Message about an evaluation of the WB's Development Gateway
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Dear Vicky
Thanks to Mike Gursten, I have had a quick first look at your
evaluation of the World Bank Development Gateway... and just
want to say that your conclusions seem to be very much in line
with my own, though far better researched.
The whole issue of how to monitor and control the resources of
the official development assistance (ODA) organizations is a big
subject, and while you work is very good, it is also not very
powerful... that is from a systemic management point of view.
The fact is the funds got wasted, and in the future similar pro-
jects will waste more of the scarce resources available for "de-
velopment investment". There is no systemic way of stopping it.
I am a Cambridge trained engineer and economist, and a Coopers
and Lybrand trained Chartered Accountant. In my 30s I was the
CFO of a US based international company and was very much in-
volved with the first wave of corporate computerisation and the
introduction of a new era of management accounting in the corpo-
rate world. Later I did a lot of consulting work with the World
Bank and the UN and other ODA organizations, and ruined my ca-
reer by being rather outspoken about the lack of management in-
formation and the willingness of these institutions to turn a
blind eye to obvious project failure and corruption.
In my view it is long overdue that the international development
advocacy community come together to implement an independent
system that delivers on the promise of transparency, accounting
and accountability, and effective monitoring and evaluation
(TAAME). There are plenty of independent professionals inter-
ested in the issue, and there is very powerful technology at our
disposal.
In the past few months I have been enormously encouraged by the
interest in implementing the TAAME program or something like it.
Your work is a very relevant demonstration of why something like
TAAME is needed so that development resources get used in the
most effective way.
Incidentally, TAAME, like ICT is not going to change anything on
its own. Unless the other needed entities for supplying re-
sources and implementing economic activities also exist and are
able to function, TAAME is just another cost. But the TAAME con-
cept which uses "management" information more than economic in-
formation, helps with performance metrics and identifies missing
pieces and helps justify getting them established. It goes to
the guts of who is responsible for bad decisions on indecision.
Again, thank you for your work. I like it!
Sincerely,
Peter Burgess
PS My apologies for "cross posting".
Peter Burgess
in New York
Tel: +1-212 772 6918
mailto:peterb@afrifund.com
Database
http://www.afrifund.com/wiki/index.pcgi?page=AfrifundDatabase
Coffee: http://afrifund.coffeefair.com
Blog: http://taame.blogspot.com