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ADB Reorganization

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Reorganization to Benefit Country Operations

When President Tadao Chino announced in a memorandum in January 2001 that he was initiating a review of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB's) organization, it set off a process culminating in one of the biggest changes ADB has undergone in recent years. The changes resulted in an organization structure with a stronger country focus to enhance ADB's effectiveness and development impact in the Asian and Pacific region.

The Process

"In undertaking the review, the approach was to carefully assess our strengths and weaknesses and look at all the reasonable options that would help us strengthen our organizational capacity and deliver ADB's ambitious agenda," says Mr. Geert van der Linden, Director General, East and Central Asia Department, appointed by the President to chair the Working Group on ADB's Reorganization.

Guided by ADB's Poverty Reduction Strategy, adopted in 1999, and the challenging agenda of the Long-Term Strategic Framework (LTSF)-as well as changing expectations of funding agencies, developing member countries (DMCs), and other stakeholders-Mr. van der Linden and his working group of colleagues set about their work. They spent the next nine months analyzing the issues, consulting extensively with ADB staff, and holding discussions with other development agencies and external advisors.

"We felt that there should not be change for change's sake, but changes only where they were necessary for better implementing the LTSF. That meant focusing on essential changes in the operational departments. For other departments, change was proposed to support the operational changes or was directly linked to the LTSF," says Mr. van der Linden.

The new organization structure was approved by ADB's Board of Directors on 9 October 2001 and took effect on 1 January 2002.

Intensifying Country Focus

At the heart of the new organization structure are five new regional departments aimed at formulating and implementing more country-focused programs, and enhancing subregional cooperation. These are the East and Central Asia Department, Mekong Department, Pacific Department, South Department, and Southeast Asia Department. These departments replace the programs and projects departments that formerly reported to vice-presidents East and West, and unify "country" and "sector" perspectives in single, country-focused departments. There continue to be three vice-presidents, but the two operational vice-presidents are renamed Vice-President Operations 1 and Vice-President Operations 2.

The East and Central Asia Department includes Azerbaijan; People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Kazakhstan; Republic of Korea; Kyrgyz Republic; Mongolia; Tajikistan; Taipei,China; Turkmenistan; and Uzbekistan. The Mekong Department handles Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The Pacific Department comprises Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The South Asia Department consists of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Southeast Asia Department covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore.

"The new structure allows staff members to focus their work on fewer countries, helping them-and ADB-understand and handle better the complex dimensions of poverty in a country in an integrated, cross-sectoral manner," says Mr. van der Linden. "ADB will now be able to respond more effectively to its clients with a holistic country strategy for assistance."

It is important for ADB to integrate its major development goals and strategies in all its programs and projects. This means mainstreaming objectives such as poverty reduction, good governance, inclusive social development, gender equity, and private sector development into the operational departments' work. This is being done by sector divisions whose mandates are specifically to operationalize these objectives.

Enhancing Quality and Expertise

It is essential for ADB to maintain its technical and sectoral expertise. The reorganization allows ADB to maintain and upgrade its base of knowledge and expertise with the establishment of a new Regional and Sustainable Development Department (RSDD).

RSDD develops and monitors policy guidelines and best practices for all sectors and aspects of development that are important to ADB's work, and guides operational departments in these matters. It thus ensures that a high standard of quality and technical excellence is maintained across ADB. The department supports ADB's regional development functions and strengthens ADB's role in linking the region to global networks and partnerships. In addition, it monitors ADB's compliance with its own policies and guidelines.

ADB's Private Sector Group, established in 1995, has been strengthened and upgraded to a department, reflecting ADB's increased emphasis on private sector development. The LTSF, Private Sector Development Strategy (PSDS), and Poverty Reduction Strategy all recognize the need to encourage private sector participation in the region's development and the catalytic role ADB plays in leveraging private sector funds for projects and programs with large funding requirements.

The Private Sector Operations Department continues to manage ADB's private sector operations. It also helps mainstream the PSDS into ADB's wider development agenda, integrating private sector operations into country programs and coordinating ADB support to privatization, corporatization, and public-private partnerships.

Strengthening Knowledge Management

Other important changes include the establishment of a management committee to better guide and coordinate ADB activities at the management level, and a knowledge management committee to ensure that ADB's knowledge resources are effectively used. The growing need for knowledge management is also reflected in strengthening economics and development research work. The Economics and Development Resource Center has been upgraded to the Economics and Research Department. It serves as an economics knowledge base that can be drawn on by all ADB departments and units.

As part of ADB's group of knowledge management units, the Department of External Relations (DER) now reports directly to the Office of the President. OER directly supports the President in his role as ADB's chief spokesperson.

All these changes enable ADB to respond to change and function more efficiently and effectively in pursuing its overall goal of substantially reducing poverty in the Asian and Pacific region.

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