Pilot project: adelphi conducts first German assessment of multilateral organisations

On behalf of the BMZ, adelphi develops the new BMZ Mapping of Multilateral Organisations (BMAP), a new method to enhance the understanding of the multilateral aid system as a whole, and, in particular, the role and performance of relevant MOs within that system.

In times of tight aid budgets, multilateral development cooperation is under particular scrutiny. In order to provide a clear strategic direction to German multilateral development cooperation, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has adopted Guiding Principles for Multilateral Development Policy (pdf) in 2013. BMAP will contribute towards the implementation of this new strategy by mapping around 30 Multilateral Organisations (MO). In order to fulfill this pioneer task successfully, adelphi has partnered up with Alison Evans, former Director the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and acknowledged international expert to the field of international cooperation.

New method stresses system-wide view and specific comparative advantages

adelphi will develop a user-friendly methodology that can easily be updated and used in the future. Particularly, BMAP will examine three criteria of the work of an MO:

(1) The relevance/mandate of the MO, in particular as regards the multilateral aid system as a whole.
(2) The performance of the MO in terms of effectiveness and results.
(3) The possibility for German strategic engagement.

While building on previous multilateral aid assessments that have been conducted in recent years such as the reviews of the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN), BMAP is distinct in two ways. On the one hand, instead of merely focusing on strengths and weaknesses of individual organisations, BMAP will offer a system-wide view of MO emphasising the wider role they play within the larger multilateral aid architecture. On the other hand, BMAP will examine the extent and role of the organisations’ specific comparative advantages.