Measuring the Performance of EC Development Cooperation: Lessons from the Experiences of International Development Agencies

The EC Development Policy Statement (November 2000) specifies the reduction of poverty as the central objective of EC development cooperation. The overhaul of EC development cooperation is closely linked to the general management reforms of the European Commission, which aim to enhance the efficiency of the European public service. One of the priorities of the reform is to introduce a results-based management system and activity-based budgeting (ABB) in the Community budget from 2003. In this context, the Council and the European Parliament have invited the Commission to establish indicators for EC development cooperation in order to monitor the performance of the EC. This study identifies the scope and nature of performance measurement systems used by some of the major development agencies in order to contribute to the debate on performance indicators for EC development cooperation.

The rationale for agency-wide performance measurement is twofold: on the one hand, the development agencies have to show accountability to external bodies such as the Council and the European Parliament. On the other hand, performance measurement provides information for improving internal management through institutional learning. Measuring agency-level performance involves several steps: formulating objectives; selecting indicators; setting targets; collecting performance data, and reviewing and reporting performance agency-wide.