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Lesson
Avoid assuming policy changes when setting targets in a crisis. The program design assumed that coordination of all government-subsidized employment would be transferred to the employment service centers established in each local government under the Prime Minister Employment Program (PMEP). Because of the impact of the crisis, this transfer did not happen and the PMEP was unable to achieve the target. A target set during a crisis should not assume a policy change.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Comprehensive and disaggregated enterprise-level data are needed to effectively support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in times of crisis. The absence of a real-time disaggregated financial data collection system at the beneficiary level made it difficult to timely track the status of business recovery of affected MSMEs. The dataset collected and used in reports on MSME lending did not include comprehensive disaggregated enterprise-level data from the start, making it impossible to assess the inclusiveness of the concessional lending.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Data interoperability facilitates beneficiary targetting in times of crisis. Difficulty in consolidating data between federal, provincial, and local-level governments and between sectors affected program implementation and progress monitoring. While Nepal’s social security programs each identify and register beneficiaries, there is no central register for poor and vulnerable populations. Hence, the ward officials identified food support beneficiaries, which led to implementation challenges.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Purposeful selection of outcome Indicators that are easily and regularly monitored is critical in crisis response projects. There is a high level of uncertainty surrounding the duration and impact of a crisis. Thus, choosing outcome Indicators that provide timely and crucial information on the progress of the crisis and the impact of policy measures can help manage a crisis, as it allows to quickly introduce new measures when the situation worsens.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Do not propose establishment of a new business continuity fund during crisis. The business continuity fund was established during the crisis. Actual usage was far less compared with existing instruments for concessional lending and refinancing, as operationalization took time. Unless such a fund can be established on time, proposing a new fund during a crisis should be avoided when good instruments are available.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Quick and flexible budget support is essential during times of crisis. The timely availability of the ADB CPRO support greatly contributed to mitigating the impact of the pandemic, particularly for low-income countries and countries in vulnerable situations. Availability of such an instrument is highly relevant for a country in times of crisis.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Harness the role of community-based organizations for inclusiveness. Community-based organizations (CBOs) played an active role in implementing the PMEP, such as facilitating information dissemination in the community, collecting applications from interested unemployed individuals, and connecting them to ward offices. Similarly, CBOs helped the government in identifying poor and vulnerable people as recipients of its food distribution efforts and contributed to addressing food needs during the crisis.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Flexibility in adjusting timelines and targets to respond to new and unforeseen factors enhances impact. Difficulties in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic affected project implementation timelines. The pandemic was unprecedented in scale and unpredictable in terms of the percentage of the workforce testing positive; the mobility restrictions that needed to be imposed to control its spread; and its impact on availability of supplies, materials and expertise needed to implement the project.

Project Number: 54189-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Lack of readily available and measurable social and economic data can limit the scope of the design and monitoring framework (DMF). The CPRO loan supported 12 schemes of the PMGKY program, which extended insurance cover for health workers, cash transfers, food and fuel transfers, and employment guarantees.. However, the DMF included only eight schemes for monitoring as part of the CPRO loan because specific results and performance Indicators could not be devised during appraisal considering the urgency of the requirement for assistance.

Project Number: 54182-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Multi-pronged regulatory and financial support to small businesses and employment security measures provided financial security to the vulnerable households as they responded to macroeconomic shocks. These enhanced program effectiveness in enhancing social and economic protection to vulnerable businesses and sections of the population at the time of COVID.

Project Number: 54182-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Development of measurable Gender performance Indicators and targets, with clearly defined Indicators and data sources, is important in integrating Gender in all programs being implemented by the government . It is also important to develop and implement Gender action plans and use structured data collection tools that can easily extract the required data in a timely manner.

Project Number: 54189-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Leveraging private sector capacities to effectively contribute to emergency measures were key success stories. These were done through constructive partnerships, as demonstrated by the lab development for enhancing testing capacities at the start of the pandemic, and by leveraging women-led self-help groups for manufacturing personal protective equipment.

Project Number: 54182-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Using third parties to monitor implementation, especially in situations where mobility and ADB missions are constrained, helps ensure the attainment of intended results. The government partnered with the Red Crescent, private sector, and civil society organizations to vaccinate all residents of Maldives, including foreign workers with no official work permits.

Project Number: 54189-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
India’s investments in social protection frameworks—through the public distribution system, the JAM trinity for direct benefit transfers, and fuel transfers ensured that ongoing social safety net programs could be quickly mobilized to respond to the economic vulnerabilities created during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project Number: 54182-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Data access and documentation issues, which can affect emergency response operations, need to be identified and addressed right at the onset of the crisis situation. Early in program implementation, the government recognized the importance of internet connectivity and the use of web-based applications. There was no established online system to receive and process emergency assistance applications. The application forms were initially submitted by beneficiaries through email, which took more than 5 weeks to process.

Project Number: 54189-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date: