Despite its timeliness and potential value, this evaluation is subject to notable methodological and practical challenges, as confirmed by staff interviews during the scoping mission that took place during the inception phase. The most important limitations identified are listed below:
(i) Despite the definition that OPSD has been using so far, the Bank lacks a clear official definition for PPPs;
(ii) The Bank has a scattered strategy for PPP interventions8 and lacks a comprehensive PPP policy and strategy;
(iii) The Bank lacks dedicated staff to guide the Bank's activities in this area; and
(iv) The scarcity of data9 available to evaluate the effectiveness of the completed interventions due to limited emphasis on managing for results and monitoring PPP projects for the achievement of development outcomes.10
Considering these challenges, in-depth case studies need to be conducted to rigorously assess the context in which PPPs are implemented and contributed to the achievement of Bank's development results, particularly "High Fives" priority areas.
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8 Recent Bank sector policy documents in particular the Industrialization Strategy for Africa and the New Deal on Energy for Africa mentioned the PPP mechanism as to support the sector strategy framework.
9 Especially quantitative data to evaluate the effectiveness
10 20 operations were fully disbursed out of 32 projects in the 2016 portfolio and only 6 XSRs have been completed.