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The GBS Evaluation: Key Findings and Issues. Stephen Lister WB-ODI Seminar London, 18 July 2006. Topics. Scope of evaluation Principal findings Implications for choice of modality Challenges. Scope of evaluation. illustrative sample of countries focus on partnership GBS
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The GBS Evaluation: Key Findings and Issues Stephen Lister WB-ODI Seminar London, 18 July 2006
Topics • Scope of evaluation • Principal findings • Implications for choice of modality • Challenges GBS Evaluation: Key Findings and Issues
Scope of evaluation • illustrative sample of countries • focus on partnership GBS • identified by country-level inventories • large volume, but recent, uneven distribution of PGBS • useful contrasts in “penetration” PGBS flows GBS Evaluation: Key Findings and Issues
Principal findings • Overall positive assessment in 5 of 7 countries: • Relevant response to problems in aid effectiveness. • Efficient, effective and sustainable way of supporting national poverty reduction strategies. • Positive systemic effects on capacity by providing discretionary funds to national budget system. • Spill-over effects enhance quality of aid as a whole. • Initial effects on poverty mainly through expanding public services. Ultimate effects will depend on the quality of the national poverty reduction strategy. • Capacity for learning suggests instrument can become more effective over time. • Did not find unintended effects or side-effects that would outweigh benefits. GBS Evaluation: Key Findings and Issues
Implications for choice of modality • Broad relevance of findings / spectrum of instruments • Overlap between “general” and “sector” budget support • Findings are more widely relevant to programme-based approaches which share PGBS design principles. • Interactions between aid modalities: • GBS effects include: • Broad influence on harmonisation and alignment. • Increased policy coherence across sectors. • GBS flexibility improves expenditure efficiency across all funding sources. • General benefit of PFM strengthening. • Complementarity between PGBS and other instruments (e.g. on cross-cutting issues, capacity building, corruption). • GBS benefits (e.g. on efficiency and t-costs) are diminished when off-budget modalities persist. • Need more systematic consideration of aid portfolios at country, donor and sector levels. GBS Evaluation: Key Findings and Issues
Challenges • Balance between autonomy and intrusion • resolving conditionality conundrum • More attention to long term predictability • Develop genuinely long-term instruments • Review design to minimise political risk, e.g. • realistic expectations • better explanation • mechanics of design • Be pragmatic, not purist. GBS Evaluation: Key Findings and Issues