Ratings for the First Phase of an Adaptable Program Loan in Support of the Basic Education Project for Uzbekistan were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was low, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: the Bank could do more to better understand the nature of the public administration, procurement, and financial management systems of centrally planned economies within their specific working environment and culture, in order to encourage institutional reforms.
Projects targeting behavior changes need to plan well in order to achieve success since behavior change is usually gradual and cannot be accelerated using mechanical measures. The team should capitalize on the significant gains of the project, such as the per-capita budget allocation reform, which represents a major achievement worth sharing, while encouraging the use of internal or external instruments to ensure that the knowledge and experience is used by other client countries. This curve is rather steep and should be taken into account in the technical support strategies, implementation pace, and project timelines.
It is commendable that the Bank team brought world-class technical expertise to the client. However, in countries such as Uzbekistan where few people have international experience, it is equally useful to expose key policy makers to developed and reformed education systems rather than simply bringing technical assistance into the country.
World Bank.Document Date: 2011/07/27.Document Type: Implementation Completion and Results Report.Report Number: ICR1811.Volume No: 1 of 1
