The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group met on Wednesday, April 16, 2014 in Tunis and approved a revised framework for the selection and prioritization of regional operations. The revised Regional Operations Selection and Prioritization Framework aims at selecting the most relevant operations eligible for funding under the Regional Operations incentive mechanism based on cost-sharing financing where the countries contribute to a portion of project costs from their Performance Based Allocations (PBAs) while the Bank finances the remaining portion.

The Framework hinges on variables that can be used to respond to the enormous demand for such operations, by channeling resources to where they will deliver the most development impact.

Linked to performance through the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA), past experience in Regional Operations and commitment to regional integration of the countries involved in the operation, the variables at project level rely on strong quality at entry using readiness reviews and expected development outcomes.

Regional Public Goods will also be selected through the same process, whilst using a dedicated scorecard able to capture their distinct feature. The Regional Operations (ROs) incentive mechanism is currently limited to African Development Fund (ADF) funding, with a specific selection framework for Regional Public Goods (RPGs). The participation of fragile states in ROs could be further strengthened with the use of resources from the Fragile States Facility, and the RO incentive mechanism could be leveraged to better support policy reforms.

Projects filtered using the Rankings in Institutional Strategies and Processes (RISPs) are also expected to include those identified through continental initiatives such as NEPAD priority projects, the African Action Plan and the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).