Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Afghanistan Capacity Building for Results Facility (CBR) (P123845) Afghanistan Capacity Building for Results Facility (CBR) (P123845) SOUTH ASIA | Afghanistan | Governance Global Practice | Recipient Executed Activities | Technical Assistance Loan | FY 2012 | Seq No: 11 | ARCHIVED on 24-Mar-2016 | ISR23092 | Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Finance, Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission, Administrative Office of the President Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date:11-Dec-2011 Effectiveness Date:21-Jan-2012 Planned Mid Term Review Date:20-Jan-2014 Actual Mid-Term Review Date:20-Jan-2014 Original Closing Date:31-Dec-2017 Revised Closing Date:31-Dec-2017 Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The project's development objective is to assist the government in improving the capacity and performance of select line ministriesin carrying out their mandates and delivering services to the Afghan people. This will be achieved through the implementation of specific capacity and institution building programs, which include systematic monitoring of and reporting on results. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No PHRPDODEL Components Name Technical Assistance Facility for Preparation and Implementation of Capacity Building Programs:(Cost $30.00 M) Building Human Resources:(Cost $280.00 M) Civil Service Training:(Cost $20.00 M) Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation:(Cost $20.00 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO  Moderately Unsatisfactory  Moderately Unsatisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP)  Moderately Unsatisfactory  Moderately Unsatisfactory Overall Risk Rating  High  High 3/24/2016 Page 1 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Afghanistan Capacity Building for Results Facility (CBR) (P123845) Implementation Status and Key Decisions CBR's development objective is “to assist the government in improving the capacity and performance of select line ministries in carrying out their mandates and delivering services to the Afghan people”. The Project Development Objective (PDO) level indicators are largely to be achieved by improving capacity and performance of line ministries through the provision of skilled civil servants to implement ministries’ reform programs. CBR is a ministry-wide program through which ministries can apply to develop a comprehensive reform plan, which is supported based upon progress on reform implementation and service delivery results. The program provides ministries with the opportunity to recruit high capacity staff into critical posts at salaries closer to the market rates. The aim is to increase on-budget service delivery and reduce reliance upon the so-called “second civil service”, i.e., national consultants conducting government functions. CBR supports on-going public administration reforms across government, training for selected civil servants, and limited technical assistance to support ministry reforms. Overall progress towards achievement of the development objective has been slow due to aspects of the project design, capacity issues, and political- economic factors. Establishing a comprehensive program with robust entry criteria, an appropriate salary scale and the necessary management systems was a complex undertaking given the environment. The pace of project implementation therefore required significant acceleration to reach the Project objectives within the targeted time frame, as highlighted in the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of January-February 2014. A mission was consequently conducted in February 2015 to confirm a set of proposed reforms to Project design and implementation arrangements of CBR. These reforms were agreed with His Excellency the President of Afghanistan and senior officials of the Government of Afghanistan and included agreement for high level leadership and clear implementation arrangements for the Project; simplified access for ministries to CBR; accelerated CBR civil service recruitments; and support for core components through the use of specialized firms. Following issuance of a decree in August 2015 by His Excellency the President of Afghanistan instituting the legal framework for these Project reforms, a Restructuring Mission was undertaken (August- September 2015) to formalize changes to the Project. Project Restructuring has now been finalized with the Restructuring Package currently being processed and expected to be approved by end of March 2016. Once processed and effective, Project Restructuring changes are expected to significantly improve performance and accelerate pace of implementation of the Project. In fact, marked progress has already started to be made including improved access to CBR for line ministries with CBR Proposals (CBRPs) now approved for eight of thirteen priority ministries and the remaining five close to completion. One key output of CBRPs is the recruitment of high capacity staff into critical posts at salaries closer to the market rates. 682 of these positions have recently been advertised and are close to completion. The Project further supports training for selected civil servants, and through the Afghan Civil Service Institute (ASCI), it has conducted two pilot trainings, one for SMGs and another for HR directors. The Project will also support 14 month Mid-level Management Development Programs (MMD), the first batch of which has now been launched. This program is the equivalent of a two-year work experience that will allow graduates to qualify for accelerated promotion to mid-level manager level across the civil service. Project Ratings assessed by the Mid-Term Review are recommended to be maintained as "Moderately Unsatisfactory" for both "Progress towards achievement of PDO" and "Overall Implementation Progress" until approval of Project Restructuring but are expected to be upgraded thereafter, in line with recent implementation progress achievements. 3/24/2016 Page 2 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Afghanistan Capacity Building for Results Facility (CBR) (P123845) Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance  --  High  High Macroeconomic  --  High  High Sector Strategies and Policies  --  High  High Technical Design of Project or Program  --  Moderate  Moderate Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability  --  High  High Fiduciary  --  Substantial  Substantial Environment and Social  --  Low  Low Stakeholders  --  High  High Other  --  --  -- Overall  --  High  High Results Project Development Objective Indicators PHINDPDOTBL  Development budget execution rates for Tier 1 ministries tend to rise over the course of the project (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 30.00 67.00 67.00 60.00 Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 PHINDPDOTBL  Number and percentage of targeted business process improvements achieved in Tier 1 ministries tends to rise over the course of the project (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 4.00 4.00 -- Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 3/24/2016 Page 3 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Afghanistan Capacity Building for Results Facility (CBR) (P123845) PHINDPDOTBL  Number and percentage of Tier 1 ministries achieving progress on at least 1 service targeted in their CBR proposals (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 1.00 1.00 -- Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 PHINDPDOTBL  Number of Senior Management Group (SMG) positions filled (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 70.00 102.00 102.00 750.00 Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 Overall Comments The PDO and PDO Indicators have been revised as part of Project Restructuring, and will be reflected by the next ISR update (once Restructuring is approved). The PDO (to be reflected in the next ISR update) has also been revised as part of Restructuring because the aspect of "delivering services to the Afghan people" is far-down the results chain, and may not be measurable or directly attributable to the project. In addition, it may not be achievable within the limited implementation period remaining in the project. The proposed PDO is focused on strengthening capacity and improving performance of priority line ministries and independent agencies in selected reform areas. This can be achieved within the remaining time-frame of the Project by supporting the restructuring of select line ministries and independent agencies, and helping them plan and budget by facilitating the required inputs (including skills) as identified in their respective Capacity Building for Results Proposals (CBRP). “Selected reform areas” refers to both “capacity” (e.g. recruitment and training) and “performance” (e.g. development budget execution and business process) target improvements that would vary for each line ministry and independent agency depending on its respective CBRP and CBRP Results Framework. Intermediate Results Indicators PHINDIRITBL  Number of CBR cadres established (professional cadres and common function groups) continuously increases during project implementation (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 5.00 5.00 10.00 Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 3/24/2016 Page 4 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Afghanistan Capacity Building for Results Facility (CBR) (P123845) PHINDIRITBL  Percentage of SMG deployed to sub-national positions (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 2.00 2.00 20.00 Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 PHINDIRITBL  Reduction in vacancy rates of tashkeel positions across government (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 -- Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 PHINDIRITBL  Number of women in senior civil service increases (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 80.00 93.00 93.00 100.00 Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 PHINDIRITBL  Number of ministries which have completed pay and grading. (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 8.00 22.00 22.00 22.00 Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 3/24/2016 Page 5 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Afghanistan Capacity Building for Results Facility (CBR) (P123845) PHINDIRITBL  All CBR ministries develop a functioning O&M management system within 18 months of participation. (Text, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target All ministries Value N/A 0 0 with CBR Proposals. Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 30-Dec-2017 PHINDIRITBL  Percentage increase in the amount of O&M budget allocated to sub-national departments in Tier 1 ministries. (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 -- Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 PHINDIRITBL  O&M budget execution rate of provincial departments in Tier 1 ministries increases. (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 -- Date 31-Dec-2011 06-Oct-2015 06-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2017 Overall Comments Intermediate Results Indicators were revised as part of Project Restructuring, and will be reflected by the next ISR update (once Restructuring is approved). The Project's Results Framework was adjusted (as part of Restructuring) to better reflect and track progress on the revised PDO. Consequently, changes proposed to the Results Framework attempt to focus the Project on meaningful results - towards core building blocks for improving government capacity and performance (PDO) - that can be achieved in the remaining implementation period. Upcoming (Restructuring) changes to the Results Framework can be summarized as follows: (i) simplification: dropping/revising indicators no longer relevant to the revised PDO or that have proved difficult to measure and/or attribute to the Project; (ii) changes in design/components: introducing new and/or revising existing indicators to reflect changes in design and scope of Project components, and (iii) introducing new indicators to meet the Bank’s corporate requirements on measuring CORE sector indicators, gender, citizen engagement and beneficiary feedback. Citizens will be engaged during implementation through establishment of a project-level grievance redress system that is able to receive feedback and respond to citizen’s complaints on various issues related to project activities supported in the respective line ministry and implementing agency. Targets were also revised from original projections to ensure these are achievable by project closing date. Recruitment targets for example are reduced from 2,400 to 1,500 although current data forecasts 1,914 will be recruited by project closing (682 are already in process). As part of the more focused approach prescribed by restructuring, the number of priority ministries required to develop CBRPs is reduced from 25 to 13 (8 have CBRPs already developed and approved). Minimum target for business process improvements – a key component of CBRPs - is reduced from 4 to 2 although several ministries have already exceeded this. Similarly, 6 of 13 priority ministries/agencies with approved CBRPs are currently meeting or exceeding the target for development budget execution improvement (60%). Other targets are revised in line with overall civil service benchmarks e.g. women’s representation (30%) and deployment to subnational level (15%). 3/24/2016 Page 6 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Afghanistan Capacity Building for Results Facility (CBR) (P123845) Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed Disbursed P123845 TF-11447 Effective USD 100.00 100.00 0.00 45.24 54.76 45% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P123845 TF-11447 Effective 21-Jan-2012 21-Jan-2012 21-Jan-2012 31-Dec-2017 31-Dec-2017 Cumulative Disbursements Restructuring History There has been no restructuring to date. Related Project(s) 3/24/2016 Page 7 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Afghanistan Capacity Building for Results Facility (CBR) (P123845) There are no related projects. 3/24/2016 Page 8 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy