Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 2 of 9 BACK | NEXT I. Introduction II.Objectives and Scope III.Implementation Arrangements IV. JFPR Implementation Arrangements V. Conclusion VI. Recommendation Appendixes

Cooperation with Japan: Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (2000)

---

II. Objectives and Scope

A. Objectives

7. The JFPR will support innovative poverty reduction and related social development activities that can add substantive value to ADB financed projects.² ADB Developing Member Countries (DMCs) that have been adversely affected, either directly or indirectly, by the recent financial crisis will be eligible for the JFPR. The JFPR will have the following objectives:

1. Support well-targeted poverty reduction and social development activities that have a direct impact on the poor and on socially or economically excluded or vulnerable groups,
2. Stimulate the self-help capacities of the poor,
3. Stimulate widespread stakeholder participation at the community level, and
4. Provide a systematic impact on DMCs' operations and approaches towards sustainable poverty reduction.

8. The JFPR, because of grant financing and the range of activities it supports, will significantly add to the variety and effectiveness of the arsenal available to ADB for addressing poverty reduction concerns in DMCs.

9. To maximize the impact on poverty reduction, JFPR financed activities will be compatible with and complementary to country operational strategies, partnership agreements, and country assistance plans.

B. Scope

10. The JFPR will finance activities which are aimed directly at poverty reduction, and provide innovative and demonstrative impacts on poverty reduction. JFPR financed activities should have strong relation to and enhance effectiveness of ADB financed projects. Typical types of activities to be covered will be as follows.

1. Provision of Basic Economic and Social Services

11. The JFPR could finance small-scale basic economic and social services to the poor, including community level water supply and sanitation, small clinics, local product market facilities, skill training centers, and so on. Pilot-testing type of activities, which could then be replicated on large scale future ADF financed projects, will be included. Innovative and demonstrative approaches for basic economic and social services provided by community initiatives would be given priority.

2. Supporting Social Development Funds

12. The JFPR could also support social development fund (SDF) activities. SDFs are innovative instruments that channel funding to small-scale projects targeted to benefit the poor and communities that are otherwise excluded from access to jobs and essential social and economic infrastructure. Activities supported by JFPR financed SDFs could include community level infrastructure, such as schools, clinics, and water supply and sanitation; and targeted programs for child nutrition, reproductive health, skill training, microfinance, which add great value to poverty reduction in ADB financed projects.

3. Supporting NGOs' Activities for Poverty Reduction and Social Development

13. The JFPR could finance nongovernment organization (NGO) activities that support poverty reduction and social development. NGOs are important agents supporting change and development in most DMCs. These organizations can assist processing in a participatory manner, facilitating community involvement in project implementation, and capacity building at the grassroots level. NGOs can also play an important role in monitoring project progress and in increasing the accountability of public sector agencies. However, NGOs often lack the resources and/or technical capacity needed to perform all these tasks effectively. To broaden impact and enhance various development finance schemes, JFPR support for NGOs would be linked to ADB financed projects.

4. Project Supporting Activities:

14. Other possible areas of JFPR assistance are in capacity building for local government, and for community-based organizations. The JFPR could also provide support to local NGOs for the purpose of design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation; and the testing of pilot activities in conjunction with ADB financed projects. Activities that are especially innovative and demonstrative would likely be prioritized. These activities would differ from technical assistance financed by other sources in that they will specifically target the poor, and they could be previously untested.

15. Examples of activities that might be considered for JFPR financing are presented in Appendix 1.

16. To make this grant scheme more effective, outcomes of activities should be monitored and the results should be fed back to DMCs' poverty reduction operations. Monitoring and evaluation methods of JFPR contributed activity's impact on poverty reduction should be well designed for each activity.

C. Executing Agency

17. JFPR executing agencies will, in principle, be DMC central and local governments and public institutions. Expenditures arising from JFPR funded activities will be paid in accordance with ADB's standard procedure for disbursements. Although central and local governments and public institutions are expected to be the executing agencies, activities to be financed by the JFPR will likely be managed and maintained by communities. Active participation of communities in activity design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation is essential to the success of JFPR financed activities.

D. Project Cost

18. Given the extensive demand for activities and investments in support of poverty reduction, JFPR financed activities are likely to be spread throughout the Region. As activities to be financed by the JFPR will not be stand-alone projects but will enhance ADB financed projects, JFPR financed activities are likely to be relatively small compared to ADB financed projects.

19. Beneficiary ownership and associated commitment is essential to the successful outcome of JFPR activities. However, as the scheme specifically targets the poor, any beneficiary cost sharing is expected to be limited, and would in most cases be in the form of in-kind contributions such as locally available materials and labor. In addition, as one of the salient features of the grant scheme is its intended financing of innovative and pilot projects, it would be quite difficult to identify an appropriate cost sharing level prior to the implementation of the JFPR. Therefore, the cost sharing level of individual activities will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

E. Coordination with Civil Society

20. The poverty reduction activities to be financed by the JFPR will be spread all over the region and over a variety of sectors and sub-sectors. Input from civil society will be essential for the effective implementation of this scheme. ADB will make the necessary efforts to obtain input and feedback from civil society for design, implementation, and evaluation of each activity.

___________________

Back I. Introduction	Next III.Implementation Arrangements