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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
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
Attention to staff turnover at executing and implementing agencies can decrease the risk of misconduct and delays in project implementation. In this case, high staff turnover in the executing agency resulted in the inability to conduct procurement using ADB’s Procurement Guidelines.

Project Number: 45009-002
Project Name: Fifth Health Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
At project appraisal, staff turnover in government agencies including project implementing units (PIUs) was identified as a risk. It could have been prudent for the resident mission to provide insight into mitigation measures based on experience in other ADB projects and those of other development partners, particularly in ensuring proper repository of project documents to facilitate the efficient transfer of project responsibilities to new PIU staff.

Project Number: 45010-002
Project Name: Skills for Employment Project
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Lesson
Provision of adequate technical support for the executing and implementing agencies with respect to procurement planning as well as consultant recruitment and management helps in streamlining the procurement timeline processes. Specifically, providing capacity building support and training on ADB procurement procedures, biddings, and contracts facilitates effective execution of civil works' activities.

Project Number: 49168-001
Project Name: Improving School Dormitory Environment for Primary Students in Western Region Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Effective procurement plans and strategies require the conduct of relevant market and technical assessments, adequate consultation with pertinent government officials, and appropriate contract packaging. Several procurement issues, including unresponsive bidding, inadequate consulting services, inadequate terms of reference for consultants, etc. occurred mainly because of the technical nature of the goods and works required, which caused some changes in procurement arrangements during implementation.

Project Number: 49113-001
Project Name: Managing Soil Pollution in Ger Areas through Improved On-site Sanitation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The use of lump sum construction supervision contracts under conditions of frequent design changes is disadvantageous for the consultant and could jeopardize project implementation. The use of a lump sum contract between the EA and consultant for this project was not suitable. Lump sum contracts work well when tasks are precisely defined and the risks to both parties are well understood. In this case, the project had frequent design changes that resulted in extended discussions on the variations and severe implementation delays.

Project Number: 41192-013
Project Name: Regional Logistics Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
It is critical for executing agencies to enhance their procurement capacity to ensure that all consulting services needed by a project are in place at the earliest possible time. The recruitment of a consulting firm for engineering design and drawing under this project spanned 15 months despite advance action. This significantly delayed project implementation, highlighting the need for MECCS to strengthen its procurement capacity and ensure the timely recruitment of consultants for its projects.

Project Number: 49168-001
Project Name: Improving School Dormitory Environment for Primary Students in Western Region Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Contract management may better be handled by engaging a consulting firm rather than individual consultants. It was challenging for MECSS to recruit nine individual consultants, manage and coordinate them, review their reports, and process their payments during project implementation. In the future, it would be better for projects of this kind to have one consulting firm instead of several individual consultants whose inputs are closely linked.

Project Number: 49168-001
Project Name: Improving School Dormitory Environment for Primary Students in Western Region Project
Report Date: