Voices from the field: a ROM review in Gambia

A ROM mission was conducted in January 2020 to assess a project implemented by UNOPS on the construction and maintenance of Gambia’s feeder road network. This was a remarkable effort in terms of both size and scale, with a great potential to reduce transportation challenges in the country -- and beyond.  The desk analysis pointed to two key themes shaping the narrative and development objective of the project: (i) the importance of cross-sector elements, (ii) the role of the State and private sector in driving forward road sector development in Gambia. The field mission was particularly informative by building on previous findings of the analysis and combining information from different sources and groups of stakeholders, including transport practitioners, government representatives and construction companies. Evidence collected during this phase showed two important lessons for all ROM missions. Firstly, projects have generally linkages and impact on multiple sectors of the economy and can be best understood if positioned within the “big picture”. Secondly, project objectives can be achieved most effectively when they manage to introduce an overall change to the system beyond project duration and when they manage to build a pool of “champions” from the public and/or private sector to sustain results achieved.