Second Multi-donor Review Mission of the Egyptian Social Fund for Development (SFD)

Detailed description of project Back

The Social Fund for Development (SFD) was created in 1991 as a social safety net mechanism aiming at mitigating the negative social impact of the Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Programme (ERSAP). Since then, the SFD has developed into an organisation mobilising national and international resources to invest in social development with special attention to job creation through SME development and the enhancement of the quality of life of low-income groups. This has resulted in substantial donor funding.

In February 2000 a first Multi-donor Review Mission (MDRM I) of the SFD took place. The conclusions and recommendations of the mission were accepted by the Government of Egypt (GoE), SFD’s Board of Directors and SFD Management. A Task Force composed of SFD donors and the Team-leader of the MDRM I, was formed to translate the recommendations into an action plan, however the MDRM I recommendations and the action plan produced by the Task Force have not been fully implemented. The donor community to the SFD has decided to launch a second Multi-Donor Review Mission (MDRM II), supported by the following donors: European Union, World Bank, KfW, UNDP, JBIC, AfDB and the Italian Co-operation. The EU is financing the Team Leader of the MDRM II.

The objective of the Review Mission is:

• To assess SFD’s role and contribution to social development with special emphasis on its role in poverty reduction and job creation;
• To assess the degree of implementation of the recommendations made by the MRDM I;
• To evaluate the institutional development that has taken place following the decision of the GoE to transform SFD into a permanent social development organisation; and,
• To consider the role that SFD may have in the Anti-Poverty Action Plan to be eventually developed by the GoE.

Type of services provided

PROMAN is providing the services of the Team Leader of the MRDM II.

The MRDM II is spread over 3 phases:

• The Impact Assessment;
• The Multi-Donor Review, focusing on Global Governance;
• An additional horizontal level dealing with cross-cutting issues, consolidation and agreement on results.

The Team Leader is responsible for the overall steering, co-ordination and carrying out of the Impact Assessment Study and the second Multi-Donor Review of SFD and carries final responsibility for the Final Report which needs to reflect the result of an in-depth analysis of the importance of SFD as a poverty reduction instrument and an assessment of its overall impact on poverty reduction and employment creation.

PROMAN is provides technical backstopping and quality control of the services delivered.