Office of the Special Project Facilitator

What is the Consultation Phase?

The Consultation Phase, which is the first of two key components of the new ADB Accountability Mechanism, is an independent forum where people adversely affected by ADB-assisted projects can voice and find satisfactory solutions to their problems. Project-affected people can file their complaints here regardless whether ADB’s operational policies and procedures are violated unlike in the Compliance Review Phase.

The Consultation Phase seeks:

• consensus and agreement on the complaint from all parties concerned
• acceptable methods for resolution, and a
• timeframe for resolving issues in the complaint

It uses approaches and methods that are flexible and cost-effective. It does not, however, supplant the existing project administration and problem-solving functions of ADB’s operational departments.