Evaluation of the Norwegian Aid Administration’s Practice of Results-Based Management

Abstract

The purpose of this evaluation has been to improve the aid administration’s current practice of results-based management by documenting how this is currently done and by identifying areas of improvement. Key findings are: - Despite the political commitment to being ‘results orientated’ and ensuring ‘funds deliver results’, there has been no attempt by the aid administration to articulate what ResultsBased Management (RBM) looks like for Norwegian development assistance, how it should operate at what levels, or the value it brings to achieving development outcomes. - In the absence of this vision and strategy, RBM has become associated with demonstrating and reporting results. While the use of RBM in this way might contribute to greater transparency in the use of Norwegian development assistance and improve public understanding and possibly trust in aid, it adds little in terms of contributing to the delivery of better development outcomes by partners. - If the goal of the aid administration is to enable the Norwegian funds to have the biggest contribution to development outcomes as possible, it needs to move beyond simply asking partners for more and better results evidence so as to satisfy reporting requirements, to clearly articulating how it wants to use this data to learn and inform decisions about what and who it funds.