WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EXECUTIVE BOARD 105th Session Provisional agenda item 6 EB105/INF.DOC./3 13 January 2000
Implementation of budget resolutions Evaluating the work of WHO Submitted to the Executive Board for information
BACKGROUND 1. Resolution EB103.R6 requested the Director-General to prepare “an integrated plan for monitoring, evaluating and reporting results to the governing bodies”, for consideration by the Executive Board at its 105th session. 2. WHO currently assesses and evaluates its programme through audit and oversight, financial reports, monitoring of operational plans, internal programme assessments, and internal and external reviews of selected projects, departments and regional programmes. 3. The Organization produces a considerable body of evaluative work every year, but it has not been systematically linked to the planning and budgeting process. Moreover, extrabudgetary activities have been subjected to much greater scrutiny than those funded by the regular budget. 4. A fully integrated planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting system will be operational by 2002-2003. This document outlines the components already in place, and plans for the remaining elements.
AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM 5. When complete, integrated evaluation will permit a systematic approach to planning, programming, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation. It will be anchored in the programme budget process, and complemented by in-depth thematic reviews and regular reporting. Components will include: • on-going monitoring (technical and financial) of progress towards expected results in the programme budget; • programme and project evaluations, and thematic reviews (see paragraph 9);
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• audit and oversight reports, including a summary of main findings, recommendations and action taken or proposed; • financial reports aligned with the programme budget. 6. The integrated system will cover WHO’s whole portfolio of work. Six-monthly reporting to senior management makes it possible to feed the results into preparation of the subsequent programme budget. A summary of findings from the integrated system will be submitted to the Health Assembly after the end of the biennium. Individual reports will be available.
PROGRESS TOWARDS THE INTEGRATED SYSTEM 7. Monitoring of budget implementation. The first priority has been to set up a mechanism to monitor progress (technical and financial) towards achievement of the expected results set out in the budget document. As from the programme budget 2000-2001 it will be possible to link operational plans with expected results and expenditures.1 8. Synthesis of existing evaluations. In view of the large number of evaluations carried out by individual projects and programmes, priority is being given to preparing a six-monthly consolidated report bringing together both specific and general lessons learned for the work of WHO. (Document A52/INF.DOC./2, Annex 2, provided examples of different evaluation findings and lessons learned, which indicates the potential for this type of report.) 9. Thematic reviews. A small number of thematic reviews will be planned before the biennium to ensure that key strategic matters are adequately assessed. They may look in depth at specific issues, or combine experience across a broader area. They may focus either on technical areas or ways in which WHO works. The specific issues to be addressed in a biennium will be listed in the proposed programme budget. As an interim arrangement, three themes – eradication of poliomyelitis, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness, and the WHO strategic planning and budgeting process – will be reviewed in depth during the biennium 2000-2001. 10. As from mid-2000, the Internal Auditor will submit six-monthly reports summarizing common findings and recommended remedial action. 11. WHO’s financial and reporting system is being refined so that as from the biennium 2000-2001 the financial reports will match the situation and content of the programme budget. 12. Guidelines for preparing the Proposed programme budget 2002-2003 have been prepared with the object of subsequent evaluation in mind. The programme budget will set out expected results that are manageable, and the goals to which those results will contribute. 13. A key objective of the exercise is to implant the culture of evaluation more firmly throughout WHO. The principal user of the results will be the Organization itself as it seeks continually to improve the quality and relevance of its work. Progress towards the proposed integrated system is summarized in the Annex.
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See document EB105/17.
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REPORTING PROGRESS 14. When the Director-General submits the Proposed programme budget 2002-2003 to the Executive Board in January 2001 she will: • report on progress on the work outlined above; • summarize findings and lessons learned from the first round of programme reviews and consolidated studies; • elaborate on the institutional arrangements for managing the process of evaluation (including the involvement of external expertise) and for applying the results of evaluations; • set out proposals for thematic reviews during 2002-2003.
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ANNEX PROGRESS TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED PROGRAMME MONITORING AND EVALUATION SYSTEM
Programme budget 1998-1999 Monitoring No proper link between work plans, expected results and expenditures Reviews carried out by individual programmes; focus almost exclusively on extrabudgetary resources
Programme budget 2000-2001 Integrated monitoring and reporting system in place; six-monthly reports Consolidation of evaluations carried out by individual projects and programmes In-depth reviews of eradication of poliomyelitis, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness, strategic planning and budgeting
Programme budget 2002-2003 Integrated system for planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, anchored in the programme budget, complemented by six-monthly reports on budget implementation, and summaries of audits and evaluations
Evaluation
Audit
Individual reports
Six-monthly summaries of common findings and recommended remedial action Financial reports aligned to structure of the programme budget
Financial reporting
No meshing between financial reports and structure of the programme budget
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