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p. 10 of 30 BACK | NEXT Executive Summary I. The Setting II. Key Variables Affecting Project Quality A. The Approval Culture B. Ownership C. Quality of Macro and Sectoral Analyses D. Portfolio Management E. Institutional Capacity Assessment F. Beneficiary Involvement in Preparation and Implementation G. Evaluation of Risks/Sensitivity Analysis H. Clarity and Implementability of Project Design I. Role of the Bank in Project Administration J. Responsibility for Project Quality K. Major Themes in Project Quality Analysis III. Assessment of Current Bank Practices and Areas for Improvement IV. Findings, Recommendations and Action Plan V. Implications and Monitoring Arrangements

Report of the Task Force on Improving Project Quality : II. Key Variables Affecting Project Quality

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D. Portfolio Management

27. The portfolio performance management of a DMC as a whole, with respect to the Bank's past investments, must become an important consideration in determining the size of investments in the DMC and in the concerned sector. The current trend of a widening gap between the rates of commitment and disbursement in some DMCs is disturbing. Poor portfolio performance reflects inadequate absorptive capacity, and the Bank should be in a position to use such signals to shift emphasis from resource transfer towards systematic and sustained capacity building in the DMC. Project investments should be related to DMC portfolio performance.

28. Assessments of the management of a DMC portfolio should appropriately be undertaken as part of the COSS and COPP exercises. Until recently, Country Projects Review Missions (CPRMs) were undertaken by C SO independently from the COSS and COPP missions, and their findings on the current health of the Bank's portfolio of projects were usually not fed into COSS and COPP preparation. With the recent inclusion of country performance reviews in the COPP, it is expected that the findings of CPRMs will be increasingly reflected in the COSS, COPP and other economic documentation. Such findings should be related to the type and extent of investments planned by t e Bank for subsequent periods. The Task Force also considers that it would be timely for the Bank to undertake an extensive "spring cleaning" of its portfolio of projects, in partnership wit each DMC and in conjunction with actions to be taken as a follow-up to this report, in order o restructure the portfolio where necessary .The approval of inactive and slow disbursing projects from the portfolio will help establish clearer commitment of DMC for implementation performance of the rest of the portfolio.

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