2. Overview
• Program: A five-year global program launched in January 2010, including bilateral
and multilateral donors, the World Bank, and the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG);
housed at IEG
• Objective: Strengthen competitively selected existing regional academic institutions
or think tanks to provide capacity development services in monitoring and evaluation
(M&E) and results-based management (RBM) to government and civil society.
Contribute to strengthening national M&E capacity
• Governance Structure: Board, Regional Advisory Committees, and Secretariat
• Funding: Donor funds managed by IEG; IEG’s and Bank units’ (Africa, South Asia, and
Latin America) in-kind and budget contributions; institutions’ own contributions and
revenues
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4. Context & Rationale
• Increasing demand for evaluation knowledge
Internal, within countries:
– Increasing pressure for transparency (access to information), value-for-money, and
accountability
– Decentralization, public sector reforms
– Civil society engagement
From development agencies:
– Greater emphasis on using country systems (Paris Declaration; Accra Agenda for Action);
shift to financing based on results
• Limited supply of relevant, cost-effective, and sustained evaluation capacity
development services. Need for:
– Customized but cost-effective capacity development services
– Peer-to-peer learning and exchange of knowledge
– Range of opportunities to learn and apply practical and policy-relevant monitoring and
evaluation approaches, build systems for M&E
– Regionally accessible capacity to build capacity
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5. Program Components
• Regional (big) – implemented by Centers based in selected institutions
Competitively selected institution provided a grant to establish and operate a CLEAR
Center
Each Center develops its own work-program, responding to the regional contexts,
demand, and needs
• Training
• Knowledge Services (e.g., research, support to M&E networks and knowledge dissemination)
• Advisory Services (e.g., engagement in evaluations, technical assistance for government agencies’
evaluation system design)
– Multi-regional activities organized by Centers themselves
– Coordination with other related initiatives (e.g., 3IE, statistical capacity building)
• Global (small) – implemented by Secretariat at IEG
– Capacity-building streams for selected Centers (courses on Performance-based
budgeting, Impact Evaluation, Rapid Reviews, Evaluation Systems and Policies,
Other)
– Peer-to-peer learning among selected Centers
– Technical assistance for Centers’ work program
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6. Results Expected
• Regionally based recognized Centers providing relevant, cost-effective, and
customized services to government and civil society on a sustainable basis
• Greater awareness, practice, and implementation of high quality M&E in
the Centers’ client countries
• Longer-term goal of improved country M&E system and capacity
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7. Governance
CLEAR’s governance structure comprises a Board, a Secretariat, and the Centers’
Regional Advisory Committee (RAC)
• The Board is the decision-making and oversight body of the program. It currently
comprises donors providing $500,000 or more per year, with one representative for
donors providing less than $500,000. The Board will be expanded to include
representatives from client countries. The Board is chaired by IEG
• The Secretariat implements the Board’s decisions and conducts day-to-day
operations of the program. It also implements the global component of the
program. It is housed in IEG
• The Regional Advisory Committees (RACs) are responsible for advising the selected
institutions on their work program based on regional needs/demands . RACs are
selected by the Center with Board approval. Each RAC will comprise about six
members representing civil society, a professional association, academia,
government, donors, and the Bank 7
8. Regional Component
Two-Stage Selection Process to Establish Centers
(spanning 6-8 months)
Stage 1
– Region-wide open call for expressions of interest
– Shortlisting by an independent selection committee
– CLEAR Board review of shortlist
Stage 2
– Shortlisted institutions invited to submit full proposals, including an assessment of demand for
M&E services and a strategy and specific workprogram to respond to the demand
– Secretariat site visits
– Selection committee assessment and recommendation of top two institutions per region to
Board
– CLEAR Board selection
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9. Centers Selected in 2010
• Africa – The University of Witwatersrand (WITS) with partners:
– Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA)
– Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA)
• South Asia – JPAL at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR)
The Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center in China also part of the program,
although not selected competitively
Center Selection in 2011 – to be concluded in October
• Francophone Africa – 24 applicants; 6 shortlisted
• Latin America - 22 applicants; 4 shortlisted
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10. Regional Component
Francophone Center:
Francophone Center: East Asia Center: AFDC, Shanghai, China
Centre Africain d’Etudes -
Superierure en Gestion
24 Applications from 11
countries
Latin America Center:
22 applications from South Asia Center:
7 countries
Africa Center:
J-PAL at the Institute for Financial and
University of Witwatersrand Management Research
56 Applications from 17 countries
5 Institutions Shortlisted 24 applications from 6 countries
10 3 Institutions Shortlisted
12. Africa
Competitive Selection
56 Applications Received
from 17 countries
5 Institutions Shortlisted
Country with institutions presenting
applications
Country with shortlisted institutions
CLEAR Center in Africa
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13. South Asia
Competitive Selection
24 applications received
From 6 countries
3 Institutions Shortlisted
Country with institutions presenting
applications
Country with shortlisted institutions
14. Africa
Competitive Selection
56 Applications Received
from 17 countries
5 Institutions Shortlisted
Country with institutions presenting
applications
Country with shortlisted institutions
CLEAR Center in Africa
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15. Accomplishments and Looking Forward
• Global Component
Annual global forum (first global forum in June 2011)
Forum for peer-exchanges and networking among centers and stakeholders
Capacity Building Streams
– Performance-based budgeting course – piloted in China, AfCoP meeting in Kenya
– Rapid evaluations course being completed (principally for managers of evaluation units)
– “How to” Practical Impact Evaluation course under development. Featured at the
conference “Mind the Gap: From Evidence to Policy” in Cuernavaca, Mexico, June 15-17,
2011
– Other courses planned – Evaluation Systems and Policies; Civil Society Approaches to
M&E, Others
• Regional Component
AFDC (China) already operating
Selected centers beginning implementation (e.g., CLEAR Africa will offer training at AFREA)
Centers being selected in Francophone Africa and Latin America; work to begin in East Asia
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