Benin - Borgou Region Pilot Rural Support Project |
Abstract: This report rates project outcome as satisfactory rather than highly satisfactory. given the importance that the LIL places on increasing communiy capacity, it is imperative that project performance indicators are able to track changes in capacity. Moreover, the project had a limited impact on improving the participation of women in managing their socio-economic environment--a major project objective. Also, limited success was achieved in adopting new agricultural production technologies. The PPAR rates sustainability as likely and Borrower performance as highly satisfactory. However, the PPAR rates institutional development impact as substantial rather than high, as some crucial institutional issues received less attention than warranted. The PPAR rates overall Bank performance as only satisfactory: First the Bank did not give attention to coordination of rules and processes between different Bank projects that support similar activities in the Borgou region, often in the same communities. Second, with the move to budget support, the Bank did not effectively (and in a timely manner) communicate to the Borrower as to how it would continue to support a follow on to the Borgou Pilot. The Operation Evaluations Department found that these factors conveyed negative, confusing, and demoralizing messages to the Borrower and the communities. The experience of this project offers several important lessons for future Bank supported community-driven development interventions in Benin and elsewhere: 1) The LIL instrument is designed to support learning and innovation. From the Borrower ' s perspective, implied in the use of a LIL is future Bank support for expansion of a successful experiment. However, when the Bank shifts towards favoring a different lending approach for the country, without communicating clearly and in a timely manner to the Borrower as to what this means for follow-on support, the credibility of the LIL instrument is eroded. 2) The design of CDD projects needs to be realistic about the costs and time required to satisfactorily implement such operations. 3) In a CDD intervention the performance indicators need to be designed to monitor and track quantitative and qualitative progress on achievement of objectives. Though the quality of community participation in decisionmaking is dificult to measure, if no attempt is made to do so, it is likely to receive less attention as project teams become preoccupied with meeting progress on quantitative targets. 4) The Bank needs to harmonize the rules and processes in its community-based interventions in a given country and coordinate with donors supporting similar interventions in that country.
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Report Type:
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Project Performance Assessment Report |
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Date:
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06/11/2003 |
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Report #:
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26087 |
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Subject:
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Agriculture, Health Nutrition & Population, Transportation, Water and Sanitation |
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Country:
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Benin |
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Region:
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Africa |
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Language:
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English |
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Project ID:
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P057345 |
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Loan/Credit #:
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C3098 |
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