Assessment of the Effectiveness of Bank Technical Assistance for Capacity Building in Vanuatu
This evaluation assesses the effectiveness and impact of the ADB's technical assistance for institutional strengthening in selected developing member countries.
This study assesses the effectiveness and impact of ADB's technical assistance for institutional strengthening in Vanuatu, which received 18 advisory and operational technical assistance (AOTA) grants as of end-1995.
Factors found to have a positive impact on this assistance included an effective approach to the design and management of the AOTAs, organizational autonomy, and simplicity of design and the identification of highly specified outcome targets. Among the shortcomings were inadequate institutional assessments and an overly technocratic approach to diagnostic analysis.
Issues raised in the study include an inadequate local commitment and ownership in projects, as well as inadequate attention paid to existing absorptive capacity and sustainability aspects of projects. The study stresses that a high quality of technical inputs is a necessary but not a sufficient condition of AOTA effectiveness. "AOTAs to Vanuatu... must factor in sociological conditions, be technologically appropriate, and have local acceptance," it says.
The study recommends that future AOTAs to Vanuatu must be based on clear strategies for capacity building, put greater emphasis on local commitment and ownership, and that adequate resources and time be devoted to training to help achieve sustainable results. It also recommends that AOTA consultants market proposed solutions more effectively, and that AOTA reports be comprehensible to all concerned by providing easy-to-understand presentations of required actions, from immediate to long-term ones.
- Executive Summary
- Main Findings of the Study
- Key Issues for the Future
- Conclusions and Recommendations