Following the launch of the Development Outcome Tracking System (DOTS) in 2005, IFC is now able to report on results patterns and findings for our entire portfolio. This helps us answer questions about our business such as: What ingredients help generate strong development results? How can we improve our performance? What are the impacts on our stakeholders?
· Two Years of Measuring Development Impact by Gender - The following are the main findings derived from two years of gender-specific client reporting of development indicators. Learn more...
· Who IFC Projects Benefit and How? - IFC-supported firms make a wide range of contributions in developing countries. Their growth and success benefit employees and their families, local communities, suppliers and other business partners, and the customers who buy what they produce. Learn more…
· Measuring IFC's Development Impact by Gender - In 2008, Gender was embedded in DOTS for the first time. What follows are the key lessons derived from this first gender-specific data collection. Learn more…
· Promoting Development by Expanding Job Opportunities for Women - Women often remain a largely untapped resource in developing countries, and the lack of formal employment opportunities for women represents a key challenge to economic growth and social prosperity in these countries. Learn more…
· IFC's Additionality and Results - Development and financial results for both IFC and other stakeholders are better where IFC's additionality is stronger. Learn more...
· Estimating the Added Economic Value of IFC-financed Projects - We estimate that the projects financed by IFC have not only returned the invested capital plus a risk free return, but generated additional value added of about 56 cents for every dollar of project costs. IFC always works together with other financiers, and in the past has been able to support projects worth about $17.5 for every dollar of IFC capital, which in turn have generated an estimated $10 in value added. Learn more...
· IFC Cement Portfolio - Cement is a key sector for the Global Manufacturing & Services department, accounting for about 18% of the department’s commitment volume. Development results for this sector have been consistently superior to those for GMS and for IFC. Learn more…
· Development Effectiveness Training - In FY09, the Development Effectiveness Unit (DEU) trained more than 1,400 people as the result of 54 headquarter and 32 field office trainings. In addition, DEU participated in 10 worldwide knowledge-sharing forums in which one of the main goals was to harmonize development results indicators. Learn more…
· How Does Deteriorating Country Risk Affect Development Results? – Country risk encompasses macroeconomic, political, and social risk. Increasing country risk has a destabilizing effect on projects’ development outcomes. Learn more…
· What Role Does IFC Play to Counter Cyclical Business Conditions? - When foreign investors tend to withdraw, IFC increases its exposure and continues to support strong projects and sponsors that would ordinarily have access to financing, but who suddenly find themselves without it. Learn more…
· The Challenges of Measuring Development Outcomes - Monitoring development results and evaluating the impact of its activities is critical to assessing whether IFC is achieving its mission, to improving and refining its projects and business strategy as well as for the purpose of accountability. Learn more…
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Private Sector Development Provides Opportunities for Many - Private sector investments provide new opportunities and impacts on stakeholders throughout the value chain (from production, sales, consumption) and beyond on the neighboring community, the government and others. These impacts can be positive or negative and vary by sector, each of which has a unique benefit profile. Learn more…
· Does Society Benefit More or Less than Investors? - IFC only invests in projects that are expected to be profitable, but society as a whole must benefit as well for the project to be considered a worthwhile IFC investment. An analysis shows that projects financed by IFC and evaluated between 2004 and 2006 indeed have significant benefits to society: economic returns to society overall were over 50 percent higher than private returns to investors. Learn more…
· Private Sector Development and Poverty Reduction - Tracking development reach indicators helps us understand our impact on poverty and living standards better. For example, we now have information on the number of customers our clients connected to water, phones, or power. We have attempted to describe our contribution to the Millennium Development Goals on the basis of our current understanding, which we plan to deepen in future through more in-depth evaluations. Learn more…
· Private and Public Investments - Sustainable and high economic growth is hard to achieve, and no country has accomplished it without considerable private investment. The public sector plays a crucial role in creating business environments that facilitate productive investments. But the size, and therefore the potential impacts of private capital, is beyond that of public funding and the quality of investment also matters. Generally, private investment plays a more crucial role in promoting sustainable economic growth than public funds. Learn more...
· Is IFC Making Too Much Profit? - IFC’s profits have quadrupled in the past five years, leading many to ask whether IFC is making profit at the expense of development outcome. Is IFC making money because it shies away from risky, but potentially high development impact projects in countries where private capital is scarce? This note shows that, on the contrary, IFC’s profit is an indication of strong development results. Learn more...
Monitor Notes
This series aims to inform IFC staff and the public about new development results findings and to provide food for thought on development effectiveness.
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