Mid-Term Evaluation
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UNITED NATIONS FONDS D‟EQUIPEMENT CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND DES NATIONS UNIES MID-TERM EVALUATION Bhutan Decentralisation Support Programme BHU/02/006 (UNDP) BHU/02/C01 (UNCDF) Final Report January, 2006 Bhutan – Mid-Term Evaluation, Decentralisation Support Programme, December 2005 Map of Bhutan with Dzongkhag (District) Boundaries i Bhutan – Mid-Term Evaluation, Decentralisation Support Programme, December 2005 Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ ii I. Executive summary ...................................................................................................... v 1. Purpose of the evaluation ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Objectives of the mid-term evaluation .................................................................................. 1 2. Evaluation methodology .............................................................................................. 3 2.1 Methods used ................................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Evaluation process .......................................................................................................... 4 2.3 Team composition ........................................................................................................... 5 3. Background .................................................................................................................. 6 3.1 Country context .............................................................................................................. 6 3.2 Project rationale............................................................................................................ 10 3.3 Project status ............................................................................................................... 10 4. Evaluation of DSP ..................................................................................................... 14 4.1 Results Achievement...................................................................................................... 14 4.1.1 Output 1 ............................................................................................................ 14 4.1.2 Output 2 ............................................................................................................ 15 4.1.3 Output 3 ............................................................................................................ 18 4.1.4 Output 4 ............................................................................................................ 19 4.1.5 Achievement of development and immediate objective ..................................... 21 4.1.6 Infrastructure and Service Delivery .................................................................... 24 4.2 Variables Affecting Successful Implementation and Results Achievement ................................. 27 4.2.1 External factors: ................................................................................................ 27 4.2.2 Project-related factors: ....................................................................................... 28 4.3 UNCDF Strategic Positioning and Partnerships ................................................................ 31 4.4 Sustainability of Results ................................................................................................. 32 4.5 Post Project Planning/Exit Strategy ................................................................................ 33 5.1 Project-level Lessons ...................................................................................................... 36 5.2 UNCDF-wide Lessons ................................................................................................. 36 6. Recommendations...................................................................................................... 38 6.1 Results Achievement...................................................................................................... 38 6.2 Variables Affecting Successful Implementation and Results Achievement ................................. 39 6.3 UNCDF Strategic Position and Partnerships .................................................................... 39 6.4 Sustainability of Results ................................................................................................. 39 6.5 Post Project Planning/Exit Strategy ................................................................................ 40 Annex 1: Evaluation Follow-up Matrix .............................................................................. 41 Annex 2: Work plan ........................................................................................................... 46 Annex 3: Terms of Reference ............................................................................................. 52 Annex 4: Decentralisation Support Fund – Infrastructure and Service Delivery ................. 62 Annex 5: Gender Assessment............................................................................................. 72 Annex 6: List of People Met ............................................................................................... 87 Annex 7: References........................................................................................................... 89 Annex 8: Completed Micro-Projects Per Sector Per District/Geog .................................... 90 ii Bhutan – Mid-Term Evaluation, Decentralisation Support Programme, December 2005 List of Abbreviations APF Alternative Planning Framework CBS Centre for Bhutan Studies DADM Department of Aid and Debt Management DANIDA Danish Aid DBA Department of Budget and Accounts DE District Engineer DFO District Financial Officer DLG Department of Local Governance/MoHCA DoP Department of Planning/MoF DPO Dzongkhag Planning Officer DSF Decentralisation Support Fund DSP Decentralisation Support Programme DYT Dzongkhag Yargye Tshogchung FY Financial Year FYP Five-Year Plan GDFA Geog Development Facilitating Activity GPIS Geog Planning Information System GYT Geog Yargye Tshogchung HRD Human Resource Development LC Letter of Credit LG Local Government LGDP Local Governance & Decentralisation Project M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MoA Ministry of Agriculture MoF Ministry of Finance MoHCA Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs MTE Mid-Term Evaluation MTET Mid-Term Evaluation Team NRTI Natural Resources Training Institute PD Programme Document PIR Policy Implementation Review RGoB Royal Government of Bhutan RIM Royal Institute of Management SCDMD Strengthening Capacities for Development Management and Decentralisation SNV Netherlands Development Organization TA Technical Assistance ToR Terms of Reference UNCDF United Nations Capital Development Fund UNDP United Nations Development Programme USD United States Dollar iii Bhutan – Mid-Term Evaluation, Decentralisation Support Programme, December 2005 Glossary Chatrim Rules, the constitutional law for the Cabinet Chimi The people‟s representative in the National Assembly Chiog Group of villages Chipon Household/ village representative on GYT Dzongdag Chief administrator of a district Dzongrab Deputy administrator of a district Dzongkhag District Geog Block, smallest geographic unit of administration Gup Geog head, elected representative for three years Maangmi Geog elder, also functions as deputy Gup Tshogpa Representative of a village or several villages on the GYT Zomdoo Village meeting iv Bhutan – Mid-Term Evaluation, Decentralisation Support Programme, December 2005 I. Executive summary The DSP has now been operational for more than two years and as stipulated in the Programme Document a Mid-Term Evaluation of project implementation should take place, so as to enable the RGoB and UNDP/UNCDF to get a full overview of progress to date and propose corrective measures, if any, for the remainder of the Programme. The DSP was signed in June 2003 and is planned to finish by mid 2007. The budget for the Programme is USD 3,500,000 and the calculated expenditure at November 2005 is USD 1,545,0001. This leaves roughly 50% of budget funds for the remaining 1 ½ year of Programme implementation. The key achievements of the Programme to date are: The decentralisation process has gathered further momentum with the establishment of Department of Local Governance/Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs in early 2005. RIM has carried out most of the training activities related to participatory planning in the districts and geogs. Almost 250 people in the DSP districts have participated in this training exercise. Unfortunately RIM did not register the participants by gender. The formula for deciding on the size of grants to DSP districts was developed after some initial inputs to the process from UNDP Regional Policy Advisor, Henrik Fredborg Larsen. A very simple system was introduced adding 4% per day of walking distance to nearest road point. The DSP has introduced some degree of minimum requirements for participating geogs in terms of being able to access the DSF. However, there is no proper performance based system of following up the effectiveness and efficiency of the goegs in implementing block grant projects. All the block grant funded geog projects visited by the MTET address issues relating to poverty such as lack of access to market for farm produce by constructing