Public Communications Policy Annual Report 2018

Abstract

1. This annual report on the Public Communications Policy 2011 (PCP) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) assesses the bank’s disclosure and communications performance in compliance with the PCP from 1 January 2018 through 31 December 2018. It is the seventh and final annual report on the implementation of the PCP. 2. The PCP, which took effect in April 2012, mandates that ADB review the policy after it has been in effect for 5 years. ADB conducted a 2-year policy review beginning in 2016,1 holding internal and external consultations and meeting with a variety of civil society groups, development partners, donors, and developing member country government officials from 16 countries and 1 region (Europe). 3. The review showed that the principles and disclosure exceptions of the policy were in line with those of other multilateral development banks and many countries. It also found that other multilateral development banks are shifting toward principles-based policies, which are now considered best practice for information disclosure. Further, annual assessments of the PCP showed that document disclosure was sometimes delayed because some of the policy’s disclosure requirements were outdated. 4. Based on the findings, ADB drafted a policy focused on principles—largely unchanged from the PCP—with the implementation details housed separately in ADB’s Operations Manual.3 This would allow the implementation arrangements to be updated by Management, as needed, to improve disclosure timeliness and policy effectiveness. Other proposed changes included removing background information sections, which had become outdated, and ADB’s public communications approach section.