Stakeholder engagement

Close collaboration between key government agencies and the local community enables adequate operation and maintenance (O&M) of project facilities through community-based activities. Sanitasi Berbasis Masyarakat (community-based sanitation), being one of the national programs implemented by the water supply and environmental sanitation working group established by Indonesia’s National Development Planning Agency in 2013, made it easier for the project to mobilize the communities to participate during the design and implementation stages.

The program has helped strengthen ADB’s role as a trusted partner and created a positive experience for the government to strengthen its relations with development partners. The loan provided international funds that have helped address the government’s objective to reduce borrowing in the domestic market and have helped ensure liquidity in Thailand’s private sector. The program’s accompanying technical assistance provided the government with value-added policy dialogue and technical assistance to help address the government’s knowledge needs as they evolved through the crisis.

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.

The crisis amplified the adverse, preexisting, and self-reinforcing relationship between public health and economic outcomes. This relationship should remain at the forefront of ADB’s engagement with Indonesia. COVID-19 takes a higher toll on individuals who suffer from stunting—a disease that is prevalent in Indonesia and closely associated with poverty.

Inclusive public consultations and close relationships among stakeholders are crucial to determine the most appropriate design and ensure the smooth implementation especially of project components introduced for the first in the country or project sites. The project design underwent various scope changes, some of which were in response to requests from the Kulhudhuffushi City Council (KCC). The scope changes and additional works delayed project implementation.

Close consultation with stakeholders during project design and implementation is especially needed to address the difficulties commonly arising from finding appropriate sites for solid waste and medical waste management facilities in urban projects. Due to lack of land and higher costs of construction than estimated at appraisal, it was not possible to construct the integrated waste treatment facilities, slaughterhouses, and medical waste management facilities planned under this program. These components were eventually dropped.

Close coordination among key stakeholders is especially required in complex and large-scale projects. Bolstered by strong partnership with and regular involvement and oversight from ADB, the executing agency and the project implementation unit’s professional and technical staff would have contributed to the delivery of the intended outcome and outputs. Professional and technical support was particularly important as the municipality of Ulaanbaatar MUB lack in capacity to effectively manage and coordinate the program.

Community engagement facilitates good implementation. Proactive measures were implemented to coordinate with agencies and all stakeholders, communicate with the public, and address their grievances. The Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation, one of the two executing agencies, maintained a complaint register at the site for local people to register their grievance.

Technical guidance on handling heritage sites and preserving historical artifacts is critical during construction. The project engaged heritage experts to manage the preservation of the heritage sites. The experts conducted a baseline study on the heritage structures in the project site and regular monitoring of the heritage structures during construction and provided technical guidance on integrating heritage features into the overall project design. The project was successful in managing the civil works in the locale of valuable heritage sites and preserving

Participation fosters strong beneficiary ownership of projects. This project encouraged the participation of local communities and other stakeholders from the planning stage and throughout implementation. This active participation enhanced project ownership by the beneficiaries. As revealed by the post completion survey, the project has retained this community support.