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UNDERSTANDING EXCEPTIONAL PROJECTS. 2013 ARRI LEARNING EVENT Rome, 20 September 2013. INTRODUCTION. Since 2002, around half of projects evaluated by IOE have been rated as ‘moderately satisfactory’ overall.
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UNDERSTANDING EXCEPTIONAL PROJECTS 2013 ARRI LEARNING EVENT Rome, 20 September 2013
INTRODUCTION • Since 2002, around half of projects evaluated by IOE have been rated as ‘moderately satisfactory’ overall. • What factors explain the smaller proportion rated as either exceptionally good or exceptionally poor? • In particular, what explains good projects in fragile states and poor projects in middle-income countries (MICs)?
METHOD • Largely based on an analysis of a purposive sample of evaluations of 54 projects in 31 countries, plus interviews. • Explanatory factors separated into 3 groups: - context (where?) - design (what?) - management (who?) • Recognise limitations of the study.
Findings - CONTEXT • General country classifications (MIC, LDC, etc.) explain little. • More poor projects, and fewer good projects, in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS) and in countries with low country performance ratings (CPR). • Strong association between factors in difficult contexts: good projects generally had good designs and good management.
Findings – DESIGN • 93% of poor projects had poor designs. Only 21% of good projects had poor designs. • Common design criticisms: - poor fit with the context. - over-complexand over-ambitious. • 5 out of 6 exceptionally good projects with poor initial designs had good quality project management.
Findings - MANAGEMENT • 90% of poor projects had poor management. • Common management criticisms: - problems with project staff. - weak implementation partners. - lack of sufficient IFAD support early on. - weak monitoring and evaluation. • Quality of project management team/director strongly associated with good or poor results.
CPM INTERVIEWS • Quality of project management team and quality of implementing institution is key. • Understanding and fitting projects to the context is important, especially in fragile, post-conflict and post-emergency situations. • Quality of design has improved. Management and early implementation support now needs more emphasis.
SUMMARY • Context, design and management all matter. Strong association between factors in all situations. • FCS are more challenging, but can be offset by good design and management. • Project design has improved but persistent flaws are still being identified. • Quality of project management, and early implementation support, are key.
ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION • Is there sufficient emphasis on the quality of project management? • Is IFAD’s policy and practice in fragile and conflict-affected situations sufficiently different? • How can the design and management capacity in middle-income countries be better accessed and deployed?