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The Long-term Strategic Framework of The Asian Development Bank (2001-2015) : Implementing the Strategy

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Strategic Operating Principles

Ensuring Country Leadership and Ownership of the Development Agenda

DMCs must exercise leadership and ownership of their own development agenda and priorities by demonstrating initiative, commitment, and accountability. ADB’s Asian character, and its knowledge of and exclusive focus on the Asia and Pacific region, should enable it to be sensitive and supportive in adherence to this strategic operating principle. ADB must be a trusted partner to its DMCs in order to engage in constructive development policy dialogue and to target its assistance programs effectively. In particular, ADB must strongly support its DMCs in preparing sound long-term national poverty reduction strategies. To achieve the country leadership principle, ADB will forge much closer relationships with its DMCs by signing a partnership agreement for poverty reduction with each one. It will clearly signal the strategic areas where it can be a primary source of expert advice to the DMCs in their development process and fight against poverty. The strategic agenda provides the broad directions where ADB has or will develop core competencies. The implementation of this agenda, through the preparation of country-focused CSPs and through ADB’s lending and nonlending activities, will reflect the particular circumstances of each DMC.

Taking a Long-Term Approach to Development Assistance

In pursuit of the common goal of poverty reduction, ADB will maintain an effective long-term presence in the sectors and areas prioritized through the CSPs. Long-term approaches imply selectivity; selectivity, in turn, will have to be defined in the context of the CSPs, which will set long-term targets and performance benchmarks against which to measure development impact. Thus, ADB’s operations, guided by the strategic agenda and by agreement with each DMC, will be far more selective than previously, focusing on sectors and areas where ADB has clear strengths and the resources to maintain an effective long-term program in a country. Taking a long-term approach will require stronger commitment by staff members and in-depth knowledge of sector issues. Such knowledge will require a strong analytical capacity and economic and sector work that is expanded, more intensive, but better targeted and focused than in the past.

Enhancing Strategic Alliances and Partnerships

ADB will strive to remain the premier development institution in the Asia and Pacific region. Toward this end, and in the fight against poverty together with the DMCs, ADB will work closely with other development partners, to complement and build on one another’s strengths. Based on its strategic agenda, ADB is ready to assume a lead role among partners in some sectors and in particular DMCs, but in a spirit of openness and complementarity with all other development partners.

In selecting sectors and areas where ADB proposes to maintain a long-term focus and relationship, ADB will strongly emphasize, and is committed to, country-based coordination processes, such as the comprehensive development framework or similar partnership principles, depending on country circumstances. Within the framework of country ownership, such enhanced coordination will ensure greater selectivity and focus on sectors and areas where development partners have strengths and advantages, or complementarities. While borrowing countries generally do not favor a predetermined division of labor that limits their choices about which institution to approach, operationally oriented cooperation agreements between MDBs operating in the Asia and Pacific region can serve as useful general guidelines, setting out the principles of closer collaboration and defining areas of collaboration, complementarity and leadership. In macroeconomic and financial policy reforms as well as in regional economic and financial monitoring activities, ADB will coordinate its programs with the International Monetary Fund. In the context of its poverty reduction strategy, ADB is committed to partnership agreements with all of its DMCs. These agreements will be based on national strategies for poverty reduction prepared by the DMCs. Where the DMCs request ADB assistance in undertaking poverty analysis and formulating a national poverty reduction strategy, ADB will work closely with development partners—in particular, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme—to avoid duplication and ensure collaboration and complimentarity. Consistent with its strengths and the particular needs of the DMCs, ADB is prepared to take a lead role in poverty analysis in specific DMCs.

ADB will seek strategic alliances in regional or subregional cooperation with aid agencies, including United Nations agencies, the World Bank, and bilateral partners. ADB will also seek to expand its partnership agenda by developing ways of working closely with NGOs, civil society, and the private sector in its socially responsible role. Each potential partner can learn from the others’ strengths and knowledge, and ADB can thus enhance its development impact. Where appropriate, partnerships may involve policy dialogue and financing, as well as project design and monitoring of development impact. Complementarity with all stakeholders in the development process, in the ultimate interest of the DMCs, will be a main guiding principle of ADB activities.

Measuring Developmental Impact

The measure of success for ADB’s strategy and activities is its impact on development in the region. To help assess this impact, ADB will develop performance benchmarks against which to measure the outputs of its assistance programs. The activities that ADB undertakes have short-term, medium-term, and long-term outputs and outcomes; keeping a long-term perspective is essential if the impact of ADB assistance on the achievement of the IDGs is to be maximized. To ensure that the long-term focus of ADB programs is maintained, the impact must be evaluated systematically and the resulting feedback used to continually improve and enhance the effectiveness of ADB interventions.

Monitorable benchmarks and indicators will be provided in the CSPs that will determine the country assistance programs and partnership agreements ADB and the DMCs will undertake to combat poverty. These benchmarks and indicators will be assessed and evaluated against long-term goals and outcomes, including those specified in the IDGs. With an expanding and diverse portfolio implicit in the strategic agenda, and implemented in a dynamic and complex environment, an effective development performance monitoring system is essential to allow up-to-date feedback on the implementation and impact of ADB activities. This is a key operational basis of ADB as a learning organization and will allow ADB, together, with DMCs and development partners, to adjust programs to ensure quality and achieve greater impact.

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