Project teams within MCC and the MCA should be sufficiently staffed to draw on expertise from key sectors such as gender and social inclusion and environmental performance, while not overburdening team members who have broader responsibilities for cross-cutting work. ENRM was one of three projects under the Compact. However, it was not staffed separately within the MCC Country Team or by MCA like the other Compact projects. Instead, it was co-managed by the environmental and social and gender teams, which both have oversight responsibilities across the whole compact. As such, ENRM was implemented in addition to the cross-cutting duties undertaken for other compact activities. As a result, ENRM did not get dedicated focus, especially when problems arose such as a difficult resettlement that threatened the completion of the largest activity. Small dollar value projects could require high levels of effort for administration and oversight from MCA and MCC staff; therefore, it is important to adequately staff each project to provide administrative oversight and technical support.
MCC is addressing this lesson by organizing internal working groups tasked with reviewing staffing strategies and practices, and identifying models to ensure right-sizing of project staff within both the MCC Country Team and for MCAs.