China - Planning Support and Special Studies Project

 Planning support and special studies project Report No: ; Type: Report/Evaluation Memorandum ; Country: China; Region: East Asia And Pacific; Sector: Public Sector Management Adjustment; Major Sector: Public Sector Management; ProjectID: P003521 China: Planning Support and Special Studies Project (Credit 1835-CHA) The Implementation Completion Report (ICR) for the Planning Support and Special Studies Project (PSSSP) in the People's Republic of China (Credit 1835-CHA, in the amount of SDR 15.9 million or US$20.7 million equivalent, approved in FY87 and closed in FY95) was prepared by the East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. A balance of SDR 1.5 million was cancelled. Borrower's evaluation of the project is included in Annex B. The PSSSP was designed to assist the Government to strengthen its development policy and planning capability, prepare and implement intersectoral technical assistance projects, and improve the capability of key institutions responsible for economic and financial reforms. The credit had two components: (a) a line of credit for training, technical assistance and equipment to improve the efficiency of economic management agencies; and (b) the financing of consultant services, equipment and training programs for the execution of major sectoral studies. The project was jointly implemented by the State Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance, and by the subproject agencies for the twenty subprojects. The main project objectives were substantially achieved. The project improved the institutional capacity of the agencies. Hands on experience was gained in research and policy studies (in economic planning, flood control, energy policy, poverty, and understanding market economies), in project management and in progress monitoring. Some of the subprojects contributed to the development of new investment projects. Nineteen of the twenty sub- projects planned were carried out: seven were for strengthening development policy and planning capacity; five helped with research analysis; and another seven sub-projects helped key planning institutions in economic and financial reform. These sub-projects included the holding of technical seminars in China, study tours of staff to international cooperation agencies, and the provision of equipment. Implementation was initially slow, with disbursements of only 30 percent of the credit proceeds by 1990. By the time of closing, about 87 percent of the proceeds had been disbursed, and one of the sub-projects was dropped (resulting in the cancellation of the proceeds allotted to it). Factors that affected the performance of the project included the impact of austerity measures that resulted in project slowdown; the political shock of 1989 and its aftermath; and problems of coordination among designated implementing agencies, which led to erratic reporting and difficulties in project monitoring. The ICR rates the project outcome as satisfactory, sustainability as likely, institutional development impact as substantial, and Bank performance as satisfactory. The Operations Evaluation Department agrees with these ratings. The ICR is of satisfactory quality. Lessons learned from this operation include: (i) projects with many sub-components would benefit from a single coordinating agency for project implementation; and (ii) for the training components, participating agencies should provide a thorough assessment of needs early in the implementation process. An audit of this operation, together with other related projects in China, is planned.