Putting Indicators of Effectiveness into the Arena for Negotiation

This is a letter written to Mr. Wolfensohn as a comment on a talk delivered at the professional Bankers Association. The letter specifically refers to an issue raised on not judging by volume, but by results. This is in connection with the way the World Bank judges effectiveness as part of the change management process. According to this letter, judging effectiveness of work in the Bank should be linked to the key question ôwhose reality counts?ö The letter says that the Bank has predetermined indicators for monitoring and evaluation of its operations from its own perspective. In order for the Bank to understand its effectiveness in alleviating poverty, it should try to understand its own biases and to offset them by putting the views of the poor first. In conclusion, the letter says that indicators for monitoring and evaluation should not be determined by the Bank, but by the stake holders. The indicators should remain part of an on-going negotiation process because perceptions change.