ОРЕАНДА-НОВОСТИ. Three development projects that best showcased the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) contribution to Asia and the Pacific were recognized at an awards ceremony.   

The 2016 winners went to projects pioneering solar technology in Thailand, ensuring access to quality education for the poor in Mongolia during the financial crisis, and strengthening agriculture science and technology in Viet Nam. The three were chosen from 80 projects reviewed by Independent Evaluation in 2015. Independent Evaluation, an oversight body within ADB that assesses the organization’s effectiveness, has held the Most Successful Project Awards since 2015. 

Undertaking independent evaluations of projects and programs financed by ADB and other multilateral development banks is recognized by the institutions themselves as an integral part of achieving better results through accountability and learning.  

“Evaluations not only provide evidence of project success or failure, and show whether precious public funds were well invested or not, but also lessons to improve the effectiveness of projects and solutions to unfolding development problems,” says Vinod Thomas, director general of Independent Evaluation at ADB. 

“The winning projects, as well as meeting their objectives, all offered lessons for achieving development results in their areas of operation, which can be replicated and enlarged in similar projects by ADB, other development institutions, and national decision makers. In short, they all offered tremendous learning experiences,” says Thomas. 

Thailand: Solar Power Project

Built within budget and ahead of schedule, the 55-megawatt solar power plant in Thailand’s Lopburi province—Asia’s largest solar power plant at the time of completion—demonstrated the potential of solar power in the country and the region. ADB’s loan package attracted local commercial financing for the project, which was important to help kick-start Thailand's solar power industry at an early stage of its development. 

The success of the Lopburi plant, confirmed in evaluation findings, led to ADB financing of other solar projects in Thailand. “ADB’s innovative approach for developing Thailand’s renewable energy finance market gave investors and banks confidence to replicate and push ahead with similar transactions,” says Nathan Subramaniam, Principal Evaluation Specialist.  The plant, which started operation in March 2012, avoids over 50,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. 

 Mongolia: Education for the Poor—Financial Crisis Response Project

The global financial crisis of 2008–2009 threatened Mongolia’s substantial gains in providing education services to the poor, and caused poor families to withdraw their children from school. The government faced a problem of how to maintain quality education services during the crisis, particularly in ensuring continued access to preschool and basic education for the poor, and keeping a free preschool feeding program running. A $17 million ADB grant supported the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture’s successful efforts to sustain education access during the crisis, with interventions that were scaled up into the regular system once the crisis subsided. 

The expected project outcomes—maintaining the operating costs of schools from 2009–2011, providing adequate financing for the purchase of text books, and maintaining the feeding program running—were all realized. “The project demonstrated ADB’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively to unanticipated needs,” says Independent Evaluation’s Director Walter Kolkma. 

Viet Nam: Agriculture Science and Technology Project 

The Agriculture Science and Technology Project, supported by a $30 million ADB loan, helped the government to institutionalize market-based research and bring knowledge and learning gained through research—a process called extension—to serve farmers in remote upland areas, and to strengthen the human and physical capacity of the national system for agriculture science and technology. The project—which involved 42 organizations including research institutions, vocational schools, extension services, and farmer’s unions—strengthened government initiatives for stronger links between applying agricultural research to upgrading the skills of farmers, and helped the system become more responsive to the needs of smallholder farmers and private sector. 

Built on the rich biodiversity of the country, researchers worked with poor farmers and extension workers to improve traditional varieties and develop them into new products for international market, which helped promote inclusive growth and preserve the environment. “What drove the project’s positive results was its ability to involve all actors and strengthen links between them,” says Independent Evaluation Deputy Director General, V?ronique Salze-Lozac’h.