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Lesson
In turbulent times, projects must formulate comprehensive contingency plans for major emergencies such as (i) strengthening risk management with flexible plans to address unpredictability, (ii) developing adaptable resource plans, (iii) enhancing supply chain transparency to mitigate delays, (iv) improving remote team collaboration, and (v) leveraging digital technology to monitor projects during emergencies. This project was affected by the pandemic and required a loan extension until 30 June 2022, necessitating a corresponding extension of the implementation period.

Project Number: 45022-002
Project Name: Jiangxi Ji'an Sustainable Urban Transport 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
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
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
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
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
ADB's COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option (CPRO) modality was effective. The CPRO program established a model for ADB to channel timely support to developing member countries to address major health and economic challenges. The speed of delivery, efficient implementation, and strong development impact achieved validate the success of this model, which can be deployed to further assist countries in their economic recovery.

Project Number: 54180-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The One ADB approach is effective in delivering in timely crisis response. A contributing factor to the timely delivery of COVID-19 assistance and support is the One ADB approach in program processing, especially the strong role of the resident mission. With all the relevant departments working as contributors and partners, this approach broke down barriers and improved communications, resulting in faster turnaround and higher-quality outputs. The resident mission played a critical role in the preparation of the program, policy dialogue, and the eventual implementation of the program.

Project Number: 54180-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date: