Financial Services

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.

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.

Youth

The primary purpose of this formative evaluation is to provide insights to enhance the ongoing development and implementation of the Caribbean Development Bank’s Youth Policy and Operational Strategy (YPOS). The evaluation also presents an opportunity to inform the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) 2026-2035 Strategic Plan, which includes youth as one of the Bank’s main axes. The evaluation seeks to provide evidence on the main lessons learned, the enabling factors, and the challenges faced by CDB and Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) for implementing youth operations, initiatives, and activities related to and guided by the YPOS. The evaluation was commissioned by CDB OIE and conducted by an external evaluation consultancy firm from June 2025 to December 2025. As part of OIE’s enhanced quality assurance and governance, OIE convened an Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) to provide advice and guidance on the evaluation. The ERG consisted of three youth leaders from the Caribbean who are external to the CDB and were selected by OIE, as well as several key staff members who have been involved in YPOS and youth-related operations at the Bank.