The examination that comes before the commitment.
In classical Athens, a dokimasia was a scrutiny before an official entered office. It examined whether the person could be entrusted with public responsibility and met the requirements of the role.
Before capital moves, a funder needs more than an attractive proposition. The receiving structure must be capable of carrying its obligations, substantiating its claims, monitoring progress and acting when progress is off track. Dokimasia examines whether the elements needed for integrity and competence are strong enough to support that confidence.
- Accountability — can it be held to account?Are obligations clear, enforceable and attached to the people and structures receiving the commitment?
- Evaluability — can it be evaluated?Can the relevant claims, decisions and use of funds be supported by credible, independent evidence and a reliable reporting trail?
- Capability to act — is it equipped to deliver?Does it have the authority and means to monitor progress, address what is off track and intervene in time?
Dokimasia is an independent examination of a receiving structure, commissioned by the party about to commit the capital. It does not predict success or replace the funder’s judgement. Its output is not a number: it is an accountability and monitoring framework setting out what must be true before funds move, what evidence will be reviewed, what signals trigger action, who has authority to intervene and when each condition is verified.
Where funds proceed, the framework defines the initial monitoring period: the agreed results and milestones to be followed at each implementation stage, the reliable sources of information, the checks and audit trail used to test them, reporting dates, named responsibilities and escalation routes. It also defines when the framework may be revised during implementation, by whom and on what evidence.
It does not say that a programme will succeed. It gives funders and implementing structures practical tools to see progress clearly, report it credibly and act with authority when the evidence shows that work is off track.
Who is behind it
Alain Joaris
For more than thirty years he managed and controlled public funds, most recently for the European Union. Even there, examining the organisation receiving the money owed more to practice than to formal method. Turning that practice into a method is the work he has done since retiring. He is now establishing Dokimasia. LinkedIn
Conversations are welcome, particularly with people who write or rely on governance conditions and monitoring arrangements in private transactions: alain@dokimasia.ch