## D4D Fund Delivery Plans: May 2023–October 2024 — Response to the Mid-Term Evaluation

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [D4D Fund Delivery Plans: May 2023–October 2024 — Response to the Mid-Term Evaluation](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/june-2023/08-d4d-fund-2023-scm-delivery-plans.pdf)

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### Overview and Work Plan
- The proposed May 2023–October 2024 work plan is budgeted at $12.6 million.
- The new work plan reflects broad continuity with the previous work plan and is premised on demand for capacity development (CD) on medium-term objectives recovering:
  - Full recovery of absorptive capacity in recipient countries;
  - Travel resumption transition completed;
  - Continuation of temporary ad hoc advisory services and of expansion of eligibility to D4D Fund;
  - Blended learning as an established CD modality.
- Fiscal and debt reporting will remain a priority.
- The number of CD activities will stabilize through all work streams, reflecting the maturity state of Phase I.
- The next work plan will be for 14 months only (May 2024–June 2025) and aims to utilize the remaining budget envelope before Phase II starts.
- Grants agility to respond to urgent follow-up CD requests and continuous engagement for more impactful CD in FCS context.
- Pilot LTX stationing to be assessed at next SC meeting in June 2024. This work plan is the penultimate work plan of Phase I.

### Module-Specific Delivery Plans and Priorities
- Module 1 — Real, Fiscal, and External Sector Statistics (M1)
  - Module 1, Sub Module Real Sector Statistics budget implication: $6.04 million.
  - Module 1, Sub Module External Sector Statistics budget implication: $4.60 million.
  - Module 1, Sub Module Fiscal and Debt Reporting budget implication: $5.62 million.
  - Module 1, Ad Hoc Advisory Services budget implication: $0.29 million.
  - High public debt-to-GDP ratios and rising real interest rates increase urgency of fiscal and debt statistics CD.
  - CD on fiscal and debt statistics will continue to be strong to address data gaps as authorities face policy trade offs with limited fiscal space.
- External Sector Statistics (ESS)
  - Improvements targeted in coverage, compilation and dissemination of balance of payments, international investment position and external debt statistics; and in periodicity and timeliness of external sector datasets (BOP, IIP, EXD).
  - Posting an LTX on ESS in AFC — install an LTX at the RCDC covering Central Africa for one year (from October 2023) to support the current D4D Fund work program in the sub-region.
  - Target countries for LTX (9): Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (all FCS); and Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
  - Objectives of LTX modality:
    - More impactful when CD demands across countries in a region/sub-region are similar and require long-term and sustained engagement.
    - Close to recipient countries; boost results, and may lead to efficiency gains and cost savings, especially in an FCS environment.
    - Aligned with the IMF’s FCS strategy that recommends “more boots on the ground”.
    - Strengthens country ownership and greater accountability for implementation.
    - Better absorption through more frequent and targeted follow-up.
    - Greater attention to synergies with work programs of other CD providers.
  - Rationale: Reversal of past IMF project outcomes resulting in policymakers’ concerns about the declining quality of external sector statistics. Supporting IMF surveillance and program work.
- High-Frequency Indicators (HFI)
  - High levels of debt, persistent inflation and uncertain growth prospects make HFI more relevant than ever.
  - Outreach to raise awareness on technical assistance available to support HFI development translated into new requests, especially in Africa.
  - HFI CD delivery anchored by a broader STA data program.
  - With global interest rates rising, HFI is a critical indicator to monitor risks to financial sector stability.
- National Accounts and Real Sector (NAS, RPPI, PPI/XMPI)
  - Demand picking up to meet benchmarking/rebasing standards as NSOs aim to advance on their medium-term objectives.
  - Source data will continue to be a focus with many follow-ups.
  - Interest confirmed for CD on prices and rising in CD on informal economy.
- Module 2 — Financial Access Survey (M2)
  - Module 2: Financial Access Survey budget implication: $3.59 million.
  - Rising inequality makes FAS work crucial to meet financial inclusion challenge.
  - The FAS will keep adapting to evolving data needs, with additional mechanisms to foster data reporting and usage.
  - A more medium-term reform objective, demand for CD remained modest under this module.
  - FAS Advisory Group established to promote stronger data user orientation.
  - Coordination with the World Bank's Findex has helped enhance financial inclusion data collection.
  - Complementarities between FAS and Findex being discussed particularly in the context of the new Data Gaps Initiative.
- Module 3 — Online Learning (M3)
  - Module 3: Online Learning budget implication: $7.40 million.
  - Online Course Curriculum: 5 last courses will be launched.
  - 3 courses will be launched in French and Spanish.
  - 3 additional courses will be translated into French and Spanish.
  - Last Batch Delivery topics listed include Financial Soundness Indicators; Producer and Export/Import Price Indices (PPI/XMPI); Monetary and Financial Statistics; Institutional Sector Accounts; Residential Property Price Indices (in Summer 2023); Consumer Price Indices; High-Frequency Indicators; External Debt Statistics.
  - Continue to roll out the blended learning courses piloted during FY23 to all work streams, countries and regions.
  - Expand the blended modality to technical assistance activities that have an embedded training component, leveraging the online learning curriculum developed under M3.
  - Tap the expertise of other international/regional organizations to sharpen the focus on use of data in STA training programs.
- Module 4 — Statistical Information Management (M4)
  - Module 4: Statistical Information Management budget implication: $0.66 million.
  - A more medium-term reform objective; demand for CD modest.
  - SDMX enhances official data dissemination, contributing to source data needs in other work streams or for surveillance and/or lending purposes.
  - Focus on Africa where needs are more acute, in close coordination with the African Development Bank.
- Resource Management
  - Resource Management Program Manager budget implication: $1.46 million.

### Donor Coordination, Partnerships, and Fundraising
- Donor coordination aims to materialize synergies with major global statistical CD providers.
- World Bank and IMF collaboration highlighted in areas such as public sector debt statistics, national accounts, prices, climate statistics, and other areas of mutual interest.
- World Bank lead on the World Bank Global Data Facility and related regional projects in West and Central Africa: $1b+ cited as context for coordination.
- Fundraising goals mentioned:
  - Fundraising goal by 2030: $500m (context: Data for Policy Initiative / IDA19 / UN call for data).
  - Fundraising goal by 2030: $200m (context: intertwining CD for greater results; World Bank support + IMF inputs).

### Response to the Mid-term Evaluation — Key Recommendations and Initiatives
- Key Initiatives Underway:
  - CDMAP mainstreaming a medium-term program approach to CD planning with IMF Area Departments playing a key role, and annual project assessments which foster a stronger project management approach to CD delivery.
  - STA has improved granularity of Results Based Management (RBM) Catalog and will continue to adapt to changing needs.
  - Fund-wide policies and strategies informing actions on tailoring needs assessments and on sharing of CD information (FCS Strategy; IMF Staff Operational Guidance on the Dissemination of Capacity Development Information).
  - A Financial Access Survey Advisory Group to promote stronger data user orientation.
  - Mechanisms with the World Bank in place for coordination on statistical CD activities of mutual interest; collaboration to be scaled up (e.g., public sector debt statistics, national accounts, prices, climate).
- Specific recommended actions and responses:
  1. During intervention planning and design, include an explicit requirement to provide a clear needs assessment for data use.
  2. During CD planning and design, require a more systematic assessment of ownership and absorption capacity:
     - Country engagement strategies to inform prioritization and design of statistics CD programs in FCS.
     - FAS Advisory Group: enhancing engagement with users.
     - Diagnostic missions to include more use case analysis, and address sustainability of proposed CD interventions.
  3. Take active steps to move from a “CD delivery” to a “change management” approach:
     - Stronger engagement with authorities at earlier stage of project planning cycle (including through IMF Annual and Spring Meetings).
     - Leveraging new CD delivery modalities for continuous country engagement.
     - Promote documentation of country compilation practices to mitigate risks of staff rotation in national statistics-producing agencies.
     - Sharper focus on data compilation at training workshops/webinars.
     - Enhanced messaging on statistical issues in IMF Article Reports.
  4. Enhance coordination and strengthen synergies with other development partners:
     - Leverage information accessible in the recently launched Clearinghouse for Financing Development Data to enhance existing coordination mechanisms.
     - Beginning in 2024, D4D Fund Annual Reports will feature more systematic reporting on how D4D Fund-supported CD is complementary to those of other development partners.
     - Disseminate high-level summaries of strategic final CD outputs and publish more technical assistance reports on the IMF website. Progress to be reported in D4D Fund Annual Reports.
     - Under M2, coordination with the World Bank's Findex has helped enhance financial inclusion data collection.
  5. Improve the impact monitoring and evaluation at the level of data users:
     - Under D4D Fund Phase II, implement a strategy on collecting and reporting information on how data are used for decisions (short term actions to include surveying IMF country mission chiefs).
     - Internal monitoring of data usage (STA Data Product Evaluation, FAS).
  6. Continue developing and institutionalizing the blended (online and in-person) CD delivery model (see Module 3 actions above).
  7. Further tailor the RBM framework to the D4D Fund:
     - To better fit country context, the objectives for macroeconomic statistics in the RBM Catalog were increased.
     - Inputs for monitoring and reporting of the strategic log frame of the D4D Fund will be drawn from CDMAP.
     - Annual project assessments are a part of the CDMAP deliverables, and STA has implemented an RBM data completeness monitor to improve the quality of these assessments.

### Country Eligibility, Pilots, and Implementation Notes
- Extend to FY24 the temporary expansion of country eligibility.
  - 4/5 of Extended List of Beneficiary Countries Benefited CD in FY23 (Armenia, Jordan, Namibia, Suriname).
  - New LLMIC list in July 2023.
  - Revised extended list will be proposed in next quarterly report in October (using same methodology).
  - List of LLMICs expected to grow given multiple global crisis.
- Stationing of an LTX in Central Africa for 12 months to deliver CD on ESS in 9 countries in the sub-region, most of them FCS.
- Grants agility to respond to urgent follow-up CD requests and continuous engagement for more impactful CD in FCS context.

### Issues for Endorsement — Budget Implications (as listed)
- Module 1, Sub Module Real Sector Statistics — $6.04 million.
- Module 1, Sub Module External Sector Statistics — $4.60 million.
- Module 1, Sub Module Fiscal and Debt Reporting — $5.62 million.
- Module 1, Ad Hoc Advisory Services — $0.29 million.
- Module 2: Financial Access Survey — $3.59 million.
- Module 3: Online Learning — $7.40 million.
- Module 4: Statistical Information Management — $0.66 million.
- Resource Management Program Manager — $1.46 million.
- Country Eligibility Criteria — Section V (issue listed for endorsement).
- Long-Term Expert on External Sector Statistics — Paragraphs 14–17 (issue listed for endorsement).

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/june-2023/08-d4d-fund-2023-scm-delivery-plans.pdf_