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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
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
As the government continues the reform program with assistance from other development partners and the private sector, detailed ongoing assessments of government budget commitments and financing needs, and capacity development are required, with related work plans. This support needs to include working with the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a key partner, expanding the SME Service Centers and outreach, and enhancing access to finance. It will also require government decisions on legal, regulatory, and financial aspects, to fully operationalize an e-commerce platform.

Project Number: 44057-012, 44057-013
Project Name: Second Private Sector and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Program (Subprograms 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
implementation anchored in a national law. Some output targets—building technical skills and institutional capacity, engaging with SME participants, facilitating the adoption of new processes, and institutionalizing the changes—required a longer time for effective implementation.

Project Number: 44057-012, 44057-013
Project Name: Second Private Sector and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Program (Subprograms 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
Realistic timelines are essential, given government agency capacities and the institutional, policy, and behavioral changes required. Introducing new regulatory frameworks required a sequential building-block approach, from diagnostics to pilot implementation, expansion of pilots, and national

Project Number: 44057-012, 44057-013
Project Name: Second Private Sector and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Program (Subprograms 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
The PSME2 demonstrated the critical role that TA plays in supporting policy, planning, awareness raising, change processes, training, and skills, and in institutionalizing SME reforms. Furthermore, using post-program partnership framework (P3F) support is important in facilitating ongoing SME reform and institutionalizing SME processes.

Project Number: 44057-012, 44057-013
Project Name: Second Private Sector and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Program (Subprograms 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
It is important to target monitoring at end-state outcomes. Due to the lockdowns and mobility restrictions; early difficulty in the speed of PEN disbursements was unavoidable. Although the government recognized the need for urgent rollout; poor infrastructure raised the risk of leakage through corruption and led to a slower and more cautious approach than would otherwise have been optimal. A lesson to be drawn from the experience involves the need to target monitoring activities at end-state outcomes.

Project Number: 54139-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The urgency of the lending produced outcomes that, while unavoidable, are nevertheless instructive. For example, target setting was difficult because the contours of the pandemic were fluid. Liaising with the government was also challenging. The timeline for initial response was tight, and ADB worked with a small number of government teams in the interest of speed. This concentrated approach to planning was complicated by the pandemic affecting government officials’ health and well-being personally.

Project Number: 54139-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The program reinforced the need for flexible targeting in pandemic situations. The Indonesian government was quick to recognize the tension between sustaining economic activity and minimizing the spread of disease through physical distancing and quarantine. At times; the National Recovery Program (PEN) was modified to strike a better balance. For example; the government increased its support for ultra-microenterprises midway through the program; pivoting its assistance program to more than 1 million street vendors who were economically displaced by restrictions on mobility.

Project Number: 54139-001
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
It is important to digitalize government services in times of crisis. This effort is best pursued through collaboration with the private sector in Indonesia. The collaboration can strengthen the country's defense against future outbreaks and improve the targeting of social assistance. Digitalization including ithe financial sector should remain a focal point of ADB’s policy dialogue with Indonesia.

Project Number: 54139-001
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:
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
The success of the program highlights the importance of the government’s continuing commitment to improve disaster risk management (DRM), including disaster preparedness and response. Adopting a country-led set of policy actions, developed in an open, participatory manner, ensured strong ownership and commitment from the government and reinforced policy dialogue and coordination with various stakeholders.

Project Number: 52018-001
Project Name: Disaster Resilience Program
Report Date: