Washington, DC: The International Monetary Fund has made
substantial progress in advancing the Implementation Plan actions following
the conclusion of the
Institutional Safeguards Review (ISR)
.
The ISR, which was completed and discussed by the
Executive Board in June 2022, concluded that the Fund’s safeguards mechanisms are generally robust in
ensuring a high standard of institutional governance and analytical
integrity. It also found that the Fund has a dispute resolution system
comparable to the practices and procedures in other benchmarked
organizations and provides multiple formal and informal mechanisms for
employees to express their workplace concerns.
At the same time, the Review identified areas where the data and analytical
integrity frameworks at the Fund could be bolstered and in which the smooth
and effective functioning of the Fund’s system for internal disputes could
be strengthened. In response to the ISR recommendations, a comprehensive
Implementation Plan (IP) was developed by drawing on the work undertaken by
a Board Steering Group, Management, and staff. The IP outlines a set of
actions and policy changes that reflect the strong shared commitment of the
Board and Management to a durable change in the institution (also see
PR22/438).
The Board and Management are committed to open and transparent information
sharing on the IP to ensure successful roll-out. In this regard, the IP
envisaged substantial progress on most actions targeted for completion in
2023. As of today, 85 percent of these actions have been completed or
remain on track for
completion.[1]
As IP roll-out approaches the completion of a full year, the focus will
increasingly shift to mainstreaming and operationalizing the policy,
process, and accountability changes. The Office of Internal Audit (OIA)
will conduct an independent assessment of the ISR implementation progress
in 2024.