Audit of the Global Fund’s Key Performance Indicator Framework
29 March 2016
An Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audit found gaps in the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) framework that monitors the Global Fund's current 2012-2016 strategy and the way the information is used to make decisions. However, the overall KPI results reported were found to be largely correct and aligned with underlying performance data. The Global Fund is revising and improving the framework in time for its next strategy cycle from 2017-2022.
The Global Fund KPI framework consists of 16 corporate and 19 operational indicators. The corporate indicators assess progress against the Global Fund Strategy such as the quality and coverage of services or human rights protection. The Secretariat reports to the Board on performance twice a year. The operational indicators are reviewed by management and include indicators that measure grant portfolio performance and the quality of data.
In terms of data accuracy, the auditors did not identify any major errors in calculation, estimation or a lack of alignment between results reported and the available data. However, they found significant inefficiencies in data collection and aggregation processes, which largely rely on manual processes and have weak quality controls.
There was a 15-month gap between the approval of the 2012-2016 strategy by the Board and work formally starting on designing and operationalizing the processes for performance measurement, reporting and decision-making. The OIG noted gradual improvements in both the design and effectiveness of these processes and related controls, leading to the first complete KPI report for the Board in November 2015, after more than three quarters of the implementation period for the current strategy cycle had passed.
Despite the length of time it took to develop the framework, it has started to be used more proactively at the Board and the senior management levels. However, while many operational decisions are now based on useful KPI information, gaps remain in the information needed by senior decision-makers to ensure they are adequately informed about the areas of the portfolio that require management attention.
As the KPI framework is only one aspect of strategy monitoring at the Global Fund, the Secretariat plans to complement it with thematic reporting applicable to the new strategy. The OIG also found examples of missing data and limited grant portfolio coverage in KPI reporting. Various efficiency and effectiveness gaps were observed in the interpretation, reporting and follow-up of KPI results. These include a lack of clarity in roles relating to results interpretation and the limited integration of information systems.
The ongoing preparation of a new framework to measure progress against the new Global Fund strategy is likely to further enhance and embed the use of KPI reports in decision-making. As part of the work towards the new framework, the Secretariat is improving the analysis, contextualization, qualitative and quantitative coverage, and interpretation of the KPI reports, while ensuring that data is available through additional, identifiable processes. Furthermore, the Secretariat has agreed to outline which divisions, teams, and managers are accountable for corporate performance against specific objectives.
- Audit Report - The Global Fund's Key Performance Indicator Framework
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For more information:
Thomas Fitzsimons
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Mobile: + 41 (0)79 412 14 61
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The Office of the Inspector General safeguards the assets, investments, reputation and sustainability of the Global Fund by ensuring that it takes the right action to defeat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Through audits, investigations and consultancy work, it promotes good practice, reduces risk and reports fully and transparently on abuse.
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