Niels Keijzer, ECDPM Presentation to OECD DAC focal points on Policy Coherence for Development meeting, 9 February 2012

1. Promoting Policy
Coherence for Development
Exploring new opportunities for
measurement
Niels Keijzer
PCD focal points meeting
OECD, 9 February 2012

2. A blast from the past?
• 2007: Joint-evaluation of EU
mechanisms promoting Policy Coherence
for Development
• What impact of mechanisms?
changed sector policies, improved
reporting on PCD, increased levels
of awareness…no common view
• “In the absence of a clearly stated
view of what type and level of
impact is realistic to seek to
achieve, it will be hard to
formulate clear result-oriented action
plans and progress will continue to
be hard to measure.” Page 2

3. One can only measure progress
to PCD objectives if one has…:
• …PCD objectives.
• Existing objectives are process- instead of
result-oriented (i.e. “taking into account”,
“creating mechanisms”, …)
• What is needed is managing expectations:
• Baseline: what are the effects of policy X
on developing countries today?
• Objectives: how should the effects of policy
X have changed by year Y?
• Next step: how to know whether this
happens? (i.e. defining indicators and
information needs)
Page 3

4. Chickens and Eggs?
• Setting PCD objectives and then measure
effects?
• Or measure first to be able to better define
objectives?
• … low investments in research and
measurement partly explain the limited
progress in clarifying objectives
• Some issues worth further exploring for
measurement relate to what is measured,
how it is done, and who does it
Page 4

5. What to measure?
• Inputs (actions, opportunities): direct
actions and inputs, e.g. a decision to review
a policy, a new mechanism [e.g.: review of
the EU’s fisheries policy]
• Outputs (changes in policies): actual
changes in policies, or changes at the policy
implementation level [e.g.: stricter human
rights conditions in fisheries agreements]
• Outcomes (‘effects’ in developing
countries): what has 'changed' in
developing countries and does it have
anything to do with the policies? [e.g.:
decreased overfishing in LDCs]
Once objectives are set, indicators could be
formulated at these levels
Page 5

6. How to measure? Types and timing
1. Before (Ex-ante): analysing
economic, environmental and social
effects of proposed policy, outlines
potential synergies and trade-offs
2. After (Ex-post): evaluations
addressing PCD, either commissioned
by the leading ministry or as part of
development cooperation evaluation
3. Continuous (programming and
monitoring): Country Strategy
Papers for development cooperation
can identify key policies, monitoring
can be done at HQ and/or field level
Page 6

7. How to measure? (2)
• Theory-based, or use existing data, or
gather new data
• Data can be quantitative or qualitative
• Currently insufficient research, hence (?)
discussions on PCD mainly stress the
‘mission impossible’ aspect
• Causal chains are complex (a change in
policy in an OECD country having something
to do with well-being of farmers in country
X), best use a mix of methods
• Better operationalisation of development
objectives also needed (what is ‘contributing
to poverty reduction’?)
Page 7

8. Who does the measuring?
• Ongoing: preparation of the OECD strategy
on development, exploration of country case
studies by the DAC, and attempts to make
progress at national level (SE, NL, IE)
• EC has made tentative progress in impact
assessments looking at effects of policy
options on developing countries (e.g.
agriculture, fisheries)
• The CDI has been active since 2003, NGOs
like Fairpolitics EU invest in case studies
• ECDPM is doing a study for BMZ and DGIS
to explore next steps for PCD monitoring
and comparisons between countries
Page 8

9. Questions for discussion
• Getting the overview: which countries have
invested in specific studies or are trying to get
a national monitoring process going?
• Who (pays)? Line ministries (referee +
player?), development ministry (PCD police?),
independent evaluation body (e.g. UK or SE)?
• Unclear PCD results: how do OECD
members justify investments?
• Can the DAC peer-reviews be improved to
ensure a more detailed analysis of the results
of PCD efforts (now process-oriented), e.g. in
the field studies?
• Busan outcome document: will the new
Global Partnership for Effective Development
Cooperation work on this?
Page 9

10. European Centre for Development Policy
Management (ECDPM)
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NL 6211 HE Maastricht
The Netherlands
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