In the framework of the Ministry of International Co-operation’s efforts to co-ordinate and optimise the use of international aid to enhance its contribution to Egypt’s economic and social development, PEMA is in charge of carrying out five main functions:

 

First: Evaluating development projects

 

PEMA undertakes evaluations of development projects in order to determine their impact on target beneficiaries, assess the sustainability of such impact and to draw lessons from these evaluations and put them at the disposal of policy and decision makers. Summaries of evaluation results are disseminated to a wider audience.

 

Since it started fieldwork in late 2003, PEMA has completed the evaluation of 23 projects in various sectors including education, health, environment, water, agriculture and tourism. Projects evaluated were funded by the World Bank, USA, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, and the European Union. In 2005, at the invitation of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Centre jointly conducted mid-term evaluation of Canada's assistance to the SME sector and participated in preparing the evaluation report. In 2007, the Centre also jointly conducted, with the Italian Cooperation, midterm evaluation of the Egyptian-Italian Environmental Cooperation Programme.

 

Second: Supporting the upgrading of institutional capacity of M&E units in line ministries

 

PEMA organises a series of workshops on M&E concepts and practices to upgrade competence of M&E units of participating ministries and help establish a network linking these units to exchange information and experiences. The first workshop on M&E of development projects was conducted in July 2006. PEMA undertook the follow-up round in March 2007. Additional workshops are planned as part of an integrated project to improve the effectiveness of M&E units in selected line ministries, in collaboration with the Ministry of State for Administrative Development (MAD).

 

Third: Contributing to the Ministry's efforts to co-ordinate and harmonise international assistance

 

This function was added in 2005 following the Paris Declaration on Aid Harmonisation and Effectiveness, in order to maximise Egypt's benefit from international assistance. The Paris Declaration is an international agreement to which over one hundred ministers, heads of agencies and other senior officials adhered and committed their countries and organisations. The Paris Declaration aims to increase efforts in harmonisation, alignment and managing aid with a set of monitorable actions and indicators. The Centre undertakes a number of activities in this context:

 

• Taking part in Donors Assistance Group (DAG) meetings.
• Responded to the 2006 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration that provided a roadmap to improve the quality of development assistance by coordinating between donors and recipients of aid. Also, the Centre has responded to the 2008 survey.
• Participating in monitoring the implementation of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2007-2011, through the M&E Coordination Team, chaired by PEMA’s Executive Director, and evaluating the extent to which its outcomes are achieved.

 

PEMA collaborates with the Ministry's DECODE unit in preparing the Annual Egypt Development Co-operation Reports.

 

 

Fourth: Participating in international conferences on development cooperation and finance

 

Through its executive director, PEMA takes part in UN conferences, which assess progress in achieving the Monterrey Declaration, and in regional meetings on the role of Multilateral Development Banks.

  

Fifth: Preparing analytical studies especially on aspects of international co-operation and international economic relations.

 

PEMA has issued studies covering diverse topics such as agriculture, manpower, health, education, environment, communication and information technology, impact of 9/11 on international aid flows to the Middle East and North Africa, the contribution of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to Egypt’s development efforts, and local NGOs’ capacity building needs.

 

In addition, the Centre prepares policy briefs on selected topics and challenges influencing policy-making, as directed by the Minister.

 

The Centre, meanwhile, issues a quarterly newsletter – IMPACT – that focuses in each issue on an aspect of economic and social development, presenting experts’ views and highlighting selective experiences of developing countries relevant to the aspect in question.