May 8, 2020: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released the 13th annual performance report of its corporate results framework, the Development Effectiveness Review, a management tool that monitors performance and progress during 2019.
“This year’s report is the first to track progress in implementing ADB’s corporate Strategy 2030,” said Director General of ADB’s Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships Department Tomoyuki Kimura. “This yearly process enables ADB to spot and analyze trends in corporate effectiveness, identify underlying issues, and develop actions to improve.”
The report focuses on progress achieved against 60 corporate performance indicators. In 2019, ADB made a strong start on aligning its new operations with Strategy 2030 priorities, especially gender equality, according to the report. The share of gender mainstreamed operations rose by 10 percentage points to 80% of all ADB operations committed in 2019 and the record gender mainstreaming performance exceeded the 2024 target.
The proportion of ADB operations supporting climate change mitigation and/or adaptation increased to 59% during 2017–2019 from the 56% baseline. ADB also made strong progress toward achieving its cumulative climate financing target of $80 billion for climate change mitigation or adaptation between 2019 and 2030. In 2019, ADB committed $6.5 billion, or 30% of the total financing ADB committed that year. This was almost 50% more in total annual climate financing than ADB committed in any previous year.
Financing for health reached 2.95% of total ADB commitments in 2019, a significant increase from the baseline of 1.75%, and close to the 2024 target range of 3%–5%.
ADB’s operations completed in 2019 delivered 80% or more of their expected results for 18 of the 22 new indicators tracking outcomes in support of the seven operational priorities of Strategy 2030. Three indicators had shortfalls below the 80% target, and achievement for one other indicator was too early to assess.
A decline in the success rates of completed operations shows that some historical challenges remain, according to the report. For ADB as a whole, the share of completed sovereign operations rated successful fell to 71% in reporting years (RY) 2017–2019, a decline of 6 percentage points compared with RY2016–2018 and moving away from the 2024 target of 80%. The success rate of operations financed by concessional assistance also declined, to 70% from 77% in RY2016–2018.
These declines were mainly caused by weaker performance of transport sector operations and, to a lesser extent, finance and education sector operations, the report says. As in the past, ratings for the likelihood that operations’ results will be sustainable over time were the lowest of the four evaluation criteria used to assess success.
Some 52% of nonsovereign operations were rated successful in RY2017–2019 compared with 54% in RY2016–2018 and a 2024 target of 70%. The smaller share of better-performing infrastructure projects and weak performance of private equity funds were the main factors behind this performance.
The report’s final chapter describes the system ADB has in place to identify and monitor actions for improvement, and the main actions ADB took during 2019 to address performance challenges.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
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