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  • PEFA Program
    • History
    • Governance
    • Steering Committee
    • Secretariat Services
  • PEFA Framework
    • PEFA Framework Material
    • Methodological guidance and practical tools
    • PEFA CHECK
    • Links to Other PFM Diagnostics
  • Publications
    • PEFA Publically Available Assessments
    • PEFA Secretariat Studies
    • PEFA Partner Studies
    • Other Related Studies
    • PEFA Monitoring and Evaluation
    • PEFA News
  • Training
    • Training Offers
    • Training Methodology & Materials
    • Training FAQ's
  • PEFA Network
  • Assessment Portal
    • Statistics
    • Map
    • Data
    • Graphs
  • PEFA Program
    • History
    • Governance
    • Steering Committee
    • Secretariat Services
  • PEFA Framework
    • PEFA Framework Material
    • Methodological guidance and practical tools
    • PEFA CHECK
    • Links to Other PFM Diagnostics
  • Publications
    • PEFA Publically Available Assessments
    • PEFA Secretariat Studies
    • PEFA Partner Studies
    • Other Related Studies
    • PEFA Monitoring and Evaluation
    • PEFA News
  • Training
    • Training Offers
    • Training Methodology & Materials
    • Training FAQ's
  • PEFA Network
  • Assessment Portal
    • Statistics
    • Map
    • Data
    • Graphs
  • Contact Us

Methodological Guidance and Practical Tools

Guidance for Assessment Planners and Managers

The PEFA Secretariat has developed - as part of its mandate - various technical guidance notes and tools to facilitate the work of assessors or any stakeholder conducting a Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability PEFA-based Public Financial Management (PFM) assessment and seeking guidance on how to go about it. Most of these guidance notes are based on reviews and comments on carried-out assessments or have been developed in response to questions received from teams applying the Framework at country level, and are updated regularly. 

  • CN & TOR Checklist revised (June 7, 2012) replaces the English version from March 2007 English (pdf 7.57 KB).  The French and Spanish versions have yet to be revised and currently still accessible in the March 2007 version. French (pdf 142.66 KB) Spanish (pdf 28.78 KB)  A list prepared to assist those who prepare and review concept notes and terms of reference for Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessments.
  • Good Practices in Applying the PEFA Framework revised (June 7, 2012) replaces the English version of March 2009 English (pdf 304.51 MB).  French (pdf 332.94 KB) Spanish (pdf 312.02 KB) Guidance for assessors and managers for the planning, management of and follow-up on assessments. The French and Spanish version have yet to be revised and currently still available in the March 2009 version.
  • Issues in Comparison and Aggregation of PEFA Assessment Results over Time and Across Countries (May 2009) in English (pdf 335.19 KB):  How to use the data available from PEFA assessments to make meaningful comparisons of scores over time within countries and cross-country comparisons both at a given point of time and over time?
  • Guidance Note for Repeat Assessments (February 2010) in English (pdf 256.54 KB)  French (pdf 561 KB) Spanish (pdf 312.02 KB) and Russian (pdf 572.93 KB) .  Suggestions for each stage of a typical repeat assessment in order to provide a clear picture of specific changes in performance since the initial or baseline assessment.
  • Quality Review Templates for CN/TORs and Assessment Reports (January 2013).  Peer-review templates used by the PEFA Secretariat  for providing  feedback on  CN/TORs and assessment  reports.  CN/TOR English (pdf 84.78 KB) 
    assessment reports English (pdf 67.78 KB).

Guidance and Tools for Assessors

Assistance to users of the Performance Measurement Framework (PMF) is provided in terms of a number of tools which can be accessed through the links below. Clarifications and guidance tools are updated periodically. 

  • Fieldguide (May 2012) in English.  Translation into French and Spanish are ongoing.  The fieldguide combines the contents of serveral earlier guidance
  • Clarifications to the Framework (last update January 2012) in English (pdf 289.57 KB) French (pdf 145.23 KB) Spanish (pdf 350.11 KB):   a set of notes based on FAQs and providing additional guidance for those who are applying the PFM Performance Indicators and the Performance Report.
  • Guidelines for the application of the PEFA Framework at the Sub National Government level (Updated January 2013) Main in English (pdf 248.19 MB).  A set of practical and detailed guidelines for the application of all specific indicators and individual dimensions for applications at the Subnational (SN) level.  French and Spanish versions are currently being translated, available end of January 2013.
  • Spreadhseets to assist in the calculation of PI-1 and PI-2 (revised January 2011)

English (xlsx 62.2 KB)
French (xlsx 71 KB)
Spanish  (xlsx 59.63 KB)
Portuguese (xlsx 29.37 KB)
Russian (xlsx 35.3KB)
Serbian (xlsx 35.3 KB)