Mexico. Innovation for Competitiveness Project

Ratings for the Innovation for Competitiveness Project for Mexico were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, risk to development outcome was low or negligible, Bank performance was satisfactory, and borrower performance was also satisfactory.

Some lessons learned included: clear communication is needed with potential beneficiaries about the availability and characteristics of funding mechanisms. Frequent changes in such mechanisms can be confusing for potential applicants. CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Evaluacion de la Politica de Desarrollo Social - National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policies) made a number of changes to its programs and instruments during the life of the Project.

This was positive in the sense that it was striving to continually improve, but generated confusion amongst many actual or potential beneficiaries interviewed during project supervision. The outcome indicators should not have only conceptual relevance to the project development objectives but also have realistic causal links with project activities and be realistic with respect to the time it takes for some government interventions to produce the expected results, particularly when it comes to private investment decisions. In addition, realistic monitoring mechanisms should be determined during project preparation and implemented at the start of the project.

Periodic beneficiary surveys are needed to track the results of project grants in real time, rather than just at the end of the project Beneficiary surveys that are solely conducted online run the risk of getting a low response rate. For this reason, any online component should be complemented by personal interviews with beneficiaries to ensure that a critical mass of complete responses is obtained. In more developed client countries such as Mexico, knowledge services are seen as a key reason for engagement with the Bank.

For instance, the government considered a study tour organized by the Bank team for high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Economy and CONACYT to Washington, DC to be a very worthwhile learning experience. The study tour highlighted models of how Mexico could strengthen its innovation system at the national and state levels and Mexican officials were able to make strategic connections with their counterparts in the U.S.

Document Date: 2011/06/24. Document Type: Implementation Completion and Report Number: ICR1718. Volume No: 1 of 1

Mexico. Innovation for Competitiveness Project