FUST) Phase IV, (2014-2018
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October 18th, 2018 Independent external evaluation of the Flanders/UNESCO Science Trust Funds (FUST) Phase IV, (2014-2018) Final report <double-click to insert Picture> www.technopolis-group.com Independent external evaluation of the Flanders/UNESCO Science Trust Funds (FUST) Phase IV, (2014-2018) Final report technopolis |group| 19 October 2018 Carlos Hinojosa, Senior Consultant, Technopolis Group Juan Carlos Salazar, Senior Consultant, Technopolis Group Dr. Mercy Borbor, Facultad de Ingeniería Marítima, Ciencias Oceánicas y Recursos Naturales (FIMCBOR), Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Ecuador The evaluation team would like to extend a special thanks to the members of the evaluation reference group for their support and valuable feedback, as well as to all FUST stakeholders and beneficiaries who took the time to share their experiences and vision of FUST with us Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 7 1.1 General presentation of FUST & its key objectives ....................................................................................... 7 1.2 The purpose and scope of the evaluation ....................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Methodology of the evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Limitations to the evaluation methodology .................................................................................................. 11 2 Key evaluation findings ........................................................................................................................ 12 2.1 FUST relevance ............................................................................................................................................. 12 2.1.1 Assessment of FUST-level relevance ................................................................................................... 12 2.1.2 Relevance of FUST-supported projects ............................................................................................... 13 2.2 FUST effectiveness ........................................................................................................................................ 16 2.2.1 FUST outputs in figures: projects and activities supported ............................................................... 16 2.2.2 Achievement of FUST-level goals and ambitions ................................................................................ 18 2.2.3 FUST project effectiveness ................................................................................................................... 21 2.3 FUST efficiency ............................................................................................................................................. 24 2.3.1 FUST-level governance and steering ................................................................................................... 24 2.3.2 The FUST model for UNESCO trust funds and cooperation with donors ......................................... 26 2.3.3 Project-level governance and steering ................................................................................................. 26 2.3.4 Project-level management .................................................................................................................... 27 2.3.5 The role of partnerships in project-level management ....................................................................... 32 2.3.6 Financial leverage ................................................................................................................................. 34 2.4 FUST Sustainability ...................................................................................................................................... 34 2.4.1 FUST-level sustainability ..................................................................................................................... 34 2.4.2 FUST project sustainability .................................................................................................................. 35 3 Overall conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 38 3.1 Relevance.......................................................................................................................................................38 3.2 Efficiency .......................................................................................................................................................38 3.3 Effectiveness/Signs of Impact ...................................................................................................................... 39 3.4 Sustainability................................................................................................................................................. 41 3.5 Adequacy of FUST Governance, management and coordination mechanisms ......................................... 43 4 Evaluation recommendations .............................................................................................................. 44 Evaluation questions ............................................................................................................... 47 Overview of interviews conducted as part of the evaluation ................................................. 50 Interview guidelines ................................................................................................................ 55 List of documentary and data sources collected during the inception phase and consulted in the framework of the evaluation ............................................................................................................. 58 Evaluation timeline .................................................................................................................60 i List of projects supported under FUST phase IV ................................................................... 61 Detailed presentation of the selected evaluation projects .................................................... 63 Assessment of project performance frameworks and monitoring procedures ................... 69 Overview of project-level steering groups ............................................................................... 73 Tables Table 1 Breakdown of FUST Phase IV projects by geographical focus ........................................................................ 17 Table 2 Breakdown of FUST Phase IV projects by implementing unit ....................................................................... 17 Table 3 Overview of project outputs ............................................................................................................................. 21 Table 4 Level of completion and consumption of allocated budgets for projects selected under Phase IV of the FUST .............................................................................................................................................................................. 29 Table 5 Overview of key FUST project partners (local) ............................................................................................... 32 Table 6 Evaluation questions for the evaluation of FUST Phase IV ............................................................................ 47 Table 7 Overview of interviews conducted as part of the FUST phase IV evaluation .................................................50 Table 8 Assessment of project performance frameworks and monitoring procedures .............................................. 69 Table 8 Assessment of project performance frameworks and monitoring procedures .............................................. 73 Figures Figure 1 Overall study organization .............................................................................................................................. 10 Figure 2 Overview of consolidated feedback results for OTGA training courses (data provided by the OTGA project) ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 3 Evaluation timeframe .................................................................................................................................... 60 ii List of abbreviations BRESEP: Biosphere Reserves as a Tool for Coastal and Island Management in the South-East Pacific Region CAZALAC: Centro Regional del Agua para Zonas Áridas y Semiáridas de América Latina y el Caribe CONAFOR: National Forestry Commission Chile FUST: Flanders/UNESCO Trust Funds for the support of UNESCO’s Activities in the Field of Science GHG: Greenhouse Gas GoF: Government of Flanders G-WADI: Water and Development Information for Arid Lands Global Network IHP: International Hydrological Programme ICIWARM - International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM) - IOC: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission IODE: International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange INVEMAR: Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras Colombia MAB: Man and the Biosphere Programme MWAR-LAC: Managing Water Resources in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of Latin America and the Caribbean