Report on the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Access to Information – II Project (a2i) For United Nations Development Programme Bangladesh November 2015 Evaluation Team: Roger Harris (team leader) Christine Apikul K. M. Mahiuddin Monower Mostafa REPORT ON THE MID-TERM EVALUATION OF THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION – II PROJECT Acknowledgements The team would like to acknowledge and thank all those who participated in the evaluation for their time and generosity in sharing their experiences and insights. In particular, the team owes sincere gratitude to UNDP Bangladesh, the Prime Minister’s Office and the a2i Project staff for their valuable contributions during the entire process of the evaluation. This evaluation benefited greatly from the input and organizational support provided by Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, Ramiz Uddin, Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst, Farzana Sultana, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Pushpita Saha, Research Assistant, and the Administration Team of the a2i Project. The team’s sincere thanks are also due to all the staff at a2i and the external stakeholders who were interviewed and had focus group discussions with during May and June 2015. Many government officials, donors, civil society/NGO activists, academics, trainers, business executives, entrepreneurs and beneficiaries provided important thoughts and insights. To all of them the team owes deep gratitude. Roger, Christine, Mahiuddin and Monower, July 2015 2 REPORT ON THE MID-TERM EVALUATION OF THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION – II PROJECT Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 7 2. Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1. Findings – Assessment against Project Outcomes .......................................................... 8 2.2. Findings – Assessment against Evaluation Framework ................................................. 12 3. Description of the Intervention ......................................................................................... 19 4. Evaluation Scope and Objectives ....................................................................................... 21 5. Evaluation Approach and Methods ................................................................................... 23 5.1. Evaluation Approach ..................................................................................................... 23 5.2. Evaluation Methodology ............................................................................................... 24 6. Findings – Assessment against Project Outcomes .............................................................. 25 6.1. e-Services ....................................................................................................................... 25 6.2. e-Service Delivery .......................................................................................................... 25 6.3. Users’ Perspectives ........................................................................................................ 29 6.4. Beyond e-Services ......................................................................................................... 30 6.5. National Portal Framework ........................................................................................... 31 6.6. Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 33 6.7. Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 34 7. Capacity and Awareness ................................................................................................... 35 7.1. Training on Innovation in Public Services ...................................................................... 35 7.2. Institutional and Political Support ................................................................................. 37 7.3. Incentives and Rewards ................................................................................................. 37 7.4. Training Resources ........................................................................................................ 38 7.5. Training Outcomes ........................................................................................................ 38 7.6. Methodology ................................................................................................................. 39 7.7. Analysis of Survey Results ............................................................................................. 40 7.8. Capacity Building for Citizen Engagement ..................................................................... 44 7.9. Other Training Activities ................................................................................................ 45 7.10. e-Learning ...................................................................................................................... 46 7.11. Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 46 7.12. Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 47 8. Enabling Environment ...................................................................................................... 48 8.1. Bangladesh’s Ranking in Global Indices......................................................................... 48 8.2. a2i’s Efforts in Improving Bangladesh’s Enabling Environment .................................... 49 8.3. Use of Social Media to Promote Government-Citizen Engagement ............................. 51 8.4. Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 51 8.5. Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 51 9. Innovation ....................................................................................................................... 53 9.1. Flagship Initiatives ......................................................................................................... 53 9.2. The Service Innovation Fund ......................................................................................... 54 9.3. Service Innovation Centre ............................................................................................. 56 9.4. Governance Innovation Unit ......................................................................................... 57 9.5. Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 57 9.6. Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 57 3 REPORT ON THE MID-TERM EVALUATION OF THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION – II PROJECT 10. Findings – Assessment against Evaluation Framework ............................................................ 58 10.1. Relevance ...................................................................................................................... 58 10.2. Effectiveness .................................................................................................................. 60 10.3. Efficiency ....................................................................................................................... 63 10.4. Impact ............................................................................................................................ 69 10.5. Partnerships ................................................................................................................... 73 10.6. Communication ............................................................................................................. 79 10.7. Knowledge Management .............................................................................................. 80 10.8. Project Management ..................................................................................................... 84 10.9. Gender ........................................................................................................................... 86 10.10. Challenges...................................................................................................................... 88 10.11. Sustainability ................................................................................................................. 91 10.12. Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................ 94 11. Annexes ........................................................................................................................... 96 11.1. Annex 1. a2i Project Documents ................................................................................... 97 11.2. Annex 2. List of People Met ........................................................................................... 98 11.3. Annex 3. Research Concept Note ................................................................................ 104 11.4. Annex 4. UDC Field Survey in Mymensingh and Rangpur ........................................... 106 11.5. Annex 5. Focus Group Discussion with Union Parishad Secretaries ..........................