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Lesson
Technical assistance with a narrow focus, immediate policy relevance, and carried out with national champions with financial and/or planning authority was key to the successful integration of climate technologies in country investment plans. Careful and realistic planning is required for the production and dissemination of outputs, since this involves multiple institutions within a given timeframe.

Project Number: No PN
Project Name: Climate Change Fund, 2008–2019
Report Date:
Lesson
Institutional capacity development on climate change in ADB’s DMCs requires long-term engagement. Just over half of CCF resources went toward capacity development. The lack of basic climate data, technical expertise, and qualified local staff in many DMCs means that some processes, especially baseline studies, vulnerability assessments, and cost–benefit analysis of mitigation and adaptation measures, have to be adjusted to reflect realities on the ground.

Project Number: No PN
Project Name: Climate Change Fund, 2008–2019
Report Date:
Lesson
The strategic oversight of funds is enhanced when their governance structure includes some form of third-party engagement. The original Board paper outlined the governance structure of CCF and included at its apex ADB and external financing partners, whose function would be to provide strategic direction to the CCF and to meet ADB for annual consultations and to review progress, administration, and the annual work program. Since there are no external financing partners, ADB sits alone at the apex of the governance structure.

Project Number: No PN
Project Name: Climate Change Fund, 2008–2019
Report Date:
Lesson
Clear delineation of country activities with transparent funding allocations in cross-border RCI TA projects involving several countries helps smooth implementation and increase project success. The transaction costs in cross-border RCI TA projects tend to be high both in terms of resources and the time required to achieve agreement among stakeholders in the participating countries. It takes much longer to negotiate and agree to a common proposal in a cross-border RCI TA project than in a usual TA project.

Project Number: No PN
Project Name: Regional Cooperation and Integration Fund, 2007–2019
Report Date:
Lesson
Active engagement of national stakeholders and ADB resident missions from the outset helps improve ownership and project success. The likelihood of success is greater when an RCIF TA project is designed with genuine consultation with concerned line ministries, national agencies, the private sector (if relevant), and ADB resident missions. Active engagement of in-country stakeholders helps ADB to identify binding constraints and solutions, and to internalize implementation challenges at the TA design stage. This makes clear the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder.

Project Number: No PN
Project Name: Regional Cooperation and Integration Fund, 2007–2019
Report Date:
Lesson
Well designed and adequately resourced technical assistance is critical in helping governments with limited technical capacity deliver a complex set of reforms. This is demonstrated by the broadening of the tax base by implementing the goods and services tax. Collected revenue doubled during 2012–2016 with the help of sustained and targeted support from ADB starting in 2010.

Project Number: 39658-013
Project Name: Economic Recovery Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Successful privatization of state-owned enterprises requires strong political commitment and government ownership. The new government failed to carry forward the privatization program articulated in the report and recommendation of the President. This underlines the need for such reforms to be based on broad stakeholder consultations, and the importance of a high degree of political consensus on the goals and process of the reform.

Project Number: 39658-013
Project Name: Economic Recovery Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Ensure that the project performance indicators are appropriate for the time frame. In most education projects, and the DEMP was no exception, the focus of project implementation is on the development of facilities, teacher training, and programs that are only completed near the end of the project. The final achievement measures, however, are generally framed in terms of the number of students intended to benefit from the program. Again, the DEMP was no exception.

Project Number: 33251-013
Project Name: Distance Education Modernization Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Ensure projects have a clear and achievable focus. Apart from its innovative nature, the DEMP was also very broad, with the project inputs spread very thinly. The project included the construction of a national broadband network; mobilization of non-traditional partners including private institutions; capacity building and institution strengthening within the OUSL; development of online courses, which is notoriously difficult and slow; and implementation of these courses with the expectation of rapid, high enrolments.

Project Number: 33251-013
Project Name: Distance Education Modernization Project
Report Date:
Lesson
A sound strategy for sustainability must be agreed. The experience of the DEMP provides a good lesson on the importance of developing and operationalizing sound sustainability strategies. The project paved the way for the establishment of an innovative national online learning system, but the lack of a clear long-term plan was one reason why the concept eventually failed.

Project Number: 33251-013
Project Name: Distance Education Modernization Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Ensure that the investment will be sustained. Fundamental change to education systems is complex and does not happen quickly. When an entirely new system is being created, as it was under the DEMP, it is critical that a commitment for sustained investment is made. Neither the government nor ADB had any interest in a follow-on project. Even a 1-year extension to allow enrolments to continue their upward trend at the end of the project was viewed unfavorably. Innovation and reform require more long-term commitment to be successful.

Project Number: 33251-013
Project Name: Distance Education Modernization Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Ensure adequate ADB support for project implementation. By definition, the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to guide and embed innovative change are likely to be scarce in both the borrowing countries and in ADB. It is evident that additional time and resources are required to support implementation, which did not happen in the case of the DEMP.

Project Number: 33251-013
Project Name: Distance Education Modernization Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Future potential of distance education. The DEMP failed to expand tertiary education opportunities and increase the employability of graduates to the extent intended. The question of how to achieve both of these objectives remains. A central issue in this regard is how to improve external degrees. One of the lessons of the DEMP is that Sri Lankan students may not yet be ready for fully online courses, at least for the longer degree courses.

Project Number: 33251-013
Project Name: Distance Education Modernization Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Require expanded risk matrixes for all innovative projects. Considerable time, effort, and emphasis must be placed on the development and monitoring of the risk matrix for innovative projects. This applies particularly to risk identification and potential risk mitigation strategies. A range of alternative strategies should be developed in detail for every identified risk. The risk matrix and mitigation strategies for innovative projects should be discussed extensively by ADB and the government to ensure a common understanding and commitment.

Project Number: 33251-013
Project Name: Distance Education Modernization Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Innovation needs champions. Effective champions are critical for the success of any new initiative. This is even more true for innovative projects, where strong commitment to the project on the part of both the government and ADB are critical to success. The failure to locate the DEMP within a government agency with strong ownership of the project was one of the factors that led ultimately to its failure.

Project Number: 33251-013
Project Name: Distance Education Modernization Project
Report Date: