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Lesson
Engaging an international firm with extensive experience proved to be the best option for this TA which focused on a complex and highly specialized topic. Nevertheless,there will always be an indispensable need for national perspectives and experiences, best provided by national consultants, to inform and be considered in TA analyses and recommendations. Future TA could benefit from increased engagement with local experts, either as individual consultants or as subcontracted members of international consulting firms or TA implementation teams.

Project Number: 53198-001
Project Name: Developing a Disaster Risk Transfer Facility in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Region
Report Date:
Lesson
The knowledge team (formerly Knowledge Advisory Services Center) from the former Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department administered the TA and supervised consultants until the TA was transferred to the Partner Funds Division. Managing consultants through external resources should be based on a clear understanding of ADB procedures and guidelines and should be adopted only if necessary.

Project Number: 52299-001
Project Name: Demonstrating Future Thinking and Foresight in Developing Member Countries
Report Date:
Lesson
The development of specialized expertise requires careful selection and the engagement of qualified consultants and proper management of expectations from all parties. Future thinking and foresight is a specialized expertise. It is crucial to identify and engage consultants with proven experience to ensure they can provide the necessary guidance and insights. It is also a new approach for ADB and thus, clear onboarding, communication, and setting expectations for both Staff and consultants who were critiical to the success of the TA.

Project Number: 52299-001
Project Name: Demonstrating Future Thinking and Foresight in Developing Member Countries
Report Date:
Lesson
Cost management and quality assurance mitigate the risk of cost increases due to project design changes during implementation. Despite modifications to the project, the final cost aligned closely with the estimates at appraisal as a result of coordinated efforts. A well managed tender process secured favorable offers, while proactive project management throughout the procurement and construction phases ensured cost efficiency and quality.

Project Number: 45022-002
Project Name: Jiangxi Ji'an Sustainable Urban Transport Project
Report Date:
Lesson
A time-based contract suits consultants better than a lump sum contract as it prevents issues when service extensions are necessary for unforeseen project extensions, which typically imply annual price escalations.

Project Number: 45022-002
Project Name: Jiangxi Ji'an Sustainable Urban Transport Project
Report Date:
Lesson
To ensure knowledge creation, documentation, and dissemination, a good combination of consultants with both practical and documentation capacity needs to be considered in the preparation of the terms of reference of the TA and selection of consultants. The national consultant team, which conducted most of the TA activities, lacked adequate skills in summarizing and writing down key knowledge acquired through the TA. The international consultant was brought in to help improve documentation only after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Project Number: 53035-001
Project Name: Sustainable Fodder Management
Report Date:
Lesson
A functional coordinating mechanism centered around a competent consultant team leader is key to the success of a complex implementation arrangement. The TA engaged a consulting firm, which subcontracted six additional international and national partners. This helped build a great partnership for knowledge and solutions. However, as many parallel activities were unfolding, the firm had difficulty coordinating input and outputs.

Project Number: 53035-001
Project Name: Sustainable Fodder Management
Report Date:
Lesson
A combination of consulting firm and individual consultant inputs may prove effective in meeting the consulting requirements of projects. The quality- and cost-based selection method used by the TA to engage the firm offered a number of key benefits, including improved quality, increased competition, transparency, accountability, and sustainability.

Project Number: 44184-012
Project Name: Afghanistan and Turkmenistan: Regional Power Interconnection Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Designation of existing consultants to higher positions and responsibility levels may be explored to fill vacancies during implementation. There were two changes to the team leader position. The first was due to the resignation of the specialist because of an unexpected urgent assignment from his hiring university. The consultant recruited as the replacement team leader was not capable of performing the role. Instead of going through contract termination and recruitment process again, the TA team appointed the national simulation specialist, who had demonstrated strong leadership.

Project Number: 54037-001
Project Name: Innovation-Driven Green Economic Diversification for Resource-Exhausted Cities in Heilongjiang
Report Date:
Lesson
High-level leadership facilitates the support and participation of all stakeholders and government entities in TA activities. Direct leadership of a deputy director general-level government officer, with strong expertise and interest in economics and management, championed the active engagement and contribution of local stakeholders throughout implementation, and this significantly contributed to the TA’s high effectiveness.

Project Number: 54037-001
Project Name: Innovation-Driven Green Economic Diversification for Resource-Exhausted Cities in Heilongjiang
Report Date:
Lesson
Strong coordination and regular meetings between the executing agencies and ADB teams, backed by governments' strong commitment to reforms are crucial to the success of reform programs. This program was an effective countercyclical crisis response tool that helped Uzbekistan respond to an external economic shock. Strong coordination and regular meetings between the government counterparts and ADB teams were key to implementing the program outputs.

Project Number: 56149-001
Project Name: Building Resilience with Active Countercyclical Expenditures Program
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Lesson
Ownership of the reform process is critical and, given the experience of this, it will remain so. The reform agenda was fully in line with government and ADB strategies and priorities. This allowed for timely and quick support that resulted in comprehensive products. Detailed discussion on outcome indicators at the design stage is critical to finding the best possible indicators for measuring outcome.

Project Number: 51066-001, 51066-003
Project Name: Finance Sector and Fiscal Management Improvement Program (Subprograms 1 and 2)
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Lesson
Effective knowledge transfer requires adaptation to local context and the participation of stakeholders in the design and preparation of the necessary materials and documents.The project supported the development of manuals and guidelines (e.g., corporate plans, landfill operation guidelines, public–private partnership guidelines). However, preparation of the documents had minimal participation from key stakeholders and there was limited communication to explain the documents to intended users.

Project Number: 43316-012
Project Name: Pakse Urban Environmental Improvement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The engineering design of infrastructure investments need to be simple and adequately consider post-project financial and human resources capacity for and operation and maintenance. The rationale for this project's overall design was justifiable as it highlighted Pakse as an economic and commercial center of southern Lao PDR. The choice of investments reflected the immediate needs of Pakse. However, in terms of future maintenance, the design of the landfill was considered overly sophisticated for local authorities with limited financial and human resources.

Project Number: 43316-012
Project Name: Pakse Urban Environmental Improvement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Strong commitment of executing and implementing agencies is instrumental to project success. The project target impact was fully aligned with the government’s high priority for sustainable socioeconomic development. The provincial and local governments listed this project under their priority project pipeline and practical projects for civilian affairs. The provincial and project county and city governments provided full support to the project (policy, technical, financial, institutional, social, environmental, etc.) from preparation through post-implementation.

Project Number: 47047-002
Project Name: Shandong Groundwater Protection Project
Report Date: