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Lesson
The studies under the project provided extremely useful insights into international best practices, raised issues about implementation, and made policy recommendations for consideration by the MEDS. The project implementation unit ensured that for each study, the draft findings were shared at a policy workshop that included MEDS officials and other stakeholders. Having these workshops built into the project design was very useful. This approach has helped to create a better education policy for Mongolia, one based on evidence and practical experience.

Project Number: 43127-012
Project Name: Education for the Poor - Financial Crisis Response Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The emphasis on capacity building helped to strengthen capacity for planning, implementation, and monitoring at the central, provincial, soum, village, and school levels. Stronger capacity ensured timely implementation and also contributed to greater awareness of the long-term impact of education sector programs.

Project Number: 43127-012
Project Name: Education for the Poor - Financial Crisis Response Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Having a project implementation unit that was well equipped with qualified, experienced staff also contributed to efficient project management and implementation. Training on disbursement and procurement procedures early on could help prevent deviation from appropriate institutional procedures.

Project Number: 43127-012
Project Name: Education for the Poor - Financial Crisis Response Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Strong government commitment to the education sector and the strategic leadership of the Ministry of Education and Science (MEDS), backed by a highly capable project implementation unit, were important for keeping the project on track. Their commitment and policy oversight ensured that the findings and recommendations from implementation and from the studies supported under the project were considered in the formulation of evidence-based policy.

Project Number: 43127-012
Project Name: Education for the Poor - Financial Crisis Response Project
Report Date:
Lesson
it may be difficult to charge small enterprises that may be cash constrained up-front fees for training and advisory on business plans or marketing, business development service center could instead arrange with these businesses to earn commissions or to benefit from profit sharing on future sales. This would make the business development service center operations more sustainable.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Instead of a cost-sharing scheme where development partner funds are depleted - or perhaps in addition to one - a scheme that used cost-sharing facility funds as equity-type capital could have been designed under which the cost-sharing facility would be repaid if and when the business benefiting from the funds became successful. Such an arrangement could also help align incentives between the business development service center and the MSMEs.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The line of credit facility could have been structured as a revolving facility to extend the benefits to MSMEs and improve sustainability. To leverage ADB funds, ADB could also have provided the line of credit facility under a fund management arrangement through which the BML could have administered the less expensive ADB funds and cofinanced at market rates. This would have resulted in competitive, all-in, blended costs to the borrowers.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
ADB policies for financial intermediation loans require that onlending rates for subborrowers should be market-based. For the PSDP, the Bank of Maldives line of credit facility onlending rates were in line with similar loan schemes in the Maldives targeting MSMEs from financial intermediation loans from other international financial institutions, and were in excess of Bank of Maldives' cost of funds.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Although the initiatives under the project were largely complementary, each project output required a distinctly different knowledge base and skill set in consulting services. However, output 2, suboutput 2 made use of three consulting packages, involving a consulting firm and two individual consultants. While the use of two individual consultants was deemed the most economical approach at the time of inception, their deliverables overlapped somewhat and could possibly have been consolidated in one contract package to improve overall project management.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Considering the broad scope of the project and the capacity constraints of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury and the implementing agencies, implementation might have benefitted from more extensive monitoring and more frequent reviews, as well as the establishment of a project performance and monitoring system. By the time of the midterm review - 17 months behind schedule, in March 2012 - only 75% of contract awards were complete and disbursements stood at only 54%.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Structuring and implementing a PPP project is complex, time-consuming, and requires significant resources and commitment by all parties involved. Knowing that the PPP concept was at an early development stage in the Maldives at the time of project inception and that few ministries had the capacity or resources for PPP project development, ADB and the executing agency should have identified appropriate focal points and obtained stronger management commitment from relevant line ministries to ensure efficient implementation.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
While Enterprise Development Unit successfully served as a central project administrator in place of a dedicated project management unit (PMU), the roles, responsibilities, and reporting lines were not sufficiently clear from the outset. This caused some communication issues and processing delays throughout implementation. This issue has been addressed in the follow-up IMSMEDP, which makes use of a dedicated PMU.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Better cooperation between ADB and the executing agency in the preparation of the design and monitoring framework, as well as a more detailed assessment of appropriate project impact, outcome, and output performance indicators, could have improved performance monitoring, project evaluation, and possibly the project's ratings. In addition, a more detailed analysis of imprest account ceilings could have limited delays in project implementation. The imprest account ceiling for the line of credit facility had to be raised, with some difficulty, during implementation.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The project was originally designed primarily to reduce obstacles to the development of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through complementary initiatives. However, at the request of the government, a public-private partnership (PPP) output that was somewhat unrelated to MSMEs was also included. Although PPPs are an important aspect of private sector development, and MSMEs may participate in PPP projects, the activities in support of PPPs did not add much value to the overall project.

Project Number: 41149-013
Project Name: Private Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Proper legislation and project design can ensure social inclusion and easy access of women, socially disadvantaged groups, and minorities to national politics, civil service, and leadership in local infrastructure development and management.

Project Number: 40554-022, 40554-032
Project Name: Rural Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Sector Development Program
Report Date: