IEO announces Work Program for 2003/2004

Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Director of the International Monetary Fund's Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), today announced the work program of the IEO for the financial year 2003/04. ¹

Three evaluation projects will be undertaken, namely (i) the IMF's experience with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) (ii) the IMF's role in Argentina (iii) IMF technical assistance. A summary presentation of the scope and focus of these three projects can be found on the IEO's website at www.imf.org/ieo. Work on the first of these projects, which involves collaboration with the World Bank's Operations Evaluation Department, is already under way.

The work program has been derived following an extensive process of consultation with government authorities, non governmental organizations, members of the academic community and representatives of the financial sector, as well as the staff, management, and Executive Board of the IMF. Consistent with the Terms of Reference of the IEO, which operates independent of management and at arm's length from the Executive Board, final decisions on the composition of the work program were made by the IEO Director. The work program was reviewed by the Executive Board, but was not subject to its approval.

Following established practice, the IEO will consult extensively with both internal and external stakeholders in deriving the detailed terms of reference for each study. Draft issues papers/ terms of reference (TOR) will be discussed with Executive Directors, staff/management, member country governments and a broad range of other external stakeholders. They will also be posted on the IEO's website to elicit comments and the final TOR, as determined by the IEO after these consultations, will also be posted on the website. The TOR for the PRSP/PRGF evaluation have already been posted on the website. As each evaluation projects unfolds, external stakeholders will be given further opportunities to comment through the IEO's website and other outreach channels. Once completed, it is expected that evaluation reports will be made public (although the final decision rests with the IMF's Executive Board).

Interested parties may subscribe to IEO publications through the automatic e-mail notification system on the IMF's website (http://www.imf.org/external/cntpst/index.aspx).

IEO Contacts: David Goldsbrough, Tel: (202) 623-4735

Isabelle Mateos y Lago, Tel: (202) 623-7219