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Lesson
The project design was based on the assessment of seven sample TMAs and assumptions related to support for LGO 2001 from other sources to address capacity issues. The basis of the capacity assessment was seriously compromised during implementation. The project design did not have enough flexibility and depth to fill these capacity gaps, which would have required major changes in institutional arrangements and additional funding, a possibility that was avoided during implementation.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
A major reason for the delay in project start-up was the variance between the report and recomendations of the president (RRP) and the government's PC-1 planning document. Draft RRPs and PC-1s for a project should be shared between ADB and the borrower well before loan approval.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The decentralized approach introduced during implementation contributed to strengthening the capacity of PIUs and speeded up project progress. PIUs demonstrated their abilities in implementing, supervising, and monitoring physical activities, as well as in managing civil works contracts. As a result, the project implementation was expedited at around midterm and caught up to schedule despite the delays in early stages of project implementation.

Project Number: 31352-013
Project Name: Small Towns Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The policy reforms agreed on at appraisal were overshadowed by the broader reform agenda introduced under local government ordinance (LGO) 2001 before project approval. Where major changes occur in the external environment of projects before ADB approval, it is more efficient to revise the project design up front rather than postpone the major adjustments.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The project schedule was unrealistic for a complex project that relied heavily on existing capacity and several up-front conditions before the subproject investments. The scheduling of complex sector and policy loan projects has to be improved and streamlined on the basis of actual implementation experience.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The project's geographical coverage posed a major challenge to monitor subproject implementation in 12 project towns located all over the country from the northern tip (Phongsali) to the south (Samakkhixai). Particularly during rainy season, it was time-consuming for project coordination unit (PCU) staff and consultants to travel to the project towns, as well as for personnel from UDAAs and project implementation units (PIUs) to attend meetings and workshops.

Project Number: 31352-013
Project Name: Small Towns Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The project supported reforms only in the 24 participating tehsil municipal administrations (TMAs). The provincial government was expected to undertake reforms and address capacity gaps in all the other TMAs (52 in all). This arrangement seriously isolated the reform process. Sector loan projects should assess the political will, capacity, and incentives related to policy actions at all levels before building the support and incentives mechanism for reforms.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The project design offered flexibility in developing models for community and private sector participation in the delivery of urban services, without providing a clear framework or adequate resources for these activities. Flexibility is important in the design of sector loans, but for this flexibility to be effectively used, additional capacity, a guiding framework, and resources should be included in the sector loan, with supporting technical assistance for project administration to guide the use of the resources.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Given the limited time and resources under the project, capacity building for urban development administration authorities (UDAAs) focused on construction management and supervision, operation and maintenance (O&M) of infrastructure and of sanitary landfills, and exchange of lessons among UDAAs. Various workshops were organized on these topics for managerial staff, accountants, and engineers of UDAAs. By strengthening core capacities, the project created momentum for continued support of long-term capacity building to enable UDAAs to provide quality public services.

Project Number: 31352-013
Project Name: Small Towns Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The project did not provide market-based salaries. Good staff was therefore hard to retain and turnover was high. This was a major reason for project failure. The overall cost implications of paying professional managers market-based salaries are marginal, especially when the substantial impact of weak capacities on project output and outcomes is considered, as this project demonstrated.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The community's involvement in various project activities and its interactions with the government and project staff greatly enhanced the sense of ownership. Community participation and contribution was the key to successfully completing the village upgrading subcomponent. This was evidenced by the fact that the actual community contribution of $206,000, mainly in cash, exceeded the estimated amount of $200,000 expected at appraisal to be mainly as labor.

Project Number: 31352-013
Project Name: Small Towns Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
There was a 3-year gap between the project preparatory technical assistance (PPTA) evaluations (in the last quarter of 1999) and the start (effectiveness) of the project (in the last quarter of 2002). Most structural and financial management plans, base maps, and priority subprojects therefore had to be reappraised at the start of the project, further delaying the project and straining limited capacity. To keep evaluations and project designs relevant, the time between project preparation and start up should not exceed 1 year.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The consultants under the loan were hired through quality- and cost-based selectio (QCBS). The staff remuneration in the bids was inadequate for good-quality staff. The level of effort and the skill set specified in the request for proposal (RFP) also did not match the complexity of the assignment. Similar issues encumbered the RFP for the nongovernment organizations (NGOs), allowing generally weak firms to submit bids that could not fully appreciate the tasks ahead.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
LGUs see banking requirements as too tedious. Despite various introductory workshops, some LGUs kept complaining about the documentation requirements. The assistance of DILG and its consultants has helped ease their concerns, but LGUs reported that at times they felt like they were being forced into compliance with procedures that other official development assistance (ODA) providers (like Japan Bank for International Cooperation) had already relaxed. Both ADB and LBP procedures could have been simplified to better bond LGU customers with the project.

Project Number: 30551-013
Project Name: Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Capital grants are attractive, but should only be given as a reward for good performance. In the first years of the project the DILG offered capital grants for eligible subprojects. These were discontinued in 2005 after the cancellation of the DILG's grant source. After that, many LGUs stopped subproject preparation work because of the (perceived high) costs of ADB loans. The commitment and buy-in of LGUs was weak at times. Many LGUs were more oriented toward grants than the lending facility.

Project Number: 30551-013
Project Name: Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector Project
Report Date: