EXTERNAL EVALUATION REPORT OF THE PROJECT "COVENANT OF MAYORS CAPACITY BUILDING MODEL FOR UKRAINE AND GEORGIA – MODEL SOLUTION FOR EASTERN PARTNERSHIP AND CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES" IMPLEMENTED BY THE ASSOCIATION "ENERGY EFFICIENT CITIES OF UKRAINE" THE PROJECT WAS FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROGRAMME "COVENANT OF MAYORS EAST: SUPPORTING THE PARTICIPATION OF EASTERN PARTNERSHIP AND CENTRAL ASIAN CITIES IN THE COVENANT OF MAYORS", AS WELL AS BY THE ASSOCIATION "ENERGY EFFICIENT CITIES OF UKRAINE" AND OTHER PROJECT PARTNERS. EXTERNAL EVALUATION REPORT OF THE PROJECT "COVENANT OF MAYORS CAPACITY BUILDING MODEL FOR UKRAINE AND GEORGIA – MODEL SOLUTION FOR EASTERN PARTNERSHIP AND CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES" IMPLEMENTED BY THE ASSOCIATION "ENERGY EFFICIENT CITIES OF UKRAINE" Independent Evaluator Iryna Skorbun 2015 The report was developed in the framework of the project "Covenant of Mayors Capacity Building Model for Ukraine and Georgia – Model Solu- tion for Eastern Partnership and Central Asian Countries", implemented by the Association "Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine". The document contains the evaluation of the project implementation process and rec- ommendations regarding possible improvements for this process in the future. The report is addressed to the supervisory authorities of the European Union, the Executive Management of the Association "Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine", project’s stakeholders and all other interested parties. This document was prepared thanks to the financial support of the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of the author and does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. 2 CONTENTS 1. GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT 2. INTRODUCTION 3. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION 4. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS 5. LOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND INDICATORS OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION 6. SUSTAINABILITY OF RESULTS 7. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION FEATURES IN PARTNER CITIES 8. ACTIVITY OF CONSULTANTS 9. PROBLEMS AND WEAKNESSES 10. REVIEW OF EECU MONITORING AND EVALUATION PROCEDURES 11. COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC ACTIVITY 12. REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 13. RECOMMENDATIONS List of abbreviations References Annexes Annex 1. Scheme of the theory of changes Annex 2. Logical framework template Annex 3. Pictures taken during monitoring visits Annex 4. Semi-structured interview questionnaire Annex 5. Draft of manual on monitoring and evaluation 3 1 «COVENANT OF MAYORS CAPACITY BUILDING MODEL FOR UKRAINE AND GEORGIA» GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE PROJECT The «Covenant of Mayors Capacity Building Model for Ukraine and Georgia» Project was implemented in the framework of the European Commission programme «The Covenant of Mayors East: Supporting the Participation of Eastern Partnership and Central Asian Cities in the Covenant of Mayors» in 2011-2015. The project was implemented in partnership of public non-profit organizations and local authorities. The project partners of the Association «Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine» (EECU) were the Development Agency «Sinergija Ltd» (Slovenia), the «Energy Efficiency Centre – Georgia» (Tbilisi) on the part of Georgia, self-government cities of Rustavi and Gori, in Ukraine project partners were the executive committee of Kamianets-Podilskyi City Council (Khmelnytskyi region), the executive committee of Novovolynsk City Council (Volyn region), the executive committee of Berdiansk City Council (Zaporizhia region), the executive committee of Alchevsk City Council (Do- netsk region). The project activities took place in the cities participating in the project as well as in Lviv, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Dolyna (Ivano-Frankivsk region) and Tbilisi. THE PROJECT GOAL To support the efforts of local governments in Ukraine and Georgia (sub- sequently in other countries of the Eastern Partnership and Central Asia as well) in strengthening their energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emis- sion, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, increasing the share of alternative energy sources, savings costs, and improving quality of residents life. THE PROJECT MAIN TASKS ▶ To provide necessary information and technical support for city councils in Ukraine and Georgia for their active participation in the Covenant of Mayors. ▶ To strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian and Georgian project cities of addressing their Covenant commitments through the development and implementation of local sustainable energy policy and local Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs). 4 PROJECT TARGET AUDIENCE AND BENEFICIARIES ▶ Elective officials (city mayors and deputy corps) and local government personnel. ▶ Community of the project cities. ▶ Employees of the newly established Covenant of Mayors Supporting Structures in Georgia and Covenant of Mayors Energy Agency in Ukraine. ▶ Selected Ukrainian and Georgian urban energy experts. PROJECT ACTIVITIES FORESAW 1. Development of guidelines on political and organizational preparation for participation in the Covenant of Mayors for city councils. 2. Selection of appropriate methodologies and software tools and their adaptation to Ukrainian and Georgian conditions. 3. Competitive selection of Ukrainian and Georgian project pilot cities. 4. Organization and conduction of practical interactive training course based on the guidelines and adapted tools. 5. Development, support and promotion of the Covenant Supporting Structure in Georgia. 6. Development, support and promotion of the Covenant of Mayors Ener- gy Agency in Ukraine. 7. Support for the project cities in the developing energy management system for their public buildings. 8. Support for the project cities in the development of the СО2 emission registry. 9. Support for the project cities in the developing 3-year SEAP. 10. Development and implementation of awareness raising campaigns and participation programmes focused on gaining public support for local energy policies and SEAPs. 11. Implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures for public buildings in the pilot cities. 12. Technical and expert support for the project cities to fulfil the Covenant obligations. 13. Shifting the SEAP of one of the project cities into a practical investment plan. 5 THE COVENANT OF MAYORS This is a leading initiative, launched by the European Union in 2008. It cov- ers local and regional authorities, which undertake voluntary commitments to boost energy saving and increase the use of renewable energy sources on their territories. Following these commitments the Covenant signatories pledge to cut CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020, thus contributing to the developing environmentally oriented economy and improving quality of life. After the European Union climate and energy package was adopted in 2008, the European Commission launched the Covenant of Mayors to endorse and support the efforts deployed by local authorities in the development and implementation of sustainable energy policies, as up to 80% of energy con- sumption and CO2 emissions are associated with cities activity. To support municipalities that show their political will to sign the Covenant, but are lack of the necessary political and administrative potential, as well as of financial and technical resources to fulfil the requirements, some state authorities and networks that are able to support the signatories in achiev- ing their ambitious goals are offered a special status in the framework of the Covenant. The networks or associations of local authorities, which gain a status of the Covenant Supporting Structures, commit to maximize the impact of the ini- tiative through promotional activities, cooperation with their members and providing platforms for best practice exchanges. The Covenant Signatories, Coordinators and Supporting Structures are pro- vided with promotional, technical and administrative assistance from the Covenant of Mayors Office (CoMO) in Brussels and the Covenant of Mayors Branch Offices in Lviv and Tbilisi (CoMO-EAST). The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in cooperation with the Covenant of Mayors Offic- es assists signatories in scientific and technical issues associated mainly with baseline emission inventory and Sustainable Energy Action Plans. The signing ceremony of the new Covenant of Mayors on Climate and Energy was held at the European Parliament in Brussels on October 15, 2015. New Covenant of Mayors grew from the European initiative into an internation- al one and aims to achieve 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, to integrate and strengthen the efforts of cities in three main areas: pollution reduction, adaptation to climate change, improvement of energy efficiency and use of renewable energy. 6 2 INTRODUCTION This report is prepared on request by the Association “Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine” (EECU) in accordance to short-term contract on external evalu- ation of activity results of «Covenant of Mayors Capacity Building Model for Ukraine and Georgia» project, implemented in the framework of the Euro- pean Commission Programme “The Covenant of Mayors East: Supporting the Participation of Eastern Partnership and Central Asian Cities in the Covenant of Mayors”. The project started in late 2011, lasted for 45 months and finished on Septem- ber 30, 2015. During this period a significant progress was made in the imple- mentation of energy efficient technologies, however handling the problems of energy saving and energy efficiency by the local government and com- munity remains important for both Ukraine and Georgia as well as for other