Multilateral Aid Review summary - International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

IFAD’s goal is to empower poor rural women and men in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food security. It makes grants and highly concessional loans for programmes that contribute to MDG 1: To halve the proportion of the hungry and extremely poor. Its programme for 2011 is forecast at $1 billion.

	comment
Contribution to UK development objectives	Strong
	+	IFAD has a unique mandate and specialised knowledge, critical to reaching MDG 1.
	+	Its approach to economic growth is equitable through its pro-poor approach and focus on women.
	_	Due to its smaller size it cannot always play a leading role.
	+	Delivery is getting better in a challenging environment, It uses evaluation to improve results at country level. Further improvement will ensure greater sustainability and efficiency.
	+	Strong performance on gender and in fragile states with evidence of impact in country.  A corporate strategy is being introduced for fragile states and is being considered for gender.
	+	IFAD has introduced a good corporate strategy for climate change. It now needs to ensure that this is incorporated into its work systematically.
Organisational strengths	Satisfactory
	_	Administration costs are currently too high and project efficiency needs to improve.
	+	IFAD’s role is based on partnership and it is trusted by developing country governments. It has a participatory approach and focuses on empowering women and increasing beneficiary voice.
	_	IFAD needs to build on its recently introduced country presence, and use a range of tools for greater flexibility.
	+	Has one of the strongest results frameworks in the multilateral system. Evaluation recommendations are followed up.
	+	HR systems are in place and further improvements are being explored, but much work needs to be done on reform in this area.
	+	IFAD has a clear performance based system for financial allocations and policies are in place for financial accountability.
	_	Disbursement rates are low in comparison with other agencies and administrative procedures need to be streamlined.
	_	Flexibility of instruments for operating in fragile contexts is limited.
	+	IFAD has a good disclosure policy. Organisation has a general culture of transparency and Governing Body functions effectively.
Capacity for positive change	Uncertain
	_	IFAD has a relatively new top management team and although commitment is clear, it is too early to judge impact.