Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the IMF Issues its 2007 Annual Report

IEO Press Release No. 07/03

Independent Evaluation Office

of the International Monetary Fund

Washington, D.C. 20431 USA

August 22, 2007 - The IEO today released its latest Annual Report, available at http://www.ieo-imf.org/pub/ar/pdf/2007Report.PDF (PDF), covering the fiscal year ending in April 2007.

The Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF was established in 2001 to conduct independent and objective evaluations of Fund policies and activities. Under its Terms of References, it is fully independent from the Management of the IMF and operates at arm’s length from the Board of Executive Directors. The IEO’s mission is to enhance the learning culture within the Fund, strengthen the Fund's external credibility, promote greater understanding of the work of the Fund, and support institutional governance and oversight.

The 2007 Annual Report summarizes the most recent IEO evaluations of The IMF and Aid in Sub-Saharan Africa and IMF Exchange Rate Policy Advice. The report also presents messages that are common to many of the IEO evaluations and are particularly noteworthy as the IMF proceeds with the implementation of its Medium Term Strategy. Of most significance is the finding of difficulties in the process of managing and achieving institutional change at the IMF. Other cross cutting lessons include the need for greater clarity about the goals of various IMF initiatives and properly aligned external communications; the importance of strengthening partnerships with other IFIs and donors; and the desirability of clear metrics to facilitate the assessment of the impact of IMF policy advice.

The Annual Report also discusses the implementation of recommendations made in 2006 by the External Evaluation Panel of the IEO. Finally, it discusses ongoing projects and the process leading to the identification of topics of future evaluations and summarizes the follow up of all previous IEO evaluations.

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