The new IFAD evaluation policy approved by the Executive Board in April 2003 emphasized the role of the independent evaluation function at IFAD in promoting accountability and learning in order to improve the performance of the Fund’s operations and policies. An Annual Report on the Results and Impact of IFAD Operations (ARRI) was an essential part of this policy. The independent evaluation perspective contained in the ARRI is intended to complement the annual self-assessment undertaken by the Programme Management Department (PMD) – and embodied in the Progress Report on the Project Portfolio – as well as any reports to be produced by PMD using the Results and Impact Management System.

This is the second ARRI. Last year’s represented IFAD’s first attempt at consolidating and synthesizing the results and impact of IFAD operations, based on the ten projects and two country programmes evaluated during 2002, as well as the two corporate-level evaluations undertaken in the same year. This 2004 ARRI does the same for the ten projects and four country programmes evaluated during 2003, as well as two thematic evaluations and one corporate-level topic undertaken in the same year. It broadly follows the same approach and structure, but with a few minor changes.

The introduction in 2002 of the new Methodological Framework for Project Evaluation (MFE) provided a common framework to be used systematically across all IFAD project evaluations. Following experience gained in the first year, a review workshop was held to discuss the practical difficulties encountered in using the MFE and the ways in which it could be improved. This led to revision of the MFE. Most of the ten project evaluations summarized in this report followed the revised framework. Some of the evaluations began before it was issued and thus used the earlier one. While minor problems of consistency and interpretation remain – and will be addressed in further guidance to be issued by the Office of Evaluation (OE) – the implementation of the revised MFE has led to a much more consistent and complete set of evaluation reports.

The first ARRI was intended to provide a basis for discussion within the Evaluation Committee (EC), Executive Board and IFAD on how OE could best present a synthesis of its evaluations, and to generate suggestions on how the report could be improved. This 2004 ARRI has considered the comments received from the EC and the Executive Board.