Member's Documents
Supply Chains and Backward Linkages
Published by: Independent Evaluation Department, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Bank projects often target transition impact by "extending markets” through direct or indirect positive effects on supply chains and backward linkages (SCBL). Where this is done it is generally the main or even sole expected source of transition impact. This evaluation examines a representative sub-set of projects where this has been done, assessing how and in what circumstances SCBL elements are integrated into project design and the performance observed against the SCBL objectives as stated. It finds significant shortcomings in key aspects of the Bank's approach and application, and it recommends a number of specific measures to strengthen both.
The evaluation began with a desk review of over 100 projects across various sectors, which confirmed that SCBL objectives appear most frequently, indeed almost exclusively, in food retail and automotive projects. The evaluation therefore focuses specifically on the SCBL elements in a sample of 16 projects in these sub-sectors in 9 countries; 8 of these are examined more in-depth as case studies. Thus the observations and ratings presented here relate to SCBL dimensions only; a full evaluation of project performance against all operational and transition objectives could well yield different ratings.
