Liberia - Learning Foundations Project

Overview & Synopsis

Ratings for the Learning Foundations Project for Liberia were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the Bank's performance was moderately satisfactory, and the monitoring and evaluation quality was substantial. Some lessons learned included: despite the extended timeframe for preparation and the delays encountered during Project implementation, the WB and the GoL could design and implement a Project that largely achieved its development objectives. This experience demonstrated that such an outcome is more likely when certain key factors are in place, specifically, alignment of the project with government priorities and maintaining flexibility during implementation. Leveraging the WB’s long-standing engagement in the education sector and securing the full involvement of the Local Education Group is critical for implementation success in challenging operating environments. The project team made a concerted effort to ensure that the Local Education Group endorsed all activities and that there was continuous engagement with this group to collectively address Project-related challenges where necessary. The WB’s long-standing engagement with the country's education sector ensured that the project leveraged all best practices established by other development partners and was well-targeted to the areas with the highest need. Strategic planning for concurrent projects. Preparing the LLF Project while the G2B and Improving Results in Secondary Education (IRISE) project(s) were under implementation, creating competing demands on both the Bank team and the MOE. Consolidating interventions into additional financing or sequencing projects, where possible, can reduce transaction costs and improve alignment. Successfully managing these demands involves strategic planning, prioritization, and coordination to maintain both quality and timelines. This is particularly important in contexts where the MOE has limited capacity to manage multiple operations simultaneously.