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Lesson
ADB project teams need to have a realistic understanding of how long it takes host governments to secure internal approvals to avoid delays in completion thatcould impact project performance. Loan effectiveness took place about 5 months after loan signing, some 3 months behind schedule, “due to prolonged government approvals and parliamentary ratification procedures.” This put the project behind schedule almost from the beginning. Subsequent review missions “emphasized the need to accelerate implementation of all planned activities.

Project Number: 46535-001
Project Name: Strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training
Report Date:
Lesson
Poor quality of local talent can significantly hinder implementation, causing ADB to intensify implementation support to put projects on track. The executing agency asked the international consulting firm “to change six of the national experts to enhance the quality of expertise.” Delays in retaining architects to monitor construction had a knock-on impact on the procurement of civil works and equipment packages. The objective of setting up the Project Administration Group (PAG), among other implementation units, was to delegate project execution to locals, but this did not work.

Project Number: 46535-001
Project Name: Strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training
Report Date:
Lesson
Inadequate data collection can obstruct the documentation of project impact. The project implementation unit focused exclusively on disbursements to the detriment of other metrics in the design and monitoring framework. Government ministries do not collect data regarding TVET graduates, such as whether they are employed, in what capacity they are employed (i.e., whether they are employed in their field of study or not), and how much is their income. Information on historic and forecast budgets for TVET were not provided, nor were data on tuition collected from fee-paying students.

Project Number: 46535-001
Project Name: Strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training
Report Date:
Lesson
ADB staff and departments faced an unprecedented challenge in proceeding (urgently) with program development while learning how to apply the criteria and template for the new COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option (CPRO) modality and applying the 'One ADB' review process.

Project Number: 54169-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Efforts to collect employment indicators for women during the preparatory stage could help explore possibilities of expanding employment opportunities for women in a project area. These indicators allow better insights on how to enhance their participation in transport projects. Moreover, women’s involvement during consultations and dialogues, especially during appraisal stage, helps improve project design.

Project Number: 46543-002
Project Name: Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Corridors 3 and 5 Enhancement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
It is critical to obtain accurate information during the design and appraisal stage to help facilitate growth forecast on traffic volumes. Such information provides a solid groundwork for the assessment of a transport project’s economic viability and efficiency and help underpin its rationale, scope, and implementation timeframe. As such, greater consideration on the survey or collection of traffic data is crucial in enhancing the quality of project-level economic analysis.

Project Number: 46543-002
Project Name: Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Corridors 3 and 5 Enhancement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Multidimensional programs need to have a balance on types of indicators but should take care to ensure that progress in threshold indicators can be properly recognized in the design and monitoring framework (DMF). Only 9 of the 12 unique output indicators between subprograms 1 and 2 had been achieved or almost achieved. Of these 9 achieved output indicators, 7 were binary , i.e., they only take the value of achieved or not achieved. The output indicators not achieved had specific numerical targets that had not been met.

Project Number: 47099-002, 47099-004
Project Name: Investment Climate Reforms Program - Subprograms 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
It is important to properly phase implementation schedules to allow for deeper analysis of output and outcome progress and rectify indicators. All four outcome indicators were not achieved but progress was recorded against outcome indicators related to increases in private investment, internationally certified Tajik firms, and regulatory quality; and in the case of women entrepreneurs was particularly good if measured by electronic tax declarations. This suggests that targets were initially overambitious and/or that outcome indicators should be considered over a longer period.

Project Number: 47099-002, 47099-004
Project Name: Investment Climate Reforms Program - Subprograms 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
Political support, and ultimately political accountability, is an essential component of institutional reform. An early back-to-office report (September 2014) stated that the government appreciated the importance of promoting a better business environment in the context of the private sector’s contribution to growth in gross domestic product. The government set up a Consultative Council on Reduction of Business Inspecting Agencies, chaired by the First Deputy Prime Minister to monitor implementation progress. All policy actions were completed.

Project Number: 47099-002, 47099-004
Project Name: Investment Climate Reforms Program - Subprograms 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
Timing and location are essential to the participation of women in gender-related and other project activities. Implementation of this project’s gender action plan (GAP) was challenged by the wide geographic dispersion of households, which created difficulties in gathering project participants for training. The gender awareness campaigns also coincided with the harvest season, which made it difficult for farmer-beneficiaries to take part.

Project Number: 45389-001, 45389-002, 45389-003, 45389-004
Project Name: Building Climate Resilience in the Pyanj River Basin
Report Date:
Lesson
Less stringent selection criteria, which enables the participation of more eligible financial institutions, could optimize the impact of microlending short-term, low-interest loans in unbanked but regularly earning agricultural communities. The selection of partner participating financial institutions (PFIs) for the microlending component of this project may have been too strict. This resulted in the participation of only 3 of the 6 large PFIs in Tajikistan, all of which are foreign-owned and likely to have been effective partners.

Project Number: 45389-001, 45389-002, 45389-003, 45389-004
Project Name: Building Climate Resilience in the Pyanj River Basin
Report Date:
Lesson
A thorough assessment of the financial management capacity of executing agencies (EAs) is required to mitigate the risk of financial issues disrupting project implementation or leading to non-compliance to loan covenants/grant agreements. The Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation (ALRI), the EA for 2 of this project’s 4 intended outputs, did not monitor the commercial bank that held the advance accounts for said outputs. When the bank became insolvent, part of the advance accounts was frozen, and was refunded only after government intervention albeit with significant delay.

Project Number: 45389-001, 45389-002, 45389-003, 45389-004
Project Name: Building Climate Resilience in the Pyanj River Basin
Report Date:
Lesson
A project focusing on microfinance could help remove obstacles to micro-insurance or other risk transfer schemes in the agricultural sector. The project did not create a market for micro-insurance as envisaged.

Project Number: 45389-001, 45389-002, 45389-003, 45389-004
Project Name: Building Climate Resilience in the Pyanj River Basin
Report Date:
Lesson
Embedding critical microfinance institution (MFI) performance indicators in the project monitoring system promotes transparency and allows assessment of performance and corrective actions when needed.

Project Number: 45229-001
Project Name: Access to Green Finance Project: Project Completion Report
Report Date:
Lesson
It is important for green finance to be supported by robust product development.

Project Number: 45229-001
Project Name: Access to Green Finance Project: Project Completion Report
Report Date: