Evaluation of the Policy and Human Resources Development Technical Assistance (PHRD TA) Program

The Policy and Human Resources Development (PHRD) Fund was established in 1990 through a joint agreement between the World Bank and the Government of Japan. This is the largest Trust Fund of the World Bank. The Fund’s fundamental objective is to alleviate poverty by developing capacity. PHRD has funded a variety of activities over the past 15 years, and currently has five main component programs: the PHRD Technical Assistance (TA) program, which is the subject of this evaluation; the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP); support to World Bank Institute (WBI) implemented capacity development programs; the Japan-World Bank partnership program; and the PHRD Staff and ETC Grants Program. The evaluation focused on the PHRD Technical Assistance (TA) program only and specifically on performance since the last evaluation thus covering the period from FY00 to FY06, inclusive. Specifically, the evaluation focused on project preparation grants, project implementation grants, climate change grants, and general PHRD TA program management. The objectives of the evaluation were to review the progress and assess the development impact since 1999 of the PHRD TA Program (“Program”); assess the achievements of the objectives of the Program; and make recommendations for improved operation of the Fund.