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Lesson
Unforeseen events could significantly impact project implementation.

Project Number: 43316-012
Project Name: Pakse Urban Environmental Improvement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Managing implementation during emergency situations requires a flexible and adaptive approach. Amod the COVID-19 pandemic, PMU and PIU systems were based on (i) adjusted work practices, (ii) limited staff movements and restrictions on international and national travel, (iii) changes in consultant resource use and approach, (iv) supplier delays and reduced contractor capacity, and (v) assessments of the impact on implementation timelines, and planning extensions, as required.

Project Number: 41403-013
Project Name: Urban Water Supply Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Adequate project readiness and accurate designs are critical for large infrastructure projects. Lack of these could cause delays, i.e., this project encountered a delay of over 2 years in finalizing the detailed design for the major civil works contracts and delays in procurement. Furthermore, inclusion of additional scope of works and delays in land acquisition and resettlement plans, and COVID-19 impacts hindered timely implementation.

Project Number: 40540-014, 40540-017
Project Name: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Road Connectivity Project
Report Date:
Lesson
It is critical that the risk assessment and management plan of the project preparatory technical assistance in the tourism sector incorporate measures to be taken in case of future pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic led to delays in realizing project tourism benefits. Nevertheless, the ensuing pent-up demand from domestic and foreign tourists seems likely to lead to increases in future incremental visitor numbers, visitor days, and visitor expenditure from each of the subprojects. These increases could contribute to the financial sustainability of the subprojects.

Project Number: 46293-005
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Infrastructure for Inclusive Growth 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
Interventions to strengthen sector resilience need to be broadened to improve system readiness for future challenges to learning continuity. After the 2015 earthquake, significant effort was directed towards improving school sector resilience against disasters triggered by natural hazards and climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted new challenges that can impinge on learning continuity, with disproportionate effects on students from poor socioeconomic backgrounds and deprived communities.

Project Number: 49424-001
Project Name: Supporting School Sector Development Plan
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
It is important to maintain some degree of flexibility to effectively respond to crisis situations. Perhaps the most important quality of Thailand’s CARES program was its ability to rapidly mobilize demand-driven support in a crisis; highlighting the importance in future crisis responses of maintaining some degree of flexibility in both program design and implementation. ADB was able to process and approve the program within 3 months of the government’s initial request for support. Events in Thailand necessitated loan signing to take place about 4 months after ADB approval.

Project Number: 54177-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Timely planning of project extensions and a more realistic extension period will improve loan utilization. Undisbursed amounts under this project resulted largely from new government policies as well as contextual and operational factors. Various activities were canceled because of government restrictions on the use of loan proceeds for soft components (e.g., training, workshops, etc). Non-disbursements were also associated with other policy modifications, such as restrictions on the recruitment of international consultants. But contextual and operational factors also played a role.

Project Number: 44265-013
Project Name: Second Health Care in the Central Highlands Project
Report Date:
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: