Govt to launch red-yellow-green project monitoring dashboards  

The government is set to install digital tracking dashboards across all ministries to better monitor the progress of development projects and expedite their implementation by reducing procedural delays.

The dashboards will rank ongoing development projects based on their implementation performance using three colour codes: red, yellow and green.

Officials of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to inaugurate the dashboards this month.

According to IMED sources, projects with very poor or unsatisfactory implementation performance will receive a red rating, while projects progressing satisfactorily will be marked green. Projects with moderate implementation performance will receive a yellow rating.

Officials said projects will be classified based on several indicators, including the number of times their costs and deadlines have been revised, physical and financial progress, annual implementation progress, governance, procurement progress, land acquisition and human resource management.

IMED officials said they aim to complete a policy for ranking ongoing projects by 19 August.

The inauguration date will be finalised this month in consultation with the Prime Minister's Office, with the government targeting a launch before the end of August.

The dashboard will include implementation progress under both the government's revenue and development budgets. Initially, access will be limited to the prime minister, ministers and secretaries of different ministries. It may later be opened to the public.

It will also include the names and phone numbers of project directors and information on contractors assigned to different packages under procurement activities.

The dashboard has been developed under an IMED project and will allow the performance of individual ministries to be monitored. It will provide information on each project's objectives and activities, whether projects are progressing according to schedule and whether any projects have stalled with zero progress.

The prime minister will also be able to identify problematic projects and instruct the relevant authorities to take immediate action.

Data gaps remain a concern

IMED officials said project implementation data are supposed to be updated every month through the division's electronic Project Management Information System (e-PMIS). However, most ministries and divisions do not regularly upload the required information despite repeated reminders.

As IMED lacks the legal authority to compel ministries and divisions to provide the data, project monitoring is often hampered by incomplete information.

Officials believe that the new dashboard could encourage implementing agencies to submit information regularly, as project performance will be monitored directly by the prime minister, ministers and secretaries.

Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), welcomed the initiative, saying greater transparency in project monitoring could have a positive impact. However, she stressed that a strong accountability framework would be necessary to ensure its effectiveness.

She said making project information available would allow officials to assess their own performance and make them more cautious under greater scrutiny.

"But simply seeing or displaying information is not enough. The government must identify why a project was delayed, where the problems lie and take effective action," she said.

She also noted that delays can sometimes result from legitimate factors, including coordination problems involving multiple ministries or agencies, supply disruptions or natural disasters. Such factors should be properly analysed before determining responsibility.

Call for public access

Mamun-Al-Rashid, a former secretary of the Planning Division, said the dashboard was a timely initiative but its effectiveness would depend on how openly the information is shared and how the system is used.

He said restricting access would undermine the initiative's main objective.

"Dashboards like this should be made accessible to everyone. In Bangladesh, information of public interest often remains hidden unless it is made public. Effective change comes when information reaches the public," he said.

Mamun-Al-Rashid also stressed that creating the dashboard alone would not be enough.

As ministers have limited time and may not always be able to analyse detailed dashboard data, he suggested that IMED prepare a short, easy-to-understand monthly report based on the dashboard and send it to ministers and secretaries.

"If regular reports are provided in simple language, they will create pressure for accountability among the relevant officials, and only then will this initiative become more effective," he added.