As an independent evaluator, Vinod Thomas has worked with five development bank presidents, three at the World Bank and two at the Asian Development Bank. All of them, according to him, see the quality of the work of independent evaluators as critical.
But how they use independent evaluation sets them apart. Some presidents would use it to implement reforms, others to tell those in operations, "Look, this what the independent people are saying; what are you going to do about it?"
Some presidents engage independent evaluators more than others.