Description

Background

This country assistance program evaluation is the second for Bangladesh, evaluating ADB's support for Bangladesh from 1999 to 2008, focusing on the 2005 country strategy, and covering 24 completed and 37 ongoing projects and programs. It updates Bangladesh's first country assistance evaluation in 2003, which covered ADB support from 1986 to 2001. Where the two country evaluations overlap in 1999 to 2001, this evaluation study focuses on issues that could not be fully evaluated at the time of the first country evaluation.

ADB has been supporting the development of Bangladesh since 1973, with loans totalling $10 billion through the end of 2008. ADB's support has covered many sectors, but has focused mostly on agriculture and natural resources (ANR), education, energy, and transport.

Summary of assessments

The overall assessment for ADB's program in Bangladesh is successful. ADB's strategic positioning was highly relevant to the country's needs, the Government's priorities, and ADB's own strategies. ADB's country strategy was developed through a partnership that has strengthened coordination and leadership among the Government's four main development partners. ADB's programming largely followed through on the course set in the strategies, and although sector focus has broadened slightly, ADB's focus in recent programming is adequate. Although disbursement improved in 2008, ADB's disbursements are low compared with the ADB average. ADB's contributions to long term development results were modest, judging by progress in the monitoring indicators for the results framework, and by contributions to long term development results in seven areas of ADB's program. Stakeholders' perceptions of ADB's performance is positive.

ADB's programs for education and energy are rated successful, but these two sectors account for less than half of ADB's financing. The other five parts (agriculture and natural resources, disaster risk management, education, transport, and urban development and water supply and sanitation) have been rated partly successful due to shortfalls in achieving intended objectives, implementation delays, concerns regarding efficiency, and issues related to sustainability of outputs and outcomes.

Key findings and lessons

All projects proceeded slower than expected in Bangladesh, including projects financed by the Government and by other development partners. Slow implementation is a well-known problem in Bangladesh, and ADB has been working with the Government and other development partners to find solutions. Better project implementation could further boost the country's development.

ADB contributed modestly to development results in Bangladesh. ADB has significant potential to contribute to development, though, judging by its contributions in disaster risk management, the energy sector, and water supply and sanitation. ADB could clarify and better document its contributions through a realistic results framework, concerted efforts to strengthen the Government's capabilities in project implementation, and a strategy and program to contribute knowledge to development.

Recommendations

• Maintain the current sector focus of financing projects and programs for education, infrastructure development, and governance to support private sector-led higher economic growth and poverty reduction:

1. Build on success in the main sectors like education and energy
2. Focus on fewer subsectors based on past performance and future prospects
3. Strengthen and expand the transport sector program, with better project implementation
4. Continue supporting agriculture and rural infrastructure projects which have a successful track record and high potential for contributing to poverty reduction and social inclusiveness
5. Build on the current program in Disaster Risk Management and Emergency Support
6. Continue supporting urban development, and water supply and sanitation.

• Help strengthen the Government's capabilities in designing and implementing projects and programs though a systematic approach working with other development partners to improve project implementation.

• Continue supporting governance reforms and anticorruption initiatives and gender mainstreaming.

• Develop a results framework relevant to programming and specific to ADB so that ADB can be held accountable for delivering results.

Contents

• Introduction
• Country Context
• ADB's Country Strategies and Programs
• Top-down Assessment
• Bottom-up Assessment
• Overall Assessment, Findings, Lessons, and Recommendations