A Cache of Experience

4.5.1 A Cache of Experience

163. Analysis of CDD and the CDD-type portfolio in ADB in the past 5 years, interviews with staff, and information from available documents indicate that there is indeed a significant amount of experience with applying the CDD approach in ADB. Due to time constraints, only three cases were documented here as good practice, but several others could qualify under this category. These three projects have experienced or are experiencing difficulties in implementation but are nevertheless proceeding in an encouraging fashion. ADB has further used a CDD approach in components of relatively large projects—

8 projects were each worth $50 million or more. A few of these involved OCR loans. These facts counter generally held misperceptions about ADB’s ability and experience with using CDD as a participatory approach.

164. Payoffs. Where CDD design features were successfully implemented, the results, as evidenced by the three case studies, were positive in terms of community contribution to and satisfaction with subprojects, especially when investments were made in time and resources and particularly at the 164. Payoffs. Where CDD design features were successfully implemented, the results, as evidenced by the three case studies, were positive in terms of community contribution to and satisfaction with subprojects, especially when investments were made in time and resources and particularly at the

165. Success Factors. Even in its nascent stage, a few key success factors are emerging from ADB’s CDD experience.

x Staff Leadership. The Poor Farmers Income Improvement and the North East Coastal Community projects showed how the determination of the project officer to push ahead with the CDD project, despite seemingly insurmountable odds, eventually paid off. Such leadership is necessary to challenge conventions and counter negative notions about community empowerment before the benefits of such a strategy can be obtained.

x Decentralization. Projects that have been linked/designed to support decentralization have been the more successful ones (e.g., Poor Farmers Income Improvement Project, VUISP, and Development of Poor Urban Communities Sector Project). These projects used existing local structures and took advantage of the positive policy environment that granted more local autonomy and brought the community into the loop of local decision making.

x Support/Collaboration from Managers and Experts in ADB. Mobilizing expertise within ADB is critical in confronting the challenges presented by CDD projects. Only when experts from and outside ADB were deployed, was the long-delayed project preparatory technical assistance of the North East Coastal Community project finally completed. The current level of effectiveness of the project as a post-conflict, post-disaster response mechanism is a product of the collaboration of such expertise. Project officers who were interviewed (i.e., from the North East Coastal Community project, the Poor Farmers Income Improvement project, and the Gender Equality and Empowerment projects) stated that their projects would not have been approved without the support and encouragement of their managers.

x Smooth NGO Contracting is Essential. All three case studies engaged NGOs or locally accepted nongovernment entities (e.g., a mass organization like the Lao Women’s Union) to facilitate community participation. The contrast between the Vientiane case study, where the government had prior experience in contracting mass organization in a long project, and the other two cases where NGO contracting delayed implementation, indicates the importance of prior assessment of the capacity of local NGOs as well as the capacity and commitment of executing agencies regarding NGO contracting.

From comments by Januar Hakim, MKRD, ADB, 30 March 2006.