Economic Development Activity (Seda) Featuring Outcomes Harvesting

EVALUATION REPORT FINAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY (SEDA) FEATURING OUTCOMES HARVESTING April 2020 This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared independently by ME&A, Inc. FINAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE SOCIO- ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY (SEDA) FEATURING OUTCOMES HARVESTING This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development under Contract/Task Order Number: AID-OAA-I-15-00024/72011219F00001 Prepared by: Zehra Kacapor-Dzihic, Team Leader Kathy Selvaggio, Deputy Team Leader Naila Hashimova, Local Technical Expert Chinara Abbasova, Evaluation Assistant Contractor: ME&A, Inc. 4350 East-West Highway, Suite 210 Bethesda, MD 20814 Tel: 301-652-4334 http://www.meandahq.com/ DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................... i 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Evaluation Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Evaluation Questions ............................................................................................................................ 1 2.0 PROJECT BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................. 1 2.1 Development Context ......................................................................................................................... 2 3.0 EVALUATION METHODS .............................................................................................................................. 4 3.1 Overall Approach .................................................................................................................................. 4 3.2 Evaluation Limitations ........................................................................................................................... 8 4.0 EVALUATION FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................. 10 4.1 EQ 1: What outcomes from the SEDA Activity are a) most evident and b) sustainable? . 10 4.2 EQ 2: What aspects of SEDA’s methodology, if any, are proven to be effective or not effective and how? ............................................................................................................................... 30 4.3 EQ 3: What distinguishes sustainable CDCs from the unsustainable ones? ......................... 34 5.0 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 36 6.0 LESSONS LEARNED ....................................................................................................................................... 39 7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 39 7.1 EQ 4: Based on the OH and evaluation of SEDA’s performance, what are the team’s observations or recommendations for areas of opportunity for future programming?..... 39 ANNEXES……… .......................................................................................................................................................... 42 Annex 1: Statement of Work ........................................................................................................................ 43 Annex 2: Data Collection and Analysis Tools ........................................................................................... 49 Annex 3: List of Consulted Documents ...................................................................................................... 56 Annex 4: List of Interviewed Persons .......................................................................................................... 61 Annex 5: List of Visited Communities ......................................................................................................... 65 Annex 6: Sample of Communities ................................................................................................................ 67 Annex 7: List of Infrastructure Projects ...................................................................................................... 70 Annex 8: Evaluation Team Members ........................................................................................................... 74 Annex 9: Disclosure of Conflict of Interest Form .................................................................................... 77 Annex 10: SEDA Activity Intervention Logic ............................................................................................. 80 Annex 11: Evaluation Schedule ...................................................................................................................... 81 Annex 12: Evaluation Matrix .......................................................................................................................... 88 Annex 13: Results of Questionnaires for CDCs, Local Executives and Municipalities, and Beneficiaries .......................................................................................................................................... 92 Annex 14: Assessment of Outcomes Harvested With the SEDA Team ............................................ 97 Annex 15: Observations on Outcome Harvesting Process ................................................................ 100 Annex 16: 2016 Public Perception Survey Data ..................................................................................... 103 Annex 17: Statement of Difference ........................................................................................................... 104 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of SEDA Regions and Communities ................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2: KIs and Participants in GDs (n=208) ........................................................................................................... 6 Figure 3: Survey Responses to the Question “In your opinion, what proportion of community members has the SEDA infrastructure project benefited?” .................................................................................. 12 Figure 4: Outcome Substantiation Through Field Inquiry “Community members have built greater trust and confidence in their ability to affect their own development through work with municipal authorities and ExComs” ............................................................................................................................ 20 Figure 5: Overview of Substantiation of Outcomes Relating to CDCs’ Ability to Engage in and Influence Public Policy Decisions Through Field Inquiry in Communities ........................................................ 24 Figure 6: Outcomes Relating to Women’s Empowerment ................................................................................... 26 Figure 7: Field Inquiry Map ............................................................................................................................................ 66 Figure 8: SEDA Activity Intervention Logic Diagram .............................................................................................. 80 Figure 9: Results for Question “In your opinion, to what extent do members of the community who were very active before, for example, women and youth, participate more actively in community discussions and in setting community priorities through the CDC?” (n=118) ........ 92 Figure 10: Results for Question “To what extent has the CDC helped to create a strong, trusting relationship between community members and local municipal authorities and/or ExComs?” (n=119) ............................................................................................................................................................ 93 Figure 11: Results for Question “Compared with the time before the SEDA project, to what extent do ExComs and municipal authorities share information critical to government decisions more openly with communities?” (n=53) ........................................................................................................... 94 Figure 12: Results for Question “Compared with the time before the SEDA project, do you believe that local socio-economic projects better reflect the needs and priorities of community members?” (n=53) .............................................................................................................................................................. 95 Figure 13: Results for Question “What proportion of community members has the infrastructure project benefited?” (n=23) ........................................................................................................................ 96 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Number and Type of GDs Conducted........................................................................................................

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