Sahel Resilience Learning (Sarel)
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SAHEL RESILIENCE LEARNING (SAREL) Midterm Performance Assessment of USAID’s “Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced” (RISE) Initiative in Burkina Faso and Niger Phase II Efficacy Review (Approved) August 2017 This document was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by The Mitchell Group, Inc. (TMG). SAHEL RESILIENCE LEARNING (SAREL) Midterm Performance Assessment of USAID’s “Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced” (RISE) Initiative in Burkina Faso and Niger This document has been prepared for USAID, under Contract No. AID-625-C-14-00002, Sahel Resilience Learning Project (SAREL). Prepared by: John Grayzel, SAREL TMG Assessment Team John Grayzel Zakari Madougou Daniel Thieba Suzanne Coulibaly Marcel Bengaly Toujani Saratou Primary Contacts: Steve Reid, Chief of Party, SAREL, Niamey, Niger, [email protected] Jenkins Cooper, Vice President Operations, The Mitchell Group, Inc., Washington, DC, [email protected] The Mitchell Group, Inc. 1816 11th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 Tel.: 202-745-1919 The Mitchell Group, Inc. SAREL Project Derrière ORTN Quartier Issa Béri Niamey, Niger Page ii SAHEL RESILIENCE LEARNING (SAREL) Midterm Performance Assessment of USAID’s “Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced” (RISE) Initiative in Burkina Faso and Niger Midterm Performance Assessment of USAID’s “Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced” (RISE) Initiative in Burkina Faso and Niger Phase II Efficacy Review (Approved) August 2017 DISCLAIMER The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. Page iii SAHEL RESILIENCE LEARNING (SAREL) Midterm Performance Assessment of USAID’s “Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced” (RISE) Initiative in Burkina Faso and Niger Acknowledgements The field assessment team contributing to this report consisted of the following team members: John Grayzel Zakari Madougou Daniel Thieba Marcel Bengaly Suzanne Coulibaly Abolbol Mohammed Toujani Saratou Page iv SAHEL RESILIENCE LEARNING (SAREL) Midterm Performance Assessment of USAID’s “Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced” (RISE) Initiative in Burkina Faso and Niger Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................. v Table of Tables ................................................................................................................................................. ix Table of Figures ................................................................................................................................................ ix Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................................... x Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 2 1.0 RISE Background ................................................................................................................................. 7 1.1. Program.............................................................................................................................................. 8 1.2. Partners and Activities .................................................................................................................... 8 1.3. Organization and Internal Relations ......................................................................................... 12 1.4. External Relations ......................................................................................................................... 12 1.5. RISE on the Local Level ............................................................................................................... 13 2.0 Assessment Objectives, Methodology, and Limitations .......................................................... 14 2.1. Objective......................................................................................................................................... 14 2.2. Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 14 2.3. Questions ........................................................................................................................................ 15 2.4. Two-Phased Process .................................................................................................................... 16 2.5. An Iterative Process ..................................................................................................................... 16 3.0 Critical Contexts and Dynamics ................................................................................................... 16 3.1. Situational Imperatives ................................................................................................................. 16 3.1.1. Climate.................................................................................................................................... 17 3.1.2. Water...................................................................................................................................... 17 3.1.3. Economic Realities ................................................................................................................ 17 3.2. Commanding Relations................................................................................................................ 17 3.2.1. Individuals, Households, Communities, and Networks ............................................... 17 3.2.2. Importance of Links, Nodes, Networks, and Associations ......................................... 18 3.2.3. Class, Age, Ethnicity, and Religion .................................................................................... 18 3.2.4. Social Services and Social Realities ................................................................................... 19 3.3. Governance: Structures and Dynamics .................................................................................... 19 3.3.1. Structures of Governance .................................................................................................. 20 3.3.2. Leadership .............................................................................................................................. 20 3.3.3. Public Administration and Devolution of Authority ..................................................... 21 Page v SAHEL RESILIENCE LEARNING (SAREL) Midterm Performance Assessment of USAID’s “Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced” (RISE) Initiative in Burkina Faso and Niger 3.3.4. Official Development Strategies ........................................................................................ 22 3.3.5. The Functional Importance of Local Government ........................................................ 22 3.3.6. Commune and Village Development ................................................................................ 23 3.3.7. The NGO Sector and Donor-Funded Activities ........................................................... 24 3.4. Transformative Dynamics ........................................................................................................... 24 3.4.1. Presently Occurring Transformations ............................................................................. 25 3.4.2. Gender Concerns and the Role, Status, and Aspirations of Women....................... 25 3.4.3. Rural Versus Urban Realities ............................................................................................. 25 4.0 Field Survey Findings ....................................................................................................................... 26 4.1. Focus Group Perspectives on Resilience, Shocks, and Stresses ......................................... 26 4.1.1. Local Understandings of Vulnerability .............................................................................. 26 4.1.2. Local Criteria for Measuring Vulnerability ...................................................................... 26 4.1.3. Household Crisis Survival Strategies ................................................................................ 27 4.1.4. Beneficiary Perspectives on Addressing Vulnerability .................................................. 27 4.1.5. The Progression to Vulnerability in Times of Crisis ..................................................... 28 4.1.6. Adjusting to Donor Targeting ............................................................................................ 29 4.2. Focus Group Perspectives on Priority Assistance Activities .............................................. 30 4.2.1. Ranking of Focus Group Priorities for Resilience Assistance Activities ................... 31 4.2.2. Complementary Participant Priorities ............................................................................. 33 4.2.3. RISE Partner-Promoted Activities ..................................................................................... 34 4.2.4. Activities Conspicuously Not Mentioned in Focus Group Discussions ................... 35 4.3. The Importance of Capacities .................................................................................................... 36 4.3.1. Relations between Priorities and Capacities .................................................................