UNIDO Thi Qar Finalx

UNIDO EVALUATION GROUP Independent Evaluation Report THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ Evaluation of Micro Enterprises for Reintegration of Internally Disp laced Persons in Thi Qar Governora te UNITED NATION INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION UNIDO EVALUATION GROUP Independent Evaluation THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ Evaluation of Micro Enterprises for Reintegration of Internally Disp laced Persons in Thi Qar Governora te TE/IRQ/08/004 UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELO PMENT ORGANIZATION Vienna, 2013 Distr. GENERAL ODG/EVA/11/R.67 April 2013 Original: English The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Mention of company names and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of UNIDO. The views and opinions of the team do not necessarily reflect the views of the involved Governments and of UNIDO. This document has not been formally edited. Contents Acknowledgements iv Abbreviations and acronyms v Glossary of evaluation related terms vi Executive Summary ix 1. Introduction and background 1 2. Country and project context 7 3. Project Implementation Structure 13 4. Implementation of the Three Project Components 19 5. Assessment of Results 33 6. Conclusions and Lessons learned 49 Annexes Annex A: Guide to the Beneficiary Questionnaire 53 Annex B: Summary of Beneficiary Survey Data 57 Annex C: Question and Response for the Trainer’s Focus Groups l 85 Annex D: Notes from the Field Mission Debriefing Meeting in Erbil 92 Annex E: Bibliography 102 Annex F: Relevance Matrix 104 Annex G:Terms of Reference 106 iii Acknowledgements The Evaluation Team received the full support of the members of the Project Steering Committee, Iraqi training institutions and UNIDO’s Project Management Unit in Thi Qar. All stakeholders, including the project beneficiaries and Donor representatives from the Government of Italy, participated in an open, frank and supportive manner. The high level of participation was itself a testament to the positive working relationship between the Counterparts, and the quality of the project’s achievements. The team would like to particularly thank Stavros Papastavrou, Technical Advisor for his support and dedication to the project. Chakib Jeanne, Project Manager, and Massoud Hedeshi, Evaluation Officer provided information and debate that was essential to improving the report findings. Regardless of the high quality of the support and information received, any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the Evaluation Team. The opinions expressed in this report are the responsibility of the team, and do not necessarily reflect the position of UNIDO. Review Team: David Gairdner, Senior Partner, Scan team (Team Leader), Dr. Riadh Al-Allaf, Scan team Associate, (Field Mission), Florence Mandelik, Scan team Associate (Research Associate) iv Abbreviations and Acronyms COSIT Central Organisation for Statistics and Information Technology FAO United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation IAU Interagency Information and Analysis Unit IDP Internally Displaced Person IOM International Organization for Migration LMI Lower Middle Income MENA Middle East and North Africa region MOLSA Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs MoM Ministry of Migration NVTC Nasariyah Vocational Training Centre PDS Public Distribution System UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organisation UNDP United Nations Development Programme VTC Vocational Training Centre v Glossary of Evaluation-Related Terms Term Definition Conclusions Conclusions point out the factors of success and failure of the evaluated intervention, with special attention paid to the intended and unintended results and impacts, and more generally to any other strength or weakness. A conclusion draws on data collection and analyses undertaken, through a transparent chain of arguments. Effectiveness The extent to which the development intervention’s objectives were achieved, or are expected to be achieved, taking into account their relative importance. Efficiency A measure of how economically resources/inputs (funds, expertise, time, etc.) are converted to results. Impacts Positive and negative, primary and secondary long-term effects produced by a development intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended. Indicator Quantitative or qualitative factor or variable that provides a simple and reliable means to measure achievement, to reflect the changes connected to an intervention, or to help assess the performance of a development actor. Institutional The extent to which an intervention improves or weakens development the ability of a country or region to make more efficient, impact equitable, and sustainable use of its human, financial, and natural resources, for example through: (a) better definition, stability, transparency, enforceability and predictability of institutional arrangements and/or (b) better alignment of the mission and capacity of an organization with its mandate, which derives from these institutional arrangements. Such impacts can include intended and unintended effects of an action. Lessons learned Generalizations based on evaluation experiences with projects, programs, or policies that abstract from the specific circumstances to broader situations. Frequently, lessons highlight strengths or weaknesses in preparation, design, and implementation that affect performance, outcome, and impact. Logframe Management tool used to improve the design of interventions, most often at the project level. It involves identifying strategic elements (inputs, outputs, outcomes, impact) and their causal relationships, indicators, and the assumptions or risks that may influence success and failure. vi Term Definition It thus facilitates planning, execution and evaluation of a development intervention. Related term: results based management. Outcome The likely or achieved short-term and medium-term effects of an intervention’s outputs. Related terms: result, outputs, impacts, effect. Outputs The products, capital goods and services which result from a development intervention; may also include changes resulting from the intervention which are relevant to the achievement of outcomes. Recommendations Proposals aimed at enhancing the effectiveness, quality, or efficiency of a development intervention; at redesigning the objectives; and/or at the reallocation of resources. Recommendations should be linked to conclusions. Relevance The extent to which the objectives of a development intervention are consistent with beneficiaries’ requirements, country needs, global priorities and partners’ and donors’ policies. Note: Retrospectively, the question of relevance often becomes a question as to whether the objectives of an intervention or its design are still appropriate given changed circumstances. Results The output, outcome or impact (intended or unintended, positive and/or negative) of a development intervention. Related terms: outcome, effect, impacts. Sustainability The continuation of benefits from a development intervention after major development assistance has been completed. The probability of continued long term benefits. The resilience to risk of the net benefit flows over time. vii viii Executive Summary UNIDO has supported five micro-enterprise projects in Iraq since 2004. The most recent project was implemented in the Thi Qar Governorate during the period 2008 to 2011; Development of Micro-Enterprise Industries for the Reintegration of Internally Displaced Persons (TE/IRQ/08/004). The project was implemented by UNIDO under the leadership of the Government of Iraq, with support from Italian Cooperation. Total value of the project was Euro 1,500,000. The goal of Development of Micro-Enterprise Industries for the Reintegration of Internally Displaced Persons was to assist the Government of Iraq in its efforts towards the reintegration and socio-economic recovery of IDPs. In this context, the project’s development objective was “to increase income-generating opportunities for the IDP community in the Thi-Qar Governorate through enhancing and diversifying their skills and by promoting the micro- and small- scale agro-enterprises sector.” UNIDO commissioned a final project evaluation, which occurred between August and October, 2011. The purpose of the evaluation was to “assess the overall design and orientation of the project, review the project’s implementation status and identify lessons learned”. The evaluation was implemented over four sequential components: a) Review of project documents, supplemented by participation in the final Project Steering Committee meeting, convened in Rome 5-6 July 2011. The process generated initial findings to support design of the field survey and interview tools; b) Field mission to Thi Qar, which took place over a two week period in August 2011. The mission was conducted by an Iraqi evaluation specialist with support from the UNIDO Project Management Team. The mission included interviews with key stakeholders, site inspection at the Vocational Training Centre facilities, other training facilities and the community development project, a field survey comprised of a random sample of 97 beneficiaries and focus group discussions at all four training sites; c) Debriefing of initial results with UNIDO in Vienna, and; d) Drafting

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