Managing for Development Results
ADB manages our work to ensure operations contribute to development and poverty reduction
| Challenge | Despite rapid economic growth in Asia and the Pacific, millions remain poor. Given our limited resources, how can ADB help reduce poverty in the region? |
| Strategy | ADB operates with increased focus on development results, and helps our member countries build their own capacity for gaining results. |
| Response | ADB comprehensively monitors delivery of our planned development results and identifies performance weaknesses and actions for improvement. We support country capacity building and knowledge-sharing initiatives. Countries can then better manage their development programs. And we are teaming with our development partners to increasingly coordinate and share knowledge about managing for results. |
Providing the right development aid is not only about the size of the loan, or the number of roads or schools built. It is about knowing the loan is improving people's lives. It is about ensuring the road is designed to move people in the best direction, and the school educates children with skills to support a country's economic future. ADB serves people. And we need to be accountable to them by measuring and reporting our delivery performance as promised.
Using a new tool to improve our performance
ADB became the first multilateral development bank to adopt a corporate-wide results management framework. The new framework, driven by our Strategy 2020, uses performance indicators and targets. These help us review the state of the region, and assess our contribution to development and operational and organizational effectiveness.
It allows managers to answer three key questions:
- Are we being effective?
- How do we know we are?
- How do we use this information for future action?
Inspiring a results-driven culture, the framework focuses on areas ADB and our shareholders consider important. To assess and report on our performance in achieving desired corporate-wide results, ADB now uses an annual performance report—the Development Effectiveness Review. The review identifies performance issues and actions for resolving them based on four levels.
Level 1: What's happening in Asia and the Pacific?
We begin by tracking progress in the region based on selected development areas. These include poverty and human development, gross domestic product per capita, regional cooperation and integration, access to basic infrastructure, governance, and environment.
Level 2: How has ADB contributed to development?
Next, we assess our contribution to country and regional development by checking if our operations have helped achieve specific development goals.
Level 3: How effectively is ADB managing its operations?
We then look at operational-effectiveness indicators, such as operational quality and portfolio performance, finance mobilization, strategic focus in operations, knowledge development, and partnerships.
Level 4: How is ADB improving as an organization?
And finally, we measure our progress in increasing effectiveness in three key areas: use of human resources, use of budgetary resources, and business processes and practices.
Putting the results of our review to immediate use
Our first-ever Development Effectiveness Review—for 2007—found that Asia and the Pacific economies continue to quickly grow and reduce poverty. Yet, the region still struggles to meet some of its human development targets.
As for our contribution, ADB has helped deliver development results—more jobs, increased incomes, better access to health and education, improved living environment, and better policies and institutions. ADB's operational quality is improving, and the organization is becoming more efficient. The review, however, also reveals areas to improve and spells out steps to take.
ADB Management is already benefiting from the findings—ensuring actions at the department, office, and division levels become fully aligned with strategic priorities and responsive to issues the review revealed.
This will enable ADB's managers to refer to results data, and issues and lessons before deciding their next steps. And this first review is only the beginning.
Helping countries manage for development results
ADB is also helping increase country capacity for results management with funding for
- introducing results-based planning and budgeting techniques;
- improving methods for measuring, monitoring, and managing for results;
- preparing results-oriented national development plans and strategies, sector plans, and road maps; and
- training country officials and enabling their participation in international managing for development results events.
The Managing for Development Results Cooperation Fund finances many of these activities. Canada, the Netherlands, and Norway contributed to this $2.9 million multidonor fund.
Supporting communities of practice to increase results management capacity
ADB is also working to increase results management capacity in our member countries by promoting learning and knowledge exchange through communities of practice.
These informal networks foster exchange between public managers, organizations, executing agencies, and practitioners for managing better for development results. They disseminate good practices; assist with problem solving; and offer learning opportunities, products, tools, and support services.
Communities of practice also create an ever-increasing, virtual knowledge base to help members improve their understanding and skills, enabling them to better respond to particular development needs.
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