Annex IV: Changes Made in 1999 in the Working of the Evaluation Committee

A. Changes in the Terms of Reference

The Evaluation Committee’s TOR agreed in 1999 introduced the following specific changes in the way it worked:

(a) The Committee now reviews the strategic directions and methodology of OE.

(b) The Evaluation Committee now discusses the scope and contents of OE’s annual work programme, which, so far, is formally approved by IFAD’s management.

(c) The Committee makes suggestions for including evaluations of particular interest to it in the OE work programme.

(d) Previously, OE would select the evaluations to be presented to the Committee, but now the Committee, based on the OE work programme, decides in December what it would like to discuss in the coming year in each of its three sessions.

(e) The Committee now can request the chairperson of the IFAD Board to include evaluation issues in the Board agenda.

(f) In order to discuss special issues, provision has been made for ad hoc sessions of the Committee in addition to the three formal ones each year.

 

(g) In principle, once a year, Committee members participate in field trips during evaluation missions in order to see IFAD’s work on the ground and participate in round table workshops to discuss evaluation recommendations and the agreement arising from the evaluation process among relevant stakeholders.

(h) The decisions taken at each Evaluation Committee meeting are now summarized in official minutes which are then consolidated in a separate chapter of the annual report on evaluation that is submitted to the Board.

B. Introduction of Rules of Procedure

The Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the proceedings of the Evaluation Committee, except as specified below:

Rule 1: Convening of Meetings

The Evaluation Committee shall hold three sessions in each calendar year. The first meeting shall be held the day before or after IFAD’s annual Governing Council session, whichever is more convenient for Committee members. The remaining two sessions shall be held on the day preceding the September and December Executive Board sessions, respectively. Additional informal meetings in the same calendar year may also be called on an ad hoc basis by the chairperson.

Rule 2: Notification of Sessions and Agenda

The IFAD Secretariat shall inform each Committee member of the date and place of a session at least thirty days in advance. During its December session, the Evaluation Committee shall draw up a tentative agenda for all three sessions in the subsequent year. To facilitate this work, the Office of Evaluation and Studies shall provide the Committee with its proposed work programme for the year. The Committee retains the prerogative to revise by adding, deleting, defining or amending items on the agenda during the course of the year. The agenda shall be communicated by the Secretariat to all Evaluation Committee members along with the notification of sessions.

Rule 3: Membership and Terms of Office

The composition of the Evaluation Committee shall consist of nine Executive Board members or alternate members: four members from List A, two from List B and three from List C. The term of office of the Evaluation Committee shall be three years and coincide with the term of office of the Executive Board.

Rule 4: Quorum

The quorum for any meeting of the Evaluation Committee shall be constituted by five members.

Rule 5: Chairperson

The Committee shall elect its chairperson from List B and C Committee members. In the absence of the chairperson during a scheduled meeting of the Committee, the chair shall be temporarily assumed by another member from List B or C selected by the Committee.

Rule 6: Decisions

The Committee shall make every effort to arrive at decisions by consensus. Where such efforts have been exhausted, the chairperson’s rulings shall stand when supported by four other members.

Rule 7: Attendance at Meetings

In addition to Evaluation Committee members and the Director of the Office of Evaluation and Studies, the said Director may designate members of his or her staff to participate in the deliberations of the Committee. The Director shall also invite other IFAD staff members to provide, pursuant to the Committee’s request, such information as may be required in carrying out the Committee’s responsibilities. Other Executive Board members not members of the Evaluation Committee may also attend the meetings as observers.

Rule 8¹: Documentation, Records and Reports

The proceedings of the Committee, documents provided to the Committee and the records of the Committee’s deliberations shall be restricted and available only to members of the Committee and members of the Executive Board. The proceedings of the Committee shall be reflected in the Minutes of the Evaluation Committee, unless the Committee decides otherwise.

Rule 9: Reporting to the Executive Board

The Evaluation Committee shall provide a written report of its deliberations to the Executive Board during the latter’s April session. The report, which shall be included in the Office of Evaluation and Studies’ Annual Progress Report on Evaluation, shall be dispatched to Board members according to established Board procedures. The chairperson of the Committee may, in addition, provide an oral report during the April Executive Board session. The Evaluation Committee may also provide ad hoc written or oral reports to the Board during its September and/or December sessions.

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1/ However, Rule 8 has been superseded by the IFAD disclosure policy approved by the Executive Board in May 2000. The disclosure policy requires that all evaluation reports together with the documentation submitted to the Evaluation Committee be disclosed to the public.