Independent
Evaluation of the
Korea -World Bank Partnership Facility
Terms
of Reference
1. Background
The
Korea-World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF) is a sustained partnership and
collaborative development effort between the Government of Korea and the World
Bank. The Program, established in 2013 by the Ministry of Economy and Finance
(MoEF) of the Republic of Korea, is a key instrument for enhancing the impact
and effectiveness of Korea’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). The KWPF is
administered by the Trust Funds and Partner Relations Department (DFTPR) of the
Development Finance Vice Presidency of the World Bank (DFiVP).
Korea’s
Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF): The Ministry is
committed to developing a strong economy and building engines through the
concerted efforts of its offices and bureaus. The ministry works to ensure
macroeconomic and financial stability, effective policy coordination, efficient
allocation of national resources, fiscal soundness, rational taxi policies, and
robust international cooperation. The Development Finance Division at MoEF is
the key counterpart for the KWPF program.
The
KWPF Program Management Team (PMT): Housed within
the Trust Funds and Partner Relations department (DFTPR) unit of the
Development Finance Vice Presidency (DFi) at the World Bank, the KWPF PMT is
responsible for the day-to-day administration and management of the KWPF. The
PMT organizes Annual Consultations with MoEF to discuss the strategic objectives,
design and operation of the program, agree upon the thematic and regional
priorities for each of the calls for proposals, and the overall supervision review
the overall implementation progress of the program.
As the
largest Trust Fund among all MDBs, KWPF is central to the partnership between
Korea and the World Bank, combining thought leadership and financing to benefit
middle- and low-income countries. KWPF
leverages opportunities for mutual learning, knowledge sharing, and expertise
exchange by supporting countries seeking to adapt Korea’s development
experience and technical know-how to achieve their development goals. The Trust
Fund supports World Bank operations and partnerships that are results-oriented,
demand-driven, and closely aligned with the World Bank’s mission and lending
operations. Knowledge exchange and technical assistance to leverage Korea’s
experience is an important objective that the Trust Fund supports. Since its establishment, KWPF has mobilized financing of over US$488
million throughout its funding pillars with a total of 208 grants. The KWPF PMT
has also developed a robust network of Korean partners and will be updating the
FY23 Knowledge Partner Directory in FY25. The allocation of
KWPF funding is organized through three pillars.
· Pillar
1: Financing for Global and Regional Programs
supplements other World Bank Trust Fund programs that support various
development activities. Funded activities are identified through close
consultation between the Korean government and relevant Bank units. The MoEF
assigns funding to selected global and regional programs administered by the
Bank and advises DFi on the trust fund programs that MoEF and other Bank units
have agreed to support. The donor then signs Administration Agreements with
relevant Bank units or joins Administration Agreements already in place for
existing trust fund programs. DFi, as Trustee, transfers the agreed level of
funding to the selected trust fund accounts of global and regional programs.
Through this pillar Korea has contributed $155 million to 21 World Bank
programs
· Pillar
2: Co-financing of Lending Operations and Projects
supports Korea funded co-financing and project preparation to complement the
World Bank’s operational work. Between the KWPF’s establishment in FY2013 and FY2025,
the KWPF approved $73.6 million in funding for 62 Pillar 2 grants across eleven
sectors in six regions.
· Pillar
3: Generation and Transfer of Development Knowledge, and Technical Assistance
Activities facilitates the creation and sharing of
development knowledge by leveraging Korea’s experience along with the World
Bank’s convening power and expertise. Between the KWPF’s establishment in
FY2013 and FY2025, the KWPF approved $108.2 million in funding for 143 pillar 3
grants across eight sectors. Out of the pillar 3 grants, 38 were global grants across
four sectors, with the total approved funding in the amount of $27.3 million.
Within Pillar 2 and 3, there are a total of 63
active and pipeline grants within 33 countries with a total approved grant
amount of US$76.4 million.
The MoEF is considering replenishment of KWPF in 2026. The
analysis, findings and lessons from this evaluation will help assess KWPF’s
delivery model and results achieved from its operations, inform options for
strengthening the Program; and develop new or alternative modalities to the
KWPF. These findings will provide valuable input for Korea’s MoEF in
consideration for the replenishment of the KWPF in FY26.
2.
ObjectiveS
The main objectives of this evaluation
will be to:
· Assess the effectiveness, efficiency, and
sustainability of the KWPF program based on the evaluation criteria agreed with
the Donor.
· Propose recommendations to further strengthen the
operation and effectiveness of the KWPF program and assist the KWPF PMT to make
informed strategic and operational decisions regarding the FY26 replenishment
of the KWPF.
The evaluation team is expected to respond to the following questions
and provide strategic recommendations to further strengthen the effectiveness
of the KWPF program:
· Have the objectives of the KWPF Program been
achieved?
· Has the KWPF Program been able to deliver results in
an economic and timely way.
· Have the outcomes and indicators of the results
framework been achieved as planned? Does the results framework lend itself to
measuring these results?
· Has the Program been managed efficiently? Are there
any inefficiencies in current operating structures and internal procedures
which can be addressed?
· To what extent has the visibility of Korea in the use
of the KWPF funds been secured (e.g. communications visibility; involvement of Korean
stakeholders(public/private) in securing contracts)
·
To what extent has the KWPF program established linkages and synergies with
the Bank projects (e.g. strategic linkage; financial linkage)
3.
Scope of Work
The population of the activities for
the evaluation will cover Pillar 2 & 3 grants that were active and completed
from July 1, 2022, until June 30, 2025. The
evaluation will therefore include grants from Phase One of KWPF (FY13-FY23) and
Phase Two, which started in FY24. The evaluators will develop a stratified
sampling methodology to ensure the proportional representation of the programs.
Interested firms will be asked to
propose the methodology/action plan that they will be undertaking to carry out
the evaluation. Interested firms should indicate the extent to which they
expect results to be based on quantitative or qualitative assessment based on
the nature of the KWPF program. It is expected that the consultants will
undertake the following activities:
· A desk review of the background materials on the KWPF
program, including Agreements between the Government of Korea and the World
Bank, KWPF Annual Reports, KWPF Results Framework, KWPF PMT operating
procedures, details of approved grants and previous evaluations of KWPF.
· A desk review of available concept notes, progress reports
(e.g. Implementation Status and Results Reports, Annual Progress Reviews) and
completion reports for completed grants. Specifically, the consultants will
analyze the development impact of the KWPF funded activities, using
quantitative indicators, where possible.
· Key informant interviews with all relevant Korean
stakeholders are expected to be carried out by a Korea based professional.
· Desk surveys with in-country clients.
This evaluation will be guided by the
criteria (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, and
coherence) as laid out in the OECD DAC Criteria for Evaluating Development
Assistance. The evaluators are
encouraged to further develop the guiding questions presented below under each
objective and to include additional questions they may deem important. The list
of questions/lines of inquiry will be finalized in the inception report.
Relevance
·
To what extent is the KWPF objectives
and interventions relevant and consistent with the mission, corporate and
strategic priorities of the Bank?
· Are
the KWPF funded grants relevant, strategic and responsive to in-country client
needs? How does KWPF adapt to the changes in client country priorities and
strengthening the program design to address these.
· What
is the key donor interest and how can KWPF operational and business models
cater to the donor’s requests?
·
Are the activities and outputs of the KWPF
program consistent with the overall goal and the attainment of its objectives
and intended result and outcomes?
Effectiveness
·
To what extent do the KWPF -funded
projects achieved the intended project-specific outcomes? What are the reasons
why the intended project-specific outcomes have or have not been achieved?
·
To what extent did KWPF have effective monitoring and reporting mechanisms
that systemically track the progress achieved through its work in countries and
at global level? How might monitoring
and reporting be improved?
· How
effective has KWPF been in raising awareness and sharing knowledge and learning
both internally and externally, directly or through the GP’s operational work –
at the global, regional, and country-level? Are structures in place to
facilitate knowledge creation and sharing across the World Bank and externally?
· To
what extent did the KWPF implementation and governance arrangements effectively
support program operation and management? How can these be further streamlined
and simplified?
Efficiency
·
To what extent has the KWPF PMT
efficiently and effectively managed the program?
- Were objectives achieved in a timely manner?
- How efficiently does KWPF allocate financial resources
to achieve the programs’ intended outcome(s) and impact(s)?
·
To what extent have donor expectations
with regard to the KWPF partnership been met?
· Have
operating principles and guidelines evolved over time in response to new
priorities or objectives?
Impact
·
How have the grants leveraged lending
operations?
· What are the most impactful outcomes
and results achieved from KWPF-funded activities?
· Are
KWPF-funded activities clearly linked to the outcomes and results indicators
being measured through the results framework and does the linkage provide for
plausible contribution (i.e., evidence of activities contribution to the
development outcome)?
· Do
global knowledge products serve as a valuable resource for governments,
partners and other stakeholders?
· To
which extent have KWPF-funded activities influenced, or have potential to
influence, government policies and strategies? What entry points has so far
proven to be most effective?
Sustainability
·
How sustainable are the results and outcomes
achieved to date through KWPF-funded activities?
·
What key factors
require attention to improve sustainability of achieved results and outcomes and
the potential for replication of the approach?
· How
effective is KWPF in establishing internal and external partnerships and
systems to ensure the sustainability of results and outcomes?
Coherence
·
To what extent
the KWPF complements and harmonize with other WB programs [supporting similar
interventions]?
· To
what extent the KWPF Program complements and add strategic value to other
similar programs outside the WB, including those led by client countries?
4.
rEPORTING AND SUPERVISION
The evaluation team will submit:
· An inception report within three weeks after signing
the contract
· An interim report after completion of desk reviews and
interactions with key Korean stakeholders around 3 months from contract signing
date
· A draft final report with an executive summary for
discussion with the donor within 6 months from contract signing
· A final report reflecting comments made on the draft
final report in English by January 31, 2026. A translation into Korean will be
provided once the final version in English has been approved.
5.
Deliverables and timeline
The evaluation is expected to be
conducted between June and December 2025. Contract award and inception meeting
with the KWPF PMT and MOEF to clarify the TOR and work plan
for the evaluation is expected to take place by June 2025. The lead evaluator
may be asked to present the interim findings and recommendations to the KWPF PMT
and MOEF in November 2025 and then present the final report to the KWPF PMT and
MOEF during the Annual Consultation Meeting to be held in Washington DC in
January 2026.
Dates
Milestone / Deliverables
June 2025
June
Jun
Firm contracted
July 2025
Inception
Report for KWPF PMT and MOEF
The inception
report (between 20-25 pages) will outline:
· Proposed
approach and methodology for the evaluation, including criteria and
indicators for the assessment, data collection, analysis and validation, and evaluation
limitations.
· A detailed work
program for the evaluation, with clearly stipulated timelines for the
different activities and deliverables.
· List of key
documents and key informants
for stakeholder consultations
· List of
specific questions relating to the evaluation to which World Bank and MOEF
will respond
September 2025
Discussion on emerging
findings to KWPF PMT
·
Discussion midway through
the evaluation, the evaluators will have a videoconference to provide an
update on the evaluation process, and preliminary findings. Additional
discussions may be arranged on a need basis.
November 2025
Draft
Evaluation Report for KWPF PMT Preliminary Review and Technical Reference
Group Review
The evaluation
report (between 40-50 pages) will include:
· Executive
Summary – including a description of the purpose of the evaluation, the
main audience, a short description of evaluation methods and a short summary
of key findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
· Introduction – an
explanation of the context in which this evaluation was conducted and a
description of why the evaluation was conducted; any variations from TORs;
degree of independence; how any differences of opinion were managed.
· Evaluation
Methodology – including evaluation scope, data sources and sampling, and evaluation
limitations (if any).
· Findings – structured
in a way that the reader can easily make connections between the purpose of
the evaluation and the data gathered and its strength, including findings of
the case studies.
· Recommendation – propose a concrete
set of recommendations that help improve KWPF operational model,
institutional arrangements and management of the Program and strengthen its
position and alignment with the corporate and strategic priorities
December 2025
Presentation of Draft
Evaluation Report to KWPF PMT and MOEF
·
PowerPoint presentation
highlighting evaluation methodology, findings, and recommendations.
December 2025
Revised Draft Evaluation
Report to share with KWPF PMT and MOEF
·
Revised report incorporating
feedback from KWPF PMT, technical reference group and MOEF
January 2026
Final Report
·
Final report with executive
summary incorporating feedback received from KWPF PMT, Bank management and
MOEF (as applicable).
·
Final report in both English and
Korean
6.
BUDGET, STAFFING AND RESOURCES
The selected firm will be remunerated for the deliverables as
follows:
Category of Expense
Proportional Cost
Contract signing
10%
Inception Report
20%
Draft Evaluation Report
25%
Final Evaluation Report
25%
Presentation of evaluation findings to
Korea’s MoEF, KWPF PMT and Technical Reference Group
20%
Minimum
qualifications of the consultants
The evaluation team should comprise at
least 3-4 experienced and qualified professionals, including at least one expert
with extensive knowledge and understanding of Korea’s ODA policy, from the
selected consultancy firm exhibiting the following range of skills and
experience:
(General Qualifications for
all Consultants)
· Master’s
degree or higher in monitoring and evaluation or a development-related field.
·
At least 5 years of relevant experience,
including design of evaluation methodologies incorporating both qualitative and
quantitative date collection and research methods and formulating actionable
evidence-base recommendations.
·
Former experience in evaluating World Bank or other
trust funds (or similar) programs is highly desirable.
·
Excellent writing, analytical skills and ability to communicate
complex issues in simple terms.
·
Demonstrated skills in integrating multi-sectoral
inputs into a package of solutions to achieve development results
·
In-depth knowledge of WBG operations, and familiarity
with WBG instruments, including trust funds.
·
Demonstrated ability to lead discussions at the
highest policy levels
·
Demonstrated client orientation through identifying
and evaluating emerging opportunities aligned with WBG strategy, and
challenging others to remove barriers and to deliver beyond client expectations
·
Demonstrated achievement of results – through building
a culture that consistently delivers high-quality products and services to
clients and through engaging others in implementing strategies that have
long-term impact
·
Demonstrated leadership in teamwork and inclusion to
support collaboration and working across boundaries, and ensuring diverse
talent and capability is mobilized across Global Practices
·
Excellent inter-personal skills, ability to
constructively solve conflict situations and proven ability to lead from behind
(Additional
Qualification for Korean Consultant)
·
Familiarity with the administrative procedure and
policy-making processes of the MOEF and/or a capacity to learn these are
essential.
·
In-depth knowledge of Korea’s
development experience and ODA policy.
·
Demonstrated experience
working with Korean stakeholders
·
Excellent written and oral
communication skills in Korean are essential.
7.
Terms and conditions
The firm will report to the designated
task team leaders in the KWPF PMT, and the evaluation will be carried out under
the overall supervision of the KWPF Program Manager. The KWPF PMT will provide
the necessary administrative support and data/information, as well as conduct
the day-to-day management of the evaluation to ensure the timely delivery of
inception, draft and final evaluation reports. The KWP PMT will be responsible
for or facilitate the communicating findings to the Donor. To ensure the
independence of the evaluation, a selection committee representing the KWPF PMT,
and the World Bank’s Development Finance and Partnership department (DFi) will
collegially review the bidder’s proposals and select the evaluating firm.