Harmonized Indicators for Private Sector Operations (HIPSO)

2024 HIPSO Annual Meeting | 4-5 June, British International Investment (BII), London

HARMONIZED
INDICATORS FOR
PRIVATE
SECTOR
OPERATIONS

Check out our
COLLABORATION
SPACE

DELIVERING DEVELOPMENT IMPACT TOGETHER

Partnership

Since 2008, a forum of senior staff from both multilateral and bilateral development institutions have met to help foster collaboration among Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to enhance development impact through common development indicators. The Harmonized Indicators for Private Sector Operations are the first tangible result of this partnership.

Collaboration

The Harmonized Indicators MoU reflects the commitment of 28 DFIs toward long-term collaboration and, most importantly, a focus on better serving their clients.

Efficient data monitoring

The MoU sets out 38 reporting indicators for DFIs’ shared clients. This helps reduce clients' reporting costs and frees up time for them to focus on what matters most: delivering results on the ground.

Data for development

Thanks to these indicators DFIs are now able to look at projects across institutions with a set of common metrics, which increases their ability to learn from each what works and what doesn’t, thus contributing to better direct resources for development.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

The broad range of structures, mandates and shareholders of DFIs working with the private sector means that there are many different systems used to track development results. The shared clients of these DFIs therefore often endure an unintended burden deriving from the DFIs’ different reporting requirements, including similar indicators (with different definitions) meant to capture the same data.

WHY IT MATTERS

Many DFIs share the same clients or invest in the same industries, yet require clients to report their activities based on different sets of criteria.

The Harmonized Indicators for Private Sector Operations standardize these criteria and reduce the administrative burden of shared clients, allowing them to focus on what matters most: delivering results on the ground.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda recognized the importance of an expanded role of the private sector in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Given their core competencies and footprint, DFIs are well-placed to catalyze much needed private investment through increased support to countries where public finance on its own is inadequate to address major development gaps.

GOVERNANCE

WHOLE GROUP
Comprises the 28 DFIs that signed the harmonization MoU. Discusses and decides on all issues relevant to our group.

Additional DFIs can potentially become members by signing the MoU.

Group activities are facilitated by the OneDrive collaboration folder.

A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU)

The harmonized indicators initiative yielded a memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed in October 2013 in Washington, D.C., during the Private Sector Round table that takes place annually at the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, and an Addendum to the MoU, signed in the fall 2015.