This evaluation examines the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Country Engagement Strategy (CES) for Saint Lucia for the period 2020–23, including activities designed and implemented until December 2024. The evaluation uses a mixed-methods approach, combining document reviews, portfolio analysis, and stakeholder interviews, to inform the next CES. The evaluation process supported participation, reflection, and co-creation. During the inception phase, feedback was collected from CDB staff and Government of Saint Lucia (GOSL) counterparts to refine the focus and ensure evaluation questions would generate insights aligned with both CDB’s strategic needs and GOSL priorities. A Theory of Change workshop was conducted with CDB and GOSL stakeholders to reconstruct the under­lying logic of the CES and identify key assumptions and change pathways. This collaboration provided a shared foundation for assessing progress and strategic align­ment. Validation of emerging findings was carried out via an online workshop. A hybrid co-creation work­shop was held with Saint Lucia-based stakeholders and CDB staff to collaboratively develop recommendations and ensure proposed actions are useful, specific, and actionable, with the aim of increasing the success of the next CES.

Financial Services

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has extensively made use of Policy-Based Lending (PBL) as a strategic instrument to support macro-fiscal stability, institutional reform, and resilience-building across its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). Given the instrument’s growing importance and evolving design, the Bank commissioned this independent evaluation to assess its relevance, effectiveness, and future strategic positioning.The evaluation concludes that the CDB should continue using Policy-Based Loans (PBLs) but ensure clear policy and institutional additionality through complementary operations grounded in technical assistance (TA). These engagements should prioritise a sequenced, programmatic, and development-oriented approach.

The Office of Independent Evaluation's (OIE's) Annual Report on Evaluation 2025 documents a defining year of transition and transformation for the Caribbean Development Bank's (CDB's) evaluation function. The report covers the renewal of CDB's Evaluation Policy - approved by the Board in December 2025 - and the development of two new operational manuals guiding independent and self-evaluation. It presents OIE's work across six interconnected streams: governance and systems, conducting evaluations, building evaluation culture and capacity, partnerships and networks, follow-up on recommendations, and communication and knowledge dissemination. Key highlights include completed country and corporate evaluations, the launch of a pilot Real-Time Evaluation in Guyana, the establishment of the inaugural Evaluation Advisory Committee, and the start of a regional capacity-building partnership with CLEAR-LAC. The report also outlines OIE's vision to 2030 and priorities for the new 2026-2028 Work Programme.