Over the past six months, a key theme has been ensuring strong follow-up to IEO evaluations, a priority stressed by the recently competed External Evaluation of the IEO. Of particular note, the Managing Director has issued a statement highlighting actions planned to strengthen the IMF’s engagement with fragile states following our recent evaluation, and this statement is being presented to the IMFC for endorsement. In addition, the IEO has completed two updates of past evaluations, advanced work on two ongoing evaluations (on IMF financial surveillance and on IMF advice related to unconventional monetary policies), and is now considering its future work program in light of the External Evaluation.

Since the 2021 Annual Meetings, the IEO has made considerable progress with three ongoing evaluations, while two management implementation plans (MIPs) to follow up on recommendations from previous evaluations have been approved by the Board. In addition, to mark its twentieth birthday, the IEO organized a virtual conference to reflect on experience from its second decade and consider future challenges. We have also contributed to the ongoing work on institutional integrity at the IMF, drawing on a stocktaking of material contained in past evaluations and are considering additional work on these issues as we select two new evaluation topics later this year.

Like everyone else, the IEO is now adapting to new realities in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. During the five months after the 2019 Annual Meetings, the IEO completed two reports, continued work on two ongoing evaluations, and launched one new evaluation. The IMF also made good progress in following up on past IEO evaluations, including completion of a triage exercise aimed at dealing with the backlog of off-track actions. Unfortunately, IEO work plans are now being affected by the current crisis, as the Fund’s work is necessarily dominated by the challenge of meeting members’ urgent needs. Planned IEO engagement with the Board has been delayed and the schedule for ongoing and new evaluations has to be extended. Nevertheless, the IEO will continue to advance its work program as best it can within the new constraints.

This progress report presents key conclusions and recommendations from an IEO evaluation of the IMF’s response to the global financial and economic crisis and an update of the IEO evaluation of the IMF’s approach to capital account liberalization, both issued since October 2014. It also describes ongoing IEO activities.

Since the 2023 Annual Meetings, the IEO has continued making progress on the two ongoing evaluations and will launch a new evaluation—on IMF Advice on Fiscal Policy—targeted for completion in the second half of 2025. The IEO has collaborated with staff on the 13th Periodic Monitoring Report (PMR) and the management implementation plans (MIPs) that follow up on the Board-endorsed recommendations of the completed evaluations of The IMF and Capacity Development and The IMF’s Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The external evaluation of the IEO is expected to be completed by mid-2024.

Since the 2022 Annual Meetings, good progress has been made in advancing evaluation work at the IMF. The IEO has completed one evaluation and commenced two new evaluations selected from a menu of possible topics previously discussed with the Executive Board. A book drawing from the IEO 20th Anniversary Conference was published in early April. The current IEO Director, Charles Collyns, completes his term in April and will be succeeded by Pablo Moreno in May.

The IEO is advancing its work program while adapting to the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. While evaluation is not part of the frontline response that has dominated IMF activity over the past six months, independent evaluation remains a key function for learning from experience and drawing lessons for the Fund as it focuses on meeting members’ urgent and evolving needs. Since April, IEO engagement with the Executive Board has resumed, including formal discussion of the recently completed evaluation of IMF Advice on Capital Flows and an informal seminar on Bank-Fund collaboration on climate issues. Work continues on evaluations of adjustment and growth in IMF-supported programs and IMF engagement with small states, and a new evaluation is being launched on IMF capacity development.