Launched in November 2008, the Debt Management Facility (DMF) for Low-Income Countries (LICs) is a grant facility financed through a multi-donor trust fund to support the scaling up and accelerated implementation of the Bank's debt management work program in DMF eligible countries. The facility has the specific objective of strengthening debt management capacity and institutions through:

• Systematic application of the Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) tool;
• Country-led application of a toolkit for formulating and implementing a Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS). The toolkit was developed and implemented in partnership with the IMF;
• Design of Debt Management Reform Plans; and,
• Promotion of learning and knowledge generation via an extensive program of training and outreach (such as the Debt Management Practitioners Program (DMPP) and the DMF Stakeholders' Forum), and research and development.

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the African Development Bank and the European Union, represented by the European Commission, have contributed to the DMF trust fund.

The DMF will be guided by a Steering Committee (SC) comprising one representative of each of the Donors that have contributed at least US$1,000,000 (one million United States dollars) in untied cash contributions to the DMF over a two-year period, and a representative of the World Bank (the "Bank") (the Donors and Bank together being the "Members," and each a "Member"). The SC will be chaired by the Director of the Economic Policy and Debt Department of Bank. Decisions will be made in the SC on a consensus basis. It is expected that the Members will meet once a year in connection with the Annual Stakeholders’ Forum. The SC will be responsible for:

(i) Providing overall strategic guidance for DMF in accordance with the following Guiding Principles:

• To have a demand-driven work program, meaning that client countries should drive the application of DeMPA, the design of reform programs and the application of the MTDS toolkit;
• To include donor support that complements funding currently provided to existing debt management service providers and programs;
• The facility should have a catalytic effect, such as the implementation of reform programs;
• The facility should strengthen co-ordination in service delivery; and,
• The facility should build links to existing national development strategies and global programs, since it will be linked to and influenced by the broader financial and economic circumstances that impact a country’s debt portfolio.

(ii) Endorsing the Annual Work Program to be supported by the DMF and its associated financing plan;

(iii) Monitoring implementation of this Annual Work Program, including selection of activities for ex-post evaluation by the Technical Advisory Group; and,

(iv) Endorsing quality standards, monitoring and evaluation systems for reviewing and evaluating the overall performance of DMF implementation, including commissioning independent evaluations if necessary.

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) will support the SC in ensuring the quality and relevance of DMF activities and will comprise non-Bank experts selected on the basis of their expertise in government debt management. At the inception of the DMF, the TAG will consist of one expert selected from each of the following official institutions: UNCTAD, CEMLA, Commonwealth Secretariat, DRI, the IMF, MEFMI, the OECD’s Public Debt Management Programme, Pôle Dette, and WAIFEM. In addition, representatives from four developing country governments will be appointed to the TAG, one each from the membership of CEMLA, MEFMI, Pôle Dette and WAIFEM.

The members of the TAG will be formally appointed by the Chair of the SC in consultation with the Members. The TAG’s findings and recommendations will be forwarded to the SC Chair and disseminated to all Members, at least four weeks prior to the SC’s annual meeting. The group will meet once a year in connection with the Annual Stakeholders’ Forum or the Bank’s Annual Meetings. The TAG will be responsible for:

(i) reviewing and commenting on the draft Annual Work Programs prepared by the PIU;

(ii) at the request of the Steering Committee, providing advice on specific, technical issues; and,

(iii) evaluating the impact of the DMF annual work program through ex-post evaluation of selected activities.

In accordance with the Conflict of Interest Matrix for the DMF, TAG members must abstain from (a) reviewing any specific activity in the DMF work program for which they will be responsible; and (b) evaluation of any activity for which they were responsible under the DMF work program.

The Bank administers the multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) and manages the DMF work program on behalf of the donors through the Program Implementation Unit (PIU). The primary responsibility of the PIU is to deliver the Annual Work Program in accordance with the Bank's standard operational and administrative policies. The PIU is accountable to the Bank and makes the day-to-day operational decisions. DMF activities are jointly executed by the Bank and the DMF’s Implementing Partners.

For the Mid-Term Review Report covering the period January 2009-mid March 2011, click here.

To receive assistance under the DMF, please contact:

Mr. Sudarshan Gooptu:
sgooptu@worldbank.org
Sector Manager, PRMED
Telephone: +1.202.458.0339
Fax: +1.202.522.3740

or

Ms. Eriko Togo:
etogo@worldbank.org
DMF Program Manager
Telephone: +1.202.473.9279
Fax: +1.202.522.3740