During project appraisal, ADB Group examines project feasibility through an appraisal mission. The appraisal mission - in consultation with the government and other stakeholders - examines the project's technical, financial, economic, technical, institutional, environmental, marketing, and management aspects as well as potential social impact.

Detailed project risks and sensitivity analyses are carried out to assess viability of the proposed project. Loan terms and conditions for loan effectiveness are discussed to improve sector performance and address key policy issues. These issues are examined internally in inter-departmental working group and senior management meetings to determine how ready the project is for submission to the Board of Directors of the Bank Group.

Following the field appraisal, the mission then prepares an appraisal report with memorandum of loan proposal from the President to the Board and draws up a draft loan agreement for negotiation. It is the policy of the Board of Directors of the Bank Group to approve a project or programme for financing only on the basis of appraisal reports prepared and submitted by the Bank’s own staff, even where a project has been previously appraised by other co-financing institutions.

One of the tools ADB staff use in this complex project cycle activities particularly for project design and monitoring is the operations manual, which is posted on the web as a draft before the project's appraisal mission. ADB posts on the web a brief factual summary of the project. You can search ADB's project database for a summary of the project and to see all documents related to a project in one view. The summary will either be in the form of a project profile or project information document.