This validation agrees that cooperation and coordination, especially with other ADB departments, is important. This was a missed opportunity for this TA project. It is, however, not clear though why a visit to the People's Republic of China is required or recommended for the next ACMF TA.
ADB provides support for capital market integration through the ASEAN as well as the ASEAN+3 processes. The latter is supported by the staff in the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD). While there was some coordination with ERCD staff in the implementation of this TA, more coordination is required to find synergies between the various regional finance sector TA projects. This will reduce overlaps and produce better outputs by leveraging on the strength and network of counterparts supported by different regional TA projects.
The water sector in Kazakhstan and in the region was not in the ADB portfolio for more than a decade which created a knowledge vacuum about the sector’s complexity. The TA’s outputs were heavily dependent on the government’s decision to create a new water entity. The previous government which was involved in TA’s concept paper seemed to agree that this would be made available, however, due to the lack of commitment from the new government agencies, the TA experienced difficulties during its implementation.
This validation also offers this TCRV lesson: When changes are made to a TA's scope, it should be made explicit the extent to which originally planned results would not be achieved as a result of the new approach. Under this TA, it was not fully clear that the originally foreseen concept for a stand-alone investment project would not be produced due to the shift in the TA's scope. Project scope should be undertaken with care. It is essential to go back to the design board and re-adjust the indicators and consult with stakeholders if changes are made.
The lesson is not clearly articulated as a TCR lesson. In finalizing this validation report, the NRM rephrased and provided additional information: ADB’s flexibility to adopt to changed country context is crucial to maintaining project relevance. ADB was quick to respond to the government’s need for critical policy reforms as a greater priority than the value chain component in the context of federalism. ADB’s flexibility reflected in a minor change in scope of the TA was useful to design a policy-based program in less than one year.
ADB's flexibility in a minor change in scope of the TA at the request of the Government was useful to design a policy-based program in less than one year.
This is a useful lesson learned, which is applicable to future TA projects.
The TA implementation plan was soundly prepared, and the activities coalesced well in generating the information sought and making it widely available to the proper stakeholders. This approach lends itself for replication in similar TA support: (i) detailed analyses of the situation in the country, (ii) a comparative international overview of public sector compensation schemes across a range of other nations, (iii) the preparation of a synthesizing knowledge product, and (iv) the use of workshops to disseminate the work.
Analytical support for the preparation of sectoral roadmaps under RPJMN should commence 2 years before targeted completion date.
The need to carefully screen support for feasibility study preparation by considering factors such as inclusion in the Blue Book and commitment letters from relevant SOEs or ministries.