Managing for Development Results at ADB

Results Matter April 2008

Managing for Development Results in Mongolia
By Adrian Ruthenberg, Country Director and Resident Representative Mongolia Resident Mission

While the development objectives of ADB’s past projects were related to the process of economic and social transition and to the national rehabilitation and reconstruction agenda, the new pipeline will be oriented towards fostering broadbased inclusive growth. The focus towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (especially quality of health and education services delivered to the poor) requires readjustment in ADB’s sector approaches. A significant pro-poor feature of the Mongolia program is the presence of Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction and Japan Fund for Information and Communication Technology projects.

ADB’s 2006–2008 country laid the grounds for a results-based approach along the lines of the Economic Growth Support and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EGSPRS). The framework that underpins the results-orientation of ADB’ strategy is seen as the end-result of a joint process by which the Government, ADB, and other partners agree on priorities, and take action to ensure effective support around these. The Government has initiated this process by outlining priorities, and ADB is now helping develop a results framework with performance indicators to establish sound mechanisms to manage the country strategy for results. ADB’s forthcoming country partnership strategy (CPS), to be developed in 2008, will be aligned with the Government’s priorities as defined in the 2008–2021 National Development Strategy (NDS) currently being discussed by the Parliament.

Managing for Development Results (MfDR)
ADB has provided MfDR related assistance to Mongolia under two regional technical assistance (TA) projects: Strengthening Results-Based Management for Sector Agencies, and Decentralizing Social Sectors. The regional TAs helped improve understanding of results based management in the context of decentralized health and education services. Recently, ADB approved a TA on Mainstreaming Managing for Development Results in Investment Planning and Public Funds Management. In addition to strengthening investment planning and monitoring of sector ministries as part of national development strategy, the TA will introduce results-based management techniques for the social security funds and other public funds, including the Mongolian Development Fund.

In general, statistical capabilities tend to be impeded by inadequate data availability and reliability. A key step in the MfDR agenda in Mongolia is to develop performance indicators for the EGSPRS and to formulate related sector targets. ADB’s TA to support the National Statistics Office is part of this effort to improve statistics at the central level. In parallel, ADB’s TA for aid policy and debt management, executed by the Ministry of Finance, assists the Government in the prioritization and coordination of aid flows. At the level of line ministries, monitoring and evaluation systems do not provide a suitable platform for central coordination and are mainly input-oriented. ADB, together with the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, is supporting the integration of monitoring and evaluation systems developed at the sectoral level with the national poverty monitoring system.

Another ongoing ADB TA for the implementation of the Public Sector Management and Finance Law (PSMFL) is supporting sector ministries in the adoption of performance-based budgeting and monitoring systems.

Use of and Support to Country Systems
ADB’s support to country systems in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness focuses on fiscal management capacity (assistance to implement the PSMFL) and public procurement systems. In particular, ADB assistance prompted the adoption of the first public procurement law in 2000 and its successive amendments in 2005 and 2006. Mongolia was selected as pilot country for the procurement assessment in the framework of Paris Declaration; ADB and the World Bank are supporting this exercise.

Learn more about MfDR in ADB’s developing member countries

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