Final Evaluation of the Socio-Economic Development of Communities Around Radioactive Sites in Kyrgyzstan Project

FINAL EVALUATION OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITIES AROUND RADIOACTIVE SITES IN KYRGYZSTAN PROJECT Project ID: 00092094 Country: The Kyrgyz Republic Starting Date: 1 January 2015 Completion Date (planned): 31 December 2016 Completion Date (estimated): 30 June 2017 Evaluation period: April-May 2017 Executing Agency: UNDP JUNE 2017 1 Submitted to: UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic Prepared by: Alisher Nazirov, Evaluation Expert Disclaimer. This is an external evaluation. The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of UNDP. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................................................. 4 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................................ 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................. 6 1. INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT.......................................... 8 1.1 Description of the Project ............................................................................................................................ 8 2. PURPOSE OF THE EVALUATION ................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Key Questions and Scope of the Evaluation .......................................................................................... 11 2.2 Approach and Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 13 3. FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................................................... 15 3.1 Relevance ........................................................................................................................................................ 15 3.2 Efficiency .......................................................................................................................................................... 16 3.3 Effectiveness and results .............................................................................................................................. 17 3.4 Sustainability ................................................................................................................................................... 19 3.5 Human Rights and Gender ......................................................................................................................... 20 3.6 Partnerships and Cooperation ................................................................................................................... 21 4. LESSONS LEARNED ............................................................................................................................................. 22 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................... 24 5.1 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 24 5.2 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................ 24 6. ANNEXES ................................................................................................................................................................ 26 6.1 Terms of Reference and Code of Conduct signed by evaluator ....................................................... 26 6.2 Agenda ............................................................................................................................................................. 35 6.3 People Consulted .......................................................................................................................................... 38 6.4 Evaluation questions ..................................................................................................................................... 40 6.5 Planned and utilized financial expenditures and leveraged funds ....................................................... 42 6.6 Comparative analysis of the project outputs, targets and indicators ............................................... 43 6.7 Project summary achievement assessment ............................................................................................. 46 6.8 List of the project publications .................................................................................................................. 48 6.9 List of articles available online ................................................................................................................... 48 6.10 List of Awareness Raising Campaigns ...................................................................................................... 52 6.11 List of trainings and workshops ................................................................................................................. 53 6.12 Results of small grants competition .......................................................................................................... 54 6.13 List of projects implemented by location ................................................................................................ 55 6.14 Summary of projects implemented by components ............................................................................. 63 6.15 Main partners and their roles .................................................................................................................... 64 6.16 Selected Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 65 6.17 Management Response ................................................................................................................................ 66 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Evaluation Expert (EE) would like to thank UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic for facilitating this evaluation. In particular, EE would like to express his gratitude to UNDP office in Naryn and acknowledge the crucial role of the Project staff in providing conducive environment, arranging meetings and taking care of logistics, promptly replying to numerous requests in an open and unrestricted manner often issued on ad-hoc basis, treating the exercise with diligence and high sense of responsibility. Appreciation goes to Bakyt Sheripbaev (Naryn Area-Based Development Programme Manager), Nurlan Sharshenkulov (Project Coordinator) and Aidai Ashiralieva (Programme Associate) for accompanying the EE during the field mission and their continuous support. This evaluation report could not have been possible without their valuable inputs and collaboration. 4 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ABDP Area-Based Development Programme AWP Annual Work Plan CO Country Office CPAP Country Programme Action Plan CPD Country Programme Document CSO Civil Society Organization DRM Disaster Risk Management DRR Disaster Risk Reduction EE Evaluation Expert GPAC Grant Projects Assessment Commission HRBA Human Rights-Based Approach M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MDG Millennium Development Goals MoES Ministry of Emergency Situations NGO Non-Governmental Organization NSDS National Sustainable Development Strategy SDG Sustainable Development Goals SMART Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound SME Small and Medium Enterprises ToR Terms of Reference UN United Nations UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEG United Nations Evaluation Group USD United States Dollar VCC Village Coordination Committee 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The object of this evaluation is the “Socio-economic development of communities around radioactive sites in Kyrgyzstan” project. With an overall budget of US$1.476 million donated by the Government of Russian Federation, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Kyrgyz Republic has initiated the project implementation in 2015 with an expectation to complete activities by the end of 2016. The project includes four interrelated components, which expected to contribute to achieving the principal objective of improving the well-being of inhabitants of the targeted populated areas affected by uranium, non-ferrous and complex ore mining via creation of an enabling environment for sustainable development of human potential. 1. Increasing local population awareness and creating a system for regular environmental monitoring. 2. Rehabilitating the social and economic infrastructure and developing gainful activities. 3. Supporting local initiatives with funding to be provided by the small grant fund. 4. Capacity building of local authorities and communities. Specifically, the Project contributes to comprehensive social and economic development of the populated areas Min-Kush (Jumgal rayon of Naryn oblast), Kadzhi-Sai (Ton rayon of Issyk-Kul oblast), Ak-Tyuz and Orlovka (Kemin rayon of Chui oblast) located in the vicinity of radioactive tailings sites and affected by especially difficult environmental and social conditions. The project was designed to improve the well- being of nearly 15 thousand inhabitants residing

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