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Lesson
Determining and improving the effectiveness of large and complex projects are far more complicated than measuring progress against the indicators in the design and monitoring framewrok (DMF). The emphasis on quantitative measures, even if well considered, could result in displacing goals and/or inaccurately representing project success or failure. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Implementation timelines, some DMF targets were unrealistic. The project provided for formative evaluations but they were not closely coordinated with the DMF.

Project Number: 41509-013
Project Name: Rural Primary Health Services Delivery Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Specificity of intended outcome is essential to enable programming, innovation, and cycles of project improvement. The project’s outcomes were broadly defined and lacked clear pathways detailing how the outputs would interact with each other and achieve the outcomes. The vagueness is likely part of the reason that the design had significant gaps and flawed assumptions on how the activities would lead to the intended outcomes.

Project Number: 41509-013
Project Name: Rural Primary Health Services Delivery Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Use of data and planning to target delivery strategies improve performance. Staffing and access to medical supplies were common challenges and well recognized during project design and documented during the project, including through the formative evaluations, the DFAT-funded independent evaluation, and the project midterm review. The chief executive officers (CEOs) of the provincial health authorities in high-performing provinces identified the use of data and planning to target delivery strategies as a factor in improved performance.

Project Number: 41509-013
Project Name: Rural Primary Health Services Delivery Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Establishing a comprehensive coordination unit for rural health transformation is a gargantuan and complex task requiring dedicated programming and targeted resources. A feature of the intended design, where the project support unit would be integrated into the Department of Health (DOH) to establish a comprehensive coordination unit for rural health transformation, was not realized. The ambition was relevant, and the government’s capability to manage projects to improve primary health care and coordinate partner programs should be strengthened.

Project Number: 41509-013
Project Name: Rural Primary Health Services Delivery Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The program design benefited from interaction with ADB staff preparing similar Comprehensive Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (CPRO) programs in other Pacific countries. ADB’s CPRO policy and guidelines were still being refined while the program was under Preparation. Managing the changing internal guidelines and expectations while also coordinating virtually (due to COVID-19 restrictions) with Vanuatu, ADB’s Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office, and ADB headquarters added significant pressure.

Project Number: 54179-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Fiscal Response Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Basing the reporting requirements on the monitoring systems of the government’s own response plan and providing dedicated assistance for monitoring and evaluation will help reduce the burden of the government in meeting the reporting requirements of massive budget support, pandemic response programs such as the CPRO. Budget support mechanisms are relatively new for the borrower, as most development assistance is delivered as project funding or through technical assistance.

Project Number: 54179-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Fiscal Response Program
Report Date:
Lesson
An appropriate Implementation arrangement is key to delivering a successful project. The project could have had greater impact if it had the Nanning Education Bureau as implementing agency (IA). Project deliverables could have been more institutionalized and led to the deepening of the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) reform in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Nanning Development and Reform Commission played an overall coordination role but lacked direct supervision authority over the two TVET schools.

Project Number: 46047-002
Project Name: Guangxi Nanning Vocational Education Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The green campus policy could align more closely with climate change mitigation and adaptation practices with measurable and quantifiable indicators so that the amount of energy saved and emissions reduced could be reportable and verifiable. Since the green campus concept was already incorporated at an output level in the design and monitoring framework, more specifications could have been provided at the project design stage, rather than just the formulation of campus policy.

Project Number: 46047-002
Project Name: Guangxi Nanning Vocational Education Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Focusing on existing social protection programs and systems and making in-depth policy discussions on reforming them contribute to avoiding the creation of ad hoc programs and arrangements or introducing reforms without having in place a solid institutional setup for its implementation. Alignment with the relevant national strategies ensures the government's strong ownership of prior actions and outcomes. Consideration of these two key lessons will strengthen the design and implementation of future similar programs.

Project Number: 55041-001, 55041-003
Project Name: Strengthening Social Resilience Program (Subprograms 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
The development partner assistance was ambitious. Its timeliness and the volume of ADB's Comprehensive Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (CPRO) financial assistance were well-received by the government. However, this led to a rushed design and inadequate attention to monitoring of implementation, particularly regarding existing capacities to collect gender-disaggregated data in the absence of any existing digital social security systems.

Project Number: 54243-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
A comprehensive social welfare framework can greatly strengthen the impact of emergency response measures and programs that were intended to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the most vulnerable households. As intended, the program helped to successfully mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on citizens and businesses. It was aligned with ADB's Strategy 2030 and the Pacific Approach.

Project Number: 54243-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Unforeseeable changes in the regulatory framework introduced after project approval can result in changes in project design and scope. In this case, it prompted lengthy discussions that ended up with the cancellation of one output. The experience needs to be considered for projects that plan to address complex issues with multisectoral involvement in countries like Mongolia that are still transitioning and frequently introduce changes in the existing regulations.

Project Number: 45009-002
Project Name: Fifth Health Sector Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Quick disbursing budget support is an effective instrument to respond to a crisis. Such an approach allows for strong alignment with government priorities and supports the government's ownership of the response measures. The eligibility criteria provide the necessary framework for due diligence. Timely upstream support can then be complemented with other forms of support–technical assistance, knowledge work, project investments–to reinforce the intended impact.

Project Number: 54138-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
An integrated approach to sustainable recovery is necessary to enhance the development impact of the CARES program. While the CPRO’s primary purpose was to deliver emergency assistance to support the government’s pandemic response, it also supported overall measures to keep the government on track in pursuing structural reforms that would enable a sustainable recovery from the pandemic. Such measures cohere around an integrated approach to meet Cambodia’s medium- and long-term recovery needs, including an improved investment environment and sound fiscal governance.

Project Number: 54195-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
A government-led program with coordinated support from development partners, is effective in enabling a rapid, timely, and highly relevant emergency response to pandemics. ADB’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) program proved efficacious in channeling support for the Cambodian government to address the adverse social, health, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project Number: 54195-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date: