This validation offers the following lesson: it is important to work and clearly communicate with ACMF and its working groups to get buy-in to the TA project. This is evident in how stakeholders noted their appreciation to this approach.
ADB involvement in high-level discussions was very much appreciated by the government. Moreover, the new team in the executing agency of MEGNR was able to organize the final workshop to discuss the proposed KKC-IWRM’s structure and future support of the government. Acknowledging the needs of the government for the sustainable water sector development, the MEGNR and the Committee for Water Resources requested additional assistance from ADB for knowledge and capacity building support in IWRM to introduce policy reforms and a new strategy.
This validation also offers this lesson: The TA memo provides a lesson (although it was not reflected in the TCR lessons) regarding the shift in scope, "In light of the ongoing transition to federalism, which aims to devolve the responsibilities for the agriculture sector to the subnational government levels (provincial and municipal), the consultations at the subnational level have become critical not only for the program design, but also to assess the most feasible implementation arrangements…The need to consult with the subnational government offices has not received sufficient atte
The TCR lesson reflects on the need to engage with the stakeholders in the project design process. However, there is no mention of whether the stakeholders were consulted again when the output indicators changed, and some market corridors were dropped. When the project scope changes significantly, it is a good practice to revisit previously consulted stakeholders to update them of the need to change the targets and incorporate their feedback.
Agreed. Lesson might be rephrased as: Wide stakeholder consultations (with private sector, subject matter experts, and the government) enabled identification of critical reforms, particularly on food safety, an area where this TA linked with public health.
The TA supported a wide range of stakeholder consultations with the private sector, subject matter experts, and the Government on key policy bottlenecks in the agriculture sector in Nepal. These interactions led to the identification of critical reforms towards strengthening the Government's capacity for ensuring the food safety, a serious public health concern in Nepal.
In the TCR’s follow-up actions, it is stated that ADB’s stakeholder support should continue through capacity building and policy advice. It is not clear from the TCR statement if there are new areas or topics to target, or if additional resources are needed to increase the reach of the programs that succeeded through this TA project. A lesson may be possible to develop depending on the specific learning the TCR intends to capture.
The TA project’s work on NPL management led directly to a policy_x005F_x0002_based loan that did not appear to be part of the original purpose for the TA. Instead, it appears that the importance of the TA recommendations as well as the urgency of Mongolia’s needs for financial stability, led to the follow_x005F_x0002_on loan. There may have been specific lessons regarding the development of the government’s commitment to NPL management that could be of use to future TA projects seeking to achieve the same commitment to reform that could have been included in the TCR
Agreed. A large turn-out from all the Pacific DMCs at the workshop, including finance ministries and maritime and aviation authorities culminated in strong ownership and commitment to delivering new projects. Regional workshops are an affective mechanism for soliciting stakeholder participation in the Pacific and can culminate in strong ownership and commitment to delivering new projects.
The regional workshops conducted under the TA has proven to be an effective means of engaging with the DMCs to share knowledge generated through the TA, and to maintain policy dialogue to co-create investment project pipeline.