Stocktaking of the World Bank’s Trade Facilitation Support Programme

The Project at A Glance

The Trade Facilitation Support Program (TFSP) is a $40 million flagship technical assistance program administered by the World Bank Group, having supported countries in aligning their trade practices with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

International Economics carried out an independent assessment of TFSP’s performance and results achieved and identified areas to improve the programme’s effectiveness while also assessing how the TFSP has complemented other trade facilitation programmes.

What We Found

The project’s overall objective was to conduct a mid-term stocktaking of the TFSP using the OECD-Development Assessment Committee (DAC) criteria for development effectiveness and the OECD DAC Standards for development evaluations. International Economics undertook a review of selected portfolio activities conducted under the TFSP to assess the programme’s relevance, efficiency, effectiveness as well as assess any early impacts.

Our Strategy and Impact

The team at International Economics adopted a formative approach and focused on assessing the TFSP’s performance to date, identifying strengths and weaknesses of TFSP’s approach to supporting WTO TFA alignment in client countries, as well as emerging lessons learned from WTO TFA implementation. International Economics also provided actionable recommendations for the TFSP management team.

Our Core Solutions

Governments, international donors, and the private sector face many important questions on the expected outputs and impact before, during and after the implementation of their projects.
Applying our analysis and research knowledge, we help our clients maximise efficiency and improve their development objectives.