Asian Development Bank

Investments of the Asian Development Bank must accord with the ADB Charter, which defines as the bank's purpose "to foster economic growth and co-operation in the region of Asia and the Far East... and to contribute to the acceleration of the process of economic development of the developing member countries in the region, collectively and individually."

Investment decisions are made in deference to internal strategies for reaching developmental targets, and their implementation is guided by ADB's Regulations of Ordinary and Special Operations (OCR regulations) as well as by a series of operational policies. Social Policy, in this context, is defined with respect to specific dimensions of ADB work, e.g. governance and anti-corruption. Client obligations to avoid and mitigate social and environmental risks are specified in the ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement.

The ADB Operation Manual (OM)

The ADB Operations Manual (OM) collects operational policies known as Bank Policies (BPs) that follow from ADB Charter, regulations of the ADF and OCR, as well as other operational policies and strategies adopted by the ADB Board of Directors. The OM also includes Operational Procedures (OPs) that spell out procedural requirements and guidance on policy implementation.

Social Policy

Social policy at the Asian Development Bank can be conceptually divided into two groups:

1. safeguard policies, which seek to avoid, minimise, or mitigate adverse impacts of ADB operations ,
   - and -
   
2. aspirational / developmental policies, which articulate the ABD's aspirational notion of 'social development' and specify how these aims can be realized in practice.

Safeguards Policy

In 2009, the Asian Development Bank adopted its Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS). The SPS defines safeguard principles and outlines implementation and delivery processes for safeguard policy compliance. ^ref ADB clients are obligated to avoid, where possible, and mitigate, where inevitable, associated social and environmental risks per SPS specification.

The SPS builds upon (and supersedes) three previous safeguard policies: (i) the 2002 Environment Policy, (ii) the 1998 Policy on Indigenous Peoples, and (iii) the 1995 Policy on Involuntary Resettlement. ^ref.

In addition to the Safeguard Policy Statement, the ADB has published strategic frameworks for realizing socially-beneficial development, e.g. the Social Protection Operational Plan 2014−2020. ADB also undertakes periodic reviews of its progress toward policy implementation.

Aspirational / Developmental Policies

While safeguards policies are intended for risk avoidance, mitigation and management, other forms of social policy govern how the ADB invests in development initiatives. These 'aspirational development policies'^ref. set out to better articulate ADB's notion of 'social development' and to address how these aims can be realized in practice.

Strategy 2020 is among the most recent examples of ADB development policy. Strategy 2020 reaffirms ADB's vision of an Asia and Pacific free of poverty as well as its mission to help its developing member countries improve their living conditions and quality of life. To achieve these ends, Strategy 2020 prioritizes three complementary development agendas: inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. To better ensure that it is achieving the goals of Strategy 2020, ADB also developed a results framework to facilitate progress assessments and evaluation of strategy efficacy.

Earlier development policies of the Asian Development Bank that remain in effect are the 2003 Policy on Gender and Development and the 2001 Social Protection Strategy.

The 2003 Policy on Gender and Development (GAD) seeks to mainstream awareness of gender issues in order to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment across all ADB operations—from country partnership strategies to the design and implementation of gender-inclusive projects and programs. The GAD policy is a stand-alone instrument and regarded by ADB as a necessary component for realizing sustained economic growth, faster poverty -reduction, and inclusive development. The GAD policy's relevance and approach were confirmed by the 2002 Interim Progress Report on the Policy on GAD and 2006 GAD Policy Implementation Review. Gender issues are also addressed ADB’s long-term strategic framework—Strategy 2020—as one of the five drivers of change. The results framework measures the Bank's performance with regard to gender issues relative to quantiative targets, which are tracked and reported annually.

The 2001 Social Protection Strategy (SPS) establishes the meaning of 'social protection' within ADB operations as a set of policies and programs designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labor markets, diminishing people's exposure to risks, and enhancing their capacity to protect themselves against hazards and interruption/loss of income. Priority interventions under this framework are those supporting social assistance and welfare services, including child protection and micro- and area-based schemes for poverty and vulnerability rediction; social insurance programs to cushion risks associated with unemployment, ill-health, disability, work-related injury and old age; and labor market policies and programs designed to generate employment, improve working conditions.