If all six criteria in Box 1 are fulfilled the assessment manager can request the PEFA Secretariat to issue the PEFA CHECK endorsement. The procedure is as follows:
1. The assessment manager submits the final report to the PEFA Secretariat and requests the PEFA CHECK endorsement;
2. The PEFA Secretariat verifies and confirms that the assessment process fulfilled the requirements for a PEFA CHECK, i.e. complied with all 6 criteria;
3. The PEFA Secretariat issues the endorsement with the PEFA CHECK logo , sends it to the assessment manager and registers the endorsement in the PEFA CHECK data base;
4. The assessment manager includes the PEFA CHECK endorsement in the final report, either before the Executive Summary or as an Annex.
If any of the six criteria for PEFA CHECK are not fulfilled, the PEFA Secretariat will not issue an endorsement. This does not mean that a PEFA assessment did not follow a quality assurance process. It simply means that the recommended process or PEFA report compliance with the PEFA methodology, required for PEFA CHECK, was not fully complied with. Managers of assessments that do not qualify for PEFA CHECK are encouraged to contact the PEFA Secretariat to discuss the implications of PEFA CHECK endorsement being refused and the options available to them regarding quality assurance.
POINTS TO NOTE:
- “Lead agency” means a partner government, a development partner, or any other party
- commissioning a PFM assessment based on the PEFA methodology.
- The reasons for deviating from the criteria should be explained in the assessment report. Any issues or concerns should be discussed with the PEFA Secretariat early in the planning phase
- The lead agency may be included as a peer- review provided that the person providing the review is not directly involved in assessment. An independent, individual expert may fulfill the role of such institution. If the assessment is conducted by the government, peer reviewers from within the entities involved in the assessment are acceptable provided that they do not have a conflict of interest.
- The quality endorsement mechanism although not mandatory, is a mechanism that the PEFA Secretariat applies systematically to all reports submitted for review. It is the assessment manager’s responsibility to request the PEFA CHECK endorsement. It is not the responsibility of the PEFA Secretariat to determine whether a PEFA CHECK should be requested, but the Secretariat will endeavor to suggest to assessment managers that the PEFA CHECK be requested in all instances where it considers that the criteria may be met.
- The PEFA CHECK applies to all types and models of PEFA assessments, i.e. CG or SNG assessments and/or baseline assessments and successive assessments.
- A lead agency may choose not to display the PEFA endorsement in the report. Irrespective of whether it is decided to display the endorsement or not, the PEFA Secretariat will still mark the reports which qualify for PEFA CHECK as “endorsed” in its data base.
- Assessment managers are responsible for following good practices in the process of planning and implementing an assessment and the oversight team should monitor to ensure that they are followed.
- The PEFA Secretariat will review reports that do not meet the criteria if invited to do so and will provide advice, on request, regarding how to conduct and report on process quality
PEFA Handbook Volume 1: The PEFA Assessment Process – Planning, Managing and Using PEFA
