Improving Outcomes: Accountability Mechanism Annual Report 2013

This approach provides readers unfamiliar with the mechanism with an easily understandable introduction to its operations.

More importantly, the report’s focus on real-world examples allows project beneficiaries and their representatives, nongovernment organizations, government agencies, and even ADB staff members to understand how they may best benefit from its use.

Lessons learned

The following suggestions for improving project quality and delivery of development assistance are based on 10 years of experience with ADB’s Accountability Mechanism:

• Both problem solving and compliance review improve the service that ADB provides to its clients. Notably, the operation of the Accountability Mechanism helps ADB to determine the specific areas in which the impacts of such improvement are likely to be the greatest;
• Consultations with project stakeholders as early as possible in the project cycle significantly improve project quality and project outcomes. This is particularly true of consultations with persons impacted by the project, and government executing and implementing agencies;
• The benefits of the Compliance Review Panel and Office of the Special Project Facilitator activities are maximized when ADB mainstreams safeguards into its operations at the institutional level in a holistic and integrated way instead of by means of a project-by-project approach;
• In many cases, effective implementation of safeguards obviates the need for filing complaints, prevents inadvertent harm to project beneficiaries and stakeholders, and reduces the cost of compliance;
• Providing information to stakeholders about ADB’s Accountability Mechanism Policy through outreach activities increases awareness of the need for problem solving and compliance review, which in turn improves project quality and outcomes; and
• ADB Management and the Accountability Mechanism share a common goal: overall institutional improvement. The relationship between the two is complementary.

About ADB's Accountability Mechanism

The main purpose of ADB's Accountability Mechanism is to provide people adversely impacted by ADB-assisted projects with a forum for

• airing grievances that may have inadvertently arisen as a result of project operations; and
• seeking appropriate redress.

However, few people understand that the mechanism benefits ADB as much as it does project beneficiaries. By ultimately improving project quality, operation of the Accountability Mechanism prevents numerous adverse impacts from occurring altogether.