The amount of money disbursed to fund international development projects has experienced a continuous increase within the last decade.
Project Cycle
The Project Cycle outlines the process of a project at the country level; from identification and preparation to final funding approval, implementation, completion, and evaluation.
UNDB is not involved in any part of the procurement process. Its responsibility is information dissemination and not project administration. The involvement of UNDB is solely between the approval and implementation phases of the project cycle when procurement notices are issued, bidding takes place, and contract awards are announced.
Procurement Cycle
The Procurement Cycle takes place during the implementation stage of the project cycle. It outlines the process of when the procurement of goods and services also requires the procurement of other deliverables.
In a typical World Bank procurement cycle, the Monthly Operational Summary provides information on future projects (i.e. proposed projects considered for funding). When a project is approved, a general procurement notice is published, after which bidders are able to evaluate and prepare for the bidding process to follow. The specific deadline is provided in the final request for procurement (Invitation to Bid or Request for Proposal), which is published by UNDB on its platform.
IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
What tangible impact do projects have in the developing world?
Each year, the UN system and the world’s leading development banks finance over $7 trillion worth of projects around the globe. Successfully executed projects can change the lives of people, communities and governments by delivering tangible results and developing local capacity. An increase in the number of hospitals or schools in a rural community can have ripple effects in sectors beyond health and education.
The Kalahi-CIDSS (KC) project in the Philippines (funded by MCC and ADB) is a perfect example of a project that had profound and measurable impact on the targeted communities. The KC Infrastructure sub-projects were particularly effective at improving community access to key services such as water, transportation, school, health clinics and markets. The construction of new classrooms saw increased school enrolment and decreased student to teacher ratio. Residents in KC communities became more familiar with local officials and governing bodies, and it was expected that they would use those skills outside of KC. Ninety-four percent of people sampled agreed that the KC project and sub-projects had positively impacted their lives.
In Kenya, the African Development Bank funded a number of highway projects that have transformed the lives of selected communities beyond the obvious reduction in travel time and congestion.
Norah Gesare, who runs a drugstore with her husband in Kasarani, reports a range of benefits to her family life thanks to the road. “I have been able to expand my business to include mobile cash transfer services, selling airtime besides running the drugstore. This is because of a considerable increase in traffic. I am also able to close the business late and reach home in good time to help my kids with their homework,” said Gesare. The mother of four says that when she is out of stock, it only takes her 20–30 minutes to restock her pharmacy because of the ease of movement to and from Nairobi along the highway. “The road has changed my life,” she added with a smile.
In 2000, world leaders came together to commit to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with its overarching ambition of cutting poverty in half by 2015. The successful implementation of many of the MDG goals led to the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new 15-year blueprint to address and redress the 17 most intractable challenges facing mankind.