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Lesson
Early engagement with stakeholders and design of subsidy programs responsive to the needs of vulnerable groups could expedite the implementation of complex policy reforms. The success of this program highlights the importance of the government's continuing commitment in improving the performance and sustainability of the Palau Public Utilities Corporation.

Project Number: 54151-001, 54151-003
Project Name: Palau Public Utilities Corporation Reform Program 
Report Date:
Lesson
Continued advisory support is required to sustain the momentum of reforms in Palau's energy sector. ADB provided substantial advisory support through ADB staff and by engaging experts through technical assistance operations to help the Palau Public Utilities Corporation (PPUC) implement the agreed policy actions and prepare background studies for both subprograms.

Project Number: 54151-001, 54151-003
Project Name: Palau Public Utilities Corporation Reform Program 
Report Date:
Lesson
Continued investment in policy dialogue is essential to ensure sustainability and the best resilience outcomes for the country. The policy actions identified in the program’s policy matrix, as well as future target actions identified in the follow-on program’s post-program policy framework, provide an opportunity to further strengthen DRM in Palau and to identify gaps and needs for future support in DRM. The program initiated a long-term policy dialogue with Palau for ADB assistance for DRM.

Project Number: 52018-001
Project Name: Disaster Resilience Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The success of the program highlights the importance of the government’s continuing commitment to improve disaster risk management (DRM), including disaster preparedness and response. Adopting a country-led set of policy actions, developed in an open, participatory manner, ensured strong ownership and commitment from the government and reinforced policy dialogue and coordination with various stakeholders.

Project Number: 52018-001
Project Name: Disaster Resilience Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Coordinating or shared reporting and the use of government’s own systems would ease the burden of monitoring and reporting the implementation of crisis response programs. Developing a monitoring system that can be effectively implemented during a pandemic when there are competing demands on the time of staff, who are already stretched, is problematic. This is accentuated when other partners impose similar reporting requirements. Coordinated or shared reporting and reliance on government’s own internal systems would lessen this burden.

Project Number: 54245-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Changing internal guidance and expectations created additional pressure in designing ADB’s COVID-19 response programs and this has to be managed more effectively in future similar situations. At the time this program was prepared, ADB policy and guidelines on the COVID-19 pandemic response option (CPRO) were still being developed, and managing changing internal guidance and expectations added a significant amount of pressure.

Project Number: 54245-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Development partners are a great source of assistance in designing and implementing crisis response programs. The program design and implementation benefited greatly from the presence in Palau of the EconMAP team in situ in the Ministry of Finance (MOF), analyzing economic trends and providing regular advice, and the program team’s coordination with the International Monetary Fund and the Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre team in Fiji. Given thin capacity in MOF, such support has been invaluable.

Project Number: 54245-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Flexibility during implementation enhances program responsiveness. The government made timely adjustments to ensure complementarities between two major assistance programs at the time—the United States’ Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act 2020 that provided unemployment benefits to citizens of Palau and the country’s own Coronavirus Relief One-Stop Shop (CROSS) Act of 2020 that provide relief to the private sector. Funding from the CROSS components with lower uptake were reallocated to those with higher demand.

Project Number: 54245-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
A carefully developed TOR for consultants during the project planning and design stage ensure that the contract is set up in a most efficient way.

Project Number: 46502-001
Project Name: Trade and Transport Facilitation in the Pacific
Report Date:
Lesson
The lifting of regulatory standards, the development of a project pipeline and the development of strategic trade and transport facilitation implementation plans help to direct government focus for budget allocation. Donors and the private sector are motivated to invest in areas where strategic development has already commenced, and where strategic plans are in place that have a coordinated long-term focus, and which can clearly demonstrate positive project outcomes.

Project Number: 46502-001
Project Name: Trade and Transport Facilitation in the Pacific
Report Date:
Lesson
Agreed. A large turn-out from all the Pacific DMCs at the workshop, including finance ministries and maritime and aviation authorities culminated in strong ownership and commitment to delivering new projects. Regional workshops are an affective mechanism for soliciting stakeholder participation in the Pacific and can culminate in strong ownership and commitment to delivering new projects.

Project Number: 46502-001
Project Name: Trade and Transport Facilitation in the Pacific
Report Date:
Lesson
Agreed. Maintaining continuity in the course of TA implementation by utilizing the consultant team most familiar with the project can result in benefits from knowledge building. Furthermore, knowledge sharing initiatives provide a mechanism to facilitate information exchange that can result in successful project outcomes.

Project Number: 46502-001
Project Name: Trade and Transport Facilitation in the Pacific
Report Date:
Lesson
Agreed. Furthermore, the UNESCAP previously piloted a TTFMM in South Asia. The approach was replicated under this TA project for Output c. The application of well-executed methodologies used in other comparable regions is a positive example of knowledge sharing and replication. It is also important to adopt the approach piloted in other region by fully customizing the approaches that are applicable to the region of the interest, which for this TA project was the Pacific region.

Project Number: 46502-001
Project Name: Trade and Transport Facilitation in the Pacific
Report Date:
Lesson
Agreed. The soliciting of stakeholder buy-in and support is an important aspect of project design, implementation, and delivery. A proper understanding of the demands being made on local players to provide information and any cultural issues with information sharing can help to develop buy-in to facilitate smooth project facilitation. At times, incentives may be required to assist local players to overcome barriers to cooperation.

Project Number: 46502-001
Project Name: Trade and Transport Facilitation in the Pacific
Report Date:
Lesson
Agreed. A large turn-out from all the Pacific DMCs at the workshop, including finance ministries, maritime and aviation authorities fostered interest in the project and facilitated knowledge sharing and contributed to project outcomes. A high turnout at workshops with multi-sector representatives from many DMCs helps to foster knowledge sharing and develop awareness, adoption and uptake of TA project initiatives building institutional capacity and driving and guiding national or sector guidelines.

Project Number: 46502-001
Project Name: Trade and Transport Facilitation in the Pacific
Report Date: