Action Plans

PEM PAL Strategy for 2012 – 2017

The PEM PAL was launched five year ago, and has since then developed into an active network of some 150 public finance experts from Europe and Central Asia. A number of donors have supported the network’s growth. Its visibility is increasing together with the benefits it is providing to its membership.

A new PEM PAL Strategy will examine the network’s relevance, sustainability and options for the next five years, from 2012 until 2017. Developed by the Community Facilitator, it is expected to be released in March 2012, following internal consultations involving the COPs leadership groups and other main stakeholders. The Strategy will look at the network’s role, key strengths, opportunities and challenges, as well as various growth scenarios and funding options, and ways to ensure funding sustainability over time. These options will also be presented to donors. The Strategy will also review the governance arrangement, and how implementation support has been organized so far, and could be in the future.

PEM PAL 2011 Evaluation

The second external evaluation of the PEM PAL network is currently underway, and like the first one in 2009, was commissioned by the World Bank on behalf of the PEM PAL Steering Committee. The Mokoro Ltd, a UK based evaluator, prepared by early August 2011, the inception report, and, by mid-November 2011, a draft report, and will prepare, by mid-January 2012, the final version. The recommendations of the evaluation will be incorporated into the PEM PAL Strategy for 2012 – 2017.

Main conclusions of the draft report are the following. (i) The learning that PEMPAL provides is unique to this kind of forum: individual members and countries learn about the practice of PFM reform and PFM management. (ii) The network has a committed membership who has ownership of the network. (iii) The network has improved in terms of countries and individual members, accessed more financial resources and deepened its functionality through improving the functioning of the Executive Committees and the Steering Committee, and building network institutional infrastructure.

The draft report also recommended that although the network has improved considerably, strategic priorities are still being diffuse in the network and it therefore now needs a strategic reorientation. The next step in network formation should involve upward expansion (e.g. ministry-to-ministry network) because the peer-to-peer model has proven beneficial enough to take it a level upwards. In the next phase, the network's focus should be on consolidating the quality of participation of individuals in the COPs, and to become more sustainable, financially and operationally.