48345-001 - Sector and Thematic Analyses in Policy Development: Technical Assistance

Description

The TA project will support the efforts of the governments of 12 of the 14 Pacific DMCs to improve policy formulation and decision making through rigorous sector and thematic analyses. Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste are not included because they can get country level assistance.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy

The Pacific Approach, 2010 2014 of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), identifies the need to promote more effective development processes in its 14 Pacific developing member countries (DMCs) and to foster connectivity, consensus, and a greater sense of Pacific community. The Pacific Approach sets out an agenda to help achieve this through ADB support for (i) inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth, (ii) good governance, and (iii) regional cooperation and integration. ADB s Pacific Approach recognizes that most Pacific DMCs exhibit conditions of fragility. This fragility contributes to their complex development environments and, among other things, is characterized by weak state performance in the core functions of policy formulation and resource accumulation and low public sector management capacity. The Pacific Approach established that making policies without adequate analysis of sector or thematic issues was a common governance shortcoming in these DMCs, and that this often led to poor decisions that were not in the public interest and undermined achievement of national development goals. Pacific DMC governments are requesting that ADB provide technical assistance (TA) for sector and thematic analysis to inform and strengthen their decision making and improve their policies. During 2009 2012, for example, ADB approved TA projects that provided analytical support to improve policy formulation in the Pacific DMCs in such diverse areas as the environment, water issues, transport, health, national planning, and state-owned enterprise reform. The TA for Sector and Thematic Analyses in Policy Development will help Pacific DMCs make better policies, improve policy dialogue with development partners, and enhance aid effectiveness by providing dedicated analysis of development issues important to individual countries and to other DMCs across the region. It will also build capacity in the development and use of this analysis. This approach is consistent with the findings of ADB s 2014 Midterm Review of Strategy 2020 and the review s emphasis on promoting South South knowledge sharing. Lessons from previous assistance, as well as discussions with the governments of the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, and Tonga, has resulted in an understanding regarding the impact, outcome, and outputs of the TA, as well as its costs, implementation arrangements, and the terms of reference for consulting services. Deciding on policies without undertaking the proper sector or thematic analysis has significant opportunity costs. This cost is particularly high in the Pacific DMCs because their organizational and technical capacity and financial resources are limited. These DMCs, their universities, and the regional technical organizations lack the ability to produce the necessary analysis and fill the region s significant knowledge gaps. The problem is made more acute by the lack of appropriate government staff needed to meet the broad range of policy challenges the DMCs face. Pacific DMCs recognize that thorough, bottom-up analysis of their sector challenges and cross-cutting development themes is vital and will (i) help them identify and define their strategic priorities more clearly, (ii) help them design better policy, (iii) improve coordination and mobilization of development assistance, and (iv) allow effective prioritization and sequencing in policy implementation. Development partner efforts to develop national and regional capacity in analysis and policy development in the Pacific DMCs have often been ad hoc, fragmented, and unsustainable. Productivity gains in recent years have been driven by the need for rigorous sector and thematic analyses to underpin substantial policy-based operations and coordinated capacity development TA to support implementation of economic management reforms. During 2009 2013, ADB approved 14 projects totaling about $107 million to support policy reforms in the Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu. This amounted to 9.0% of ADB s total assistance in the Pacific. Other development partners provided about $150 million in similar support over the same period. In 2014 and 2015, the ADB Board is scheduled to consider a further six policy-based programs amounting to $23 million. Although demand for sector and thematic analysis has increased, and the Pacific countries and their development partners have more incentive to collaborate and coordinate to address knowledge gaps, DMCs need to take ownership of the analysis that results from ADB assistance and actually apply it in their policy formulation for the process to succeed . It is therefore important that ADB remains open and responsive to the expressed country needs, within the boundaries of its own strategy on engagement in each DMC. This will ensure that ADB s TA resources will be used in areas where ADB can bring a comparative advantage to analyses whose findings governments will remain committed to and follow up on in a sustainable way. In addition, when meeting sector and thematic analytical needs, ADB will give priority to work that cannot be supported through existing country or regional TA, such as its Private Sector Development Initiative and Pacific economic management TA projects (footnote 3). This will help to avoid duplication and ensure that ADB and other development partners are extending limited TA resources across country and knowledge needs. ADB must also ensure that analyses and knowledge (i) suit the preferences of specific audiences, and (ii) reinforce consistent messaging to facilitate follow-through and ongoing implementation. This TA will help governments prepare policy briefs, technical notes, brochures, and good practice studies on cross-cutting sector and thematic issues. It will also share the findings through seminars, workshops, and the media. Many small Pacific DMCs face similar development challenges, and so cross-learning and multicountry assessments are an effective way to develop solutions that are appropriate across the region and deepen the understanding of development constraints and the effective policy responses.
Impact

More effective policy development
Project Outcome
Description of Outcome

Improved sector and thematic analyses
Implementation Progress
Description of Project Outputs

1. Improvement in sector and thematic assessments 2. Promotion of South South knowledge cooperation

Country:  Regional
Project Number: 48345-001
Type or Modality of Assistance: Technical Assistance
Financing: Public sector (Sovereign)
Status: Approved
Approval Number: TA No. 8819
Approval Date: 16 Dec 2014
ADB Financing ($ thousand): 800
Sector: Education
Energy
Information and communication technology
Public sector management
Transport
Water supply and other municipal infrastructure and services
Subsector:  Education sector development
Energy sector development and institutional reform
ICT strategy and policy, and capacity development
Economic affairs management
Transport policies and institutional development
Urban policy, institutional and capacity development
Strategic Agendas: Inclusive economic growth (IEG)
Regional integration (RCI)
Drivers of Change:  Governance and capacity development (GCD)
Knowledge solutions (KNS)
Partnerships (PAR)
Private sector development (PSD)
Gender Equity and Mainstreaming Categories:  Category 4: No gender elements (NGE)

Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.

Responsible ADB Officer: Laisiasa Tora (Request for information)    
Responsible ADB Department: Pacific Department
Responsible ADB Divisions: Urban, Social Development & Public Management Division, PARD
Last PDS Update: 17 Dec 2014