The validation agrees that this is an important lesson especially as this was a cross-cutting gender specific TA project, and especially as this Phase 2 was building on work already undertaken in Phase 1. The TA project thus potentially offers a rich set of lessons; the documentation of lessons of replication is important and could potentially inform approach to how gender can be mainstreamed or scaled up across ADB operations.
Documenting the replication experience is crucial. Part of the TA fund was successfully used for replicating and scaling up the existing models (e.g., ethnic minority women-led community road maintenance, integration of domestic violence survivor shelters in urban projects) and the experience has been turned into useful knowledge products.
A related point here is that knowledge products dissemination activities with purposively identified audience are critical to knowledge transfer and capacity development. In this regard, the TCR could have looked into the underlying reason for the no preparation or submission of the policy brief, and no conduct of the final dissemination event. In so doing, potential lessons and operational learning could be identified to benefit future policy and advisory TAs.
Agree. The TCR could have identified the study findings that would be more realistically relevant and useful to other ADB member countries. Given the PRC’s unique institutional and policy environment, it is likely that the study findings on the reform of monopolized industries and promotion of private sector development could be of greater value to other member countries than the reform of SOEs and labor market.
Despite the PRC’s unique policy and institutional environment, the reports contain information that might be relevant to other ADB developing member countries
A lesson could have been suggested on the relevance of sharing the knowledge created with other ADB member countries
The development of a strategic master plan in any significant infrastructure or operational area of any industry provides a framework for effective planning of development activities. In a developing nation, a master plan can be used to direct potential donors or investors to apply resources according to the national government’s identified and mandated priority areas and medium to long term plan.
This is more of a description of the new phase of PRIF than a lesson or recommendation identified from the completed phase.
A subsequent phase with an approved budget of $9.09 million was approved on 3 October 2019. An increase in TA amount and minor change in scope memo is being processed by the user unit to include a $2 million contribution from the United States. This will be the first contribution from the United States.
It is implied in the TCR that skills gained from preparing the studies for this project were useful to counterparts, especially in preparing bidding documents for another ADB project. A lesson learned here is that practical skills development of counterparts built into TA supporting the preparation of one investment operation can have spillover benefits for staff preparing other projects in the future.