Measuring the results of international development projects involving co-financing can be challenging. By putting in place a new Results Management Framework (RMF) in 2021, the Nordic Development Fund has been able to improve its data-driven decision making, learn more from the implementation of joint projects, communicate better on their impact, and collaborate more effectively with its co-financing partners.
Enhancing co‑financing impact: The Nordic Development Fund’s Results Management Framework
Abstract
Development institutions need to demonstrate the results of their investments and project portfolios. Learning from those also helps them improve their operations. The 2019 evaluation of the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) – the joint climate and development finance institution of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden – revealed that the Fund had been focusing on rigorously reporting on results rather than learning from them to improve projects. It also identified the need to strengthen the NDF’s corporate results management to better inform strategy and decision making.
The fact that all NDF activities involve co-financing in co-operation with multilateral and bilateral development institutions makes measuring and attributing results all the more challenging, due to the diversity of reporting standards and development objectives among stakeholders. To address these needs and support the delivery of the NDF’s Strategy 2025, the Fund developed in 2021 an overarching Results Management Framework (RMF) to better assess its operational and organisational performance.
The design of the NDF’s RMF built upon the following:
A new, overarching Theory of change (ToC) explicitly captured the NDF’s diverse and broad portfolio of projects, using a results chain logic to describe the inputs and activities undertaken to attain the first level of results (outputs) and to contribute to the intended higher-level results (outcomes and impacts).
A participatory process, aiming for the framework to be owned by its intended users. Considerable efforts went into holding internal and external consultations with stakeholders, including the NDF Board, the RMF working group and NDF staff, to build consensus and ownership among users.
An alignment with the NDF’s policies and frameworks. The RMF design was based on existing policies and frameworks, including an in-depth project portfolio analysis and the review of policy and operational documents, as well as benchmarking with industry standards and best practices.
A selection criteria for aggregate results and process indicators, in order to track the main activities in the ToC and measure the aggregate project-level results, indicators were selected and designed based on specific criteria: (i) align with institutional documents such as strategy, policies and guidelines, (ii) be broad enough to capture a significant portion of the portfolio, (iii) remain cost-efficient, (iv) adhere to SMART criteria, (v) align with Sustainable Development Goal indicators, (vi) be harmonised among partners and (vii) reflect change at the beneficiary level. In addition, a set of technical notes help steer the application of the RMF and align it across institutional and project-level results frameworks.
The RMF has made data collection significantly more reliable at different project stages, making it possible for the NDF to:
Analyse and integrate data to present portfolio-level results. The RMF is integrated into the NDF’s Project Management Information System. Its online application was launched in December 2022, and all project-level results and impact data were migrated into this new system. This facilitates up-to-date and interactive data management and reporting.
Capture the contribution of projects to the NDF’s Strategy 2025. For instance, the 2023 Action for Climate results report highlighted that the introduction of the framework’s ToC was followed by consistent and incremental progress in 2022 towards the Fund’s 2025 projections.
Take decisions based on better data. The information and knowledge from the portfolio-level progress data are now used for strategic decision making, reflecting the direction and targets set in the NDF’s Strategy 2025. The lessons from project evaluations also help the NDF to improve the design of its projects.
Communicate better on development co-operation impact. The NDF published its first results report in May 2022, presenting the results-based management approach, portfolio-level results, and people and projects behind the data. This report has since become the NDF’s flagship publication, generating most visits on the NDF’s social media and online platforms.
Actively engage on results with partners. The development of an overarching RMF with a clear ToC has allowed the NDF to better engage and share expertise with partners to improve the monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks. For instance, the NDF has worked closely with the Asian Development Bank on the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning aspects of the Community Resilience Partnership Programme, particularly focusing on areas such as capturing the participation of women and marginalised groups in the design and implementation of projects.
A detailed results-based framework with carefully selected indicators enables the effective implementation of long-term impact strategies. With its focus on end-of-project results, the RMF has fostered greater institutional emphasis on effectiveness and the likelihood of long-term impacts, including climate adaptation and resilience benefits.
Engaging with partners and stakeholders is key for improving data quality and availability. Continued capacity strengthening and dialogue are essential to address data gaps and enhance results management processes.
Co-creation builds consensus and ownership. Engaging in internal and external consultation with Board members, staff and affected populations during the design of the RMFs was essential to build consensus and ownership.
Nordic Development Fund (2023), Nordic Action for Climate: NDF Results Report 2023, https://www.ndf.int/newsroom/our-results-report-paves-the-way-for-a-hopeful-future.html.
Nordic Development Fund (2021), Results Management Framework (RMF) − Policy, https://www.ndf.int/media/publications/ndf-results-management-framework-policy_final-181021.pdf.
Nordic Development Fund (2020), Gender Equality Policy, https://www.ndf.int/media/publications/gender-equality-policy_digitalversion.pdf.
Nordic Development Fund (n.d.), “Project database”, https://www.ndf.int/what-we-finance/projects/project-database.
Spratt, E. et al. (2019) Joint Nordic Organisational Assessment of the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), EBA Report 2019:06, the Expert Group for Aid Studies, Sweden, https://eba.se/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019-06-NDF_webb_Tillganp.pdf.
OECD (2024), “Managing for sustainable development results”, TIPs Fundamentals, Development Co-operation TIPs ∙ Tools, Insights, Practices, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-tips-tools-insights-practices_be69e0cf-en/managing-for-sustainable-development-results_8e326a5d-en.html.
OECD (2023), Impact by Design: Effective Results Frameworks for Sustainable Development, https://one.oecd.org/official-document/DCD(2023)17/en.
To learn more about the Nordic Fund’s members’ development co-operation see:
OECD, Development Co-operation Profiles, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://read.oecd.org/10.1787/08ef430f-en.
More In Practice examples from Nordic Development Fund member countries are available on Development Co-operation TIPs • Tools Insights Practices.
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