Managing for results
Results-based management improves effectiveness so that rural development can transform lives.
Assessing our impact - IFAD
Welcome Popup disabled (visible only in edit mode)
Assessing our impact
©IFAD/Imani Nsamila
As a results-based organization, it is critical that we accurately measure and report on the impact of our work. That's why we systematically conduct impact assessments on a representative sample of at least 15 per cent of our projects.
Each assessment compares the outcomes of small-scale producers who received IFAD investments against the outcomes of those who did not. We also consider economic factors, natural disasters, conflict and other circumstances that could affect results. In this way, we identify the impact that is attributable to the project and glean learnings to inform future projects.
At the end of every replenishment cycle, we use the data from our impact assessments and aggregate the results to project them to all of the projects that closed during the cycle. This allows us to assess our overall impact and development effectiveness.
IFAD is the only international financial institution that applies this rigorous approach to measuring impact.
Our most recently completed replenishment cycle (IFAD11) ran from 2019 to 2021. The IFAD11 impact assessment showed that thanks to IFAD:
- More than 77 million people increased their incomes.
More than 62 million people expanded their productive capacities.
More than 64 million people improved their market access.
Around 38 million people strengthened their resilience.