Institutionalizing IE in the MCC
Franck Wiebe
Chief Economist, MCC
[email protected]
April 2, 2009
MCC Background Information
 MCC was created 5 years ago and modeled
on generally accepted “best practices” in aid
 Growth matters for poverty alleviation
 Policies matter …
 Country ownership matters …
 Results matter …
 MCC has a public-private Board of Directors:
 Chaired by Secretary of State
 Includes four from private/nonprofit sector
 Staff of 250-300
 MCC has signed 18 country programs (more
than $6 billion) and about 20 Threshold Programs
MCC’s Framework for Results
(available online at www.mcc.gov)
 Cost-Benefit Analysis
 Pre-decision estimate of expected impact
 Monetary benefits makes possible comparison across sectors
 90% of funded activities in first 16 have formal quantitative model
 Monitoring and Evaluation
 Baseline surveys
 Implementation performance against expectations, during and after
 Independent completion review of every program, every activity
 Rigorous Impact Evaluations (with formal counterfactual)
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Strategy based on feasibility, need, and learning potential
Designed and contracted before implementation begins
International IE expertise, local collaboration → capacity building
47% of activities, 58% of funds under independent IE
Critical Institutional Elements
 IE decisions structured to be made early
 Always before implementation
 Sometimes even as part of the funding decision
 IE managed separate from implementation
 Central budget allows for priority setting
 Annual budget line item provides flexibility
 Public commitment to full transparency
 Explanation of decisions
 Documentation of plans, progress
 Full disclosure of results, data