ADB to Launch Center of Excellence to Boost Learning and Capacity Across Asia-Pacific

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is establishing a new ADB Center of Excellence, a learning platform designed to strengthen knowledge sharing and capacity building across its developing member countries (DMCs), as governments and institutions grapple with increasingly complex development challenges.

ADB President Masato Kanda said the new Center represents a strategic shift in how the Bank supports countries beyond financing, positioning ADB more firmly as a long-term knowledge partner for Asia and the Pacific.

He said the Center of Excellence builds on ADB's real-world project experience and deep technical expertise, helping member countries strengthen their ability to design, implement and sustain solutions that deliver tangible improvements in people's lives.

The Center will operate as a bank-wide coordination platform, drawing on expertise from across ADB and its partners, including the ADB Institute. It will focus on areas that are critical to successful project delivery, such as procurement, environmental and social safeguards, financial management, and sector-specific operational practices.

From the second half of 2026, the Center will begin rolling out tailored learning programmes for government officials, project implementers, and participants from the private sector and civil society. These programmes will be built around customised curricula, training materials and case studies drawn directly from ADB-funded projects and programmes, ensuring learning is practical, relevant and grounded in on-the-ground experience.

ADB says the programmatic approach will enable sustained engagement with DMCs over longer periods, supporting systematic capacity development rather than one-off training. The Center will also promote peer-to-peer learning and deepen collaboration with national institutions and development partners, expanding access to new ideas, expertise and innovation across the region.

The establishment of the Center of Excellence is anchored in ADB's newly adopted policy for technical assistance programmes, which places stronger emphasis on capacity building. By streamlining its technical assistance operations, ADB aims to provide more effective and efficient support to member countries as they prepare, finance and implement high-impact development projects.

ADB officials say the initiative creates opportunities for early adopters among governments and institutions to engage with the Center, co-design learning programmes and help shape a new model for development knowledge sharing in the Asia-Pacific region.