
 and parliamentarians asking them to support the establishment of an
independent evaluation unit. It is important to influence executive
directors before they meet to discuss the staff report. Send copies of
letters and replies to Thomas Bernes.

Attached (in both wordperfect and text formats) to help you and for use
with parliamentarians etc is a briefing paper on how an independent unit
should function. You are welcome to use this briefing as it is (please
feel
free to change the cover page) or to adapt it to your own needs. 

We would also appreciate feedback and information on the positions taken
by
your Executive Directors. Please send to either myself at
<awood@gn.apc.org> or Carol Welch at <cwelch@foe.org>.


Yours,

Angela Wood