Other Evaluations: Topical Papers, Impact Evaluations, Working Papers, Synthesis Notes

Topical Papers focus on current development issues to share ideas or technical working papers related to evaluation reports.

Impact evaluation in ADB are based on identification of valid comparison groups (counterfactuals), large sample surveys, and application of appropriate quantitative analytical methods, supplemented by qualitative analysis.

The ADB Evaluation Working Paper Series is an informal forum to present the reviews and findings of work in progress in evaluation or research relating to development effectiveness undertaken by staff, consultants, and resource persons.

Synthesis Notes consolidate key findings and lessons from independent evaluation of projects conducted in a particular period. They aim to increase usability of evaluation reports and feed lessons to projects under preparation or in the pipeline in order to improve project quality-at-entry and delivery.


  • Lessons from the Validation of Technical Assistance Completion Reports, July 2021–June 202224 Nov 2022

    Lessons from the Validation of Technical Assistance Completion Reports, July 2021–June 2022

    This synthesis note distills knowledge from independent validations of technical assistance completion reports (TCRs) to help improve the design and implementation of future technical assistance (TA) operations. This is the second TCR validation (TCRV) synthesis note prepared by the Independent Evaluation Department (IED). This note provides a snapshot of TA performance from a total of 92 TCRVs conducted from July 2021 to June 2022 and contributes to institutional learning and future TA and knowledge work.

  • 04 Oct 2022

    Evidence and Gap Map, and Formative Review of ADB Support for Global and Regional Value Chains

    ONGOING EVALUATION. IED will conduct an Evidence and Gap Map (EGM) exercise to establish the range of development knowledge available on interventions that support global and regional value chains (GVCs) and to characterize ADB’s support through its strategies and investments. The EGM will highlight gaps in the evidence base and show where evidence is more abundant. An ADB GVC portfolio overlay will be attempted to identify overlaps in ongoing support when compared to available evidence.

  • Evaluation, Influence, Action: How Independent Evaluation Improves the Asian Development Bank's Development Effectiveness06 Apr 2022

    Evaluation, Influence, Action: How Independent Evaluation Improves the Asian Development Bank's Development Effectiveness

    The end goal of all evaluation is influence. Evaluation influence comes at various levels and in various types. The Independent Evaluation Department (IED) enhances the development effectiveness of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) future operations by systematically evaluating its projects, country programs, sector support, policies, strategies, and corporate and thematic priorities. The cornerstone of evaluation influence is the evaluation report, which must be high-quality, credible, timely, and relevant to user demands.

  • Technical Assistance Completion Report Validation: Observations and Emerging Lessons22 Sep 2021

    Technical Assistance Completion Report Validation: Observations and Emerging Lessons

    This synthesis paper provides observations and emerging lessons from technical assistance completion report (TCR) validations. This paper provides emerging lessons and illustrative examples based on the first year of mainstreaming the TCR validation system.

  • Water and Other Urban Infrastructure Services Sector: Lessons from Project Evaluations31 Mar 2021

    Water and Other Urban Infrastructure Services Sector: Lessons from Project Evaluations

    This synthesis report of evaluations of projects in the water and other urban infrastructure and services (WUS) sector consolidates the key findings and lessons from independent evaluations of projects conducted during 2017–2020. Sector synthesis reports aim to increase the usability of the evaluation reports and to feed lessons from past WUS projects to those under preparation or in the pipeline in order to improve project quality-at-entry and delivery.

  • Addressing the COVID-19 Crisis: Lessons from Support for Public Financial Management18 Feb 2021

    Addressing the COVID-19 Crisis: Lessons from Support for Public Financial Management

    This paper provides a synthesis of lessons from evaluations of public financial management (PFM) support by ADB, other multilateral development banks, and the International Monetary Fund, as well as lessons from research and analysis by other international organizations such as the World Health Organization. It draws upon experience from past crises, and from previous budget support operations targeted at medium-term PFM reforms, emphasizing the lessons they offer.

  • Safeguards Assessment of Sovereign Projects, 2018–2019: Observations and Lessons on Project Categorization and Quality at Entry01 Feb 2021

    Safeguards Assessment of Sovereign Projects, 2018–2019: Observations and Lessons on Project Categorization and Quality at Entry

    Project-level evaluation helps to distill lessons that can be used to guide future responsiveness and quality at entry, through better project designs and implementation. It also supports knowledge enhancement within the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and is aligned with ADB’s Strategy 2030, which emphasizes the sustained outcomes of a project.

  • Lessons from ADB’s Social Protection Interventions: A Synthesis of Learning on Social Assistance Support18 Dec 2020

    Lessons from ADB’s Social Protection Interventions: A Synthesis of Learning on Social Assistance Support

    This synthesis paper aims to summarize, synthesize, and integrate research findings and lessons from evaluations of ADB’s two decades of experience supporting social assistance initiatives. It aims to inform the design and implementation of similar interventions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic period, and IED’s ongoing and future evaluations.

  • Systematic Review on the Impact of Access to Electricity on Household Welfare21 Aug 2020

    Systematic Review on the Impact of Access to Electricity on Household Welfare

    This systematic review report aims to appraise and synthesize available, high-quality evidence on the effectiveness of electricity interventions on socioeconomic outcomes in low- and middle- income countries.

  • Energy Sector Project Evaluations, 2015–201930 Jun 2020

    Energy Sector Project Evaluations, 2015–2019

    This synthesis report consolidates the findings and lessons learned from recent project-level independent evaluations in the energy sector. A sector synthesis report is a new type of product from IED designed to capture lessons from ADB projects in order to improve their quality and delivery.

    The consolidated findings and lessons provided by the sector synthesis reports aim to link the lessons learned from PVRs and XVRs to projects under preparation or in the pipeline. 

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