Final Evaluation of the Project “Building Capacities for Sustaining Peace in Mindanao” A joint Project implemented by UNDP, UNICEF and UN-Women in the Philippines (Oct 2017-Apr 2019) Final Report April 2020 Prepared by: Milica (Radivojevic) Turnic Team Leader [email protected] Final Evaluation of the Project “Building Capacities for Sustaining Peace in Mindanao” 2 COVER PAGE PHOTO: Safe Space for pupils constructed in Ramon Enriquez High School from Labuan, Zamboanga City, Photo Credits @ Labuan Peace Warriors Project Team, May 2019. Local community matched PBF support valued at 15,000 pesos with 20,000 pesos as its own in-kind and cash contribution towards the construction of the Safe Space corner in the school. This Safe Space promotes the idea of dialogue and moves the pupils away from the streets which is especially important for those at the risk of drop-out. A total of 72 teachers work with 65 pupils on average per classroom, and they conduct classes at the hallways and school parks. Now, instead of going to the street and wandering around between classes, over 2,200 students belonging to Christians, Subanen, Yakan, Samal, Kalibugan, and Tausug have their space to meet, discuss their priorities, and spend time on academic and co-curricular activities. A team of nine teachers and boys and girls named Labuan Peace Warriors mobilized their local community to contribute in cash and construction materials towards the construction of this Safe Space in 2019. Waiver: The attitudes and conclusions here represent the personal views of the Evaluation Team Leader who bears the sole responsibility for this evaluation report. Under no circumstances, UNDP, UN-Women or UNICEF, RCO or any UN agency endorse the opinions expressed herein. Final Evaluation of the Project “Building Capacities for Sustaining Peace in Mindanao” 3 Acknowledgements: The work on the Final Evaluation of the Joint Project "Building Capacities for Sustaining Peace in Mindanao" funded by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) is finally completed. The Evaluation Team remains deeply grateful to the men and women, boys, and girls who have participated in this evaluation and who have often traveled from remote areas to meet the Evaluation Team. The wise and caring peace builders, young women and men, representatives of implementing partners, indigenous women and men, civil society organizations, religious leaders, insider mediators, government officials, volunteers, university's staff, teachers and boys and girls of Mindanao, spoke about their experiences, programming, financial and administrative successes, and challenges. We sincerely hope that their views and hopes for the future of Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will be continuously incorporated by the decision-makers in crafting the agenda for the future of BARMM and the Philippines. This evaluation would not have been possible without the support of UNDP, UNICEF, UN-Women, UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) and Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) teams based in Manila, and above all, UNDP, UNICEF and UN-Women staff based in Cotabato Field Office. Your dedication and willingness to share your professional and personal knowledge gave me a new perspective on the role and behavior of the UN staff in the development and I admire you for that. Special thanks go to the UNDP Evaluation Manager, Mr. Nelson Peloton Jr., for his technical and professional guidance, inputs, and above all, for his attitude and willingness to go one step beyond what was possible while planning and carrying out this evaluation process. The evaluators owe special gratitude to the Evaluation Reference Group members for their constructive feedback on various versions of the Inception Report and the Evaluation Report. Your suggestions and thoughtful questions were crucial in improving the text, and the final report the way it looks today. In the end, this evaluation process would have been impossible without the professional support and technical expertise of the five-person Evaluation Team. As a peer-evaluator, Ms. Tatjana Obradovic-Tosic made available her unprecedented gender equality and process facilitation expertise. She was the critical data triangulation reference point who critically Questioned conclusions and logic from the methodological design to data analyses and the evaluation report finalization and presentation. I remain grateful for her energy, support, and solidarity at times when I felt stuck and exhausted. Final Evaluation of the Project “Building Capacities for Sustaining Peace in Mindanao” 4 Then, I owe my deepest gratitude to my colleagues, the National Evaluation Consultant, Mr. Ombra Imam Ed.D., and our Mindanao-based research team comprised of the three Moro women: Senior Researcher, Ms. Maripaz C. Abas Ed.D., Professor and Dean of a State College in Cotabato City; Ms. Zajarah M. Duma, English language assistant professor; and, Ms. Sharida D. Mandi, licensed social worker and skillful transcriber. This magic team was crucial in facilitating evaluation logistics, conducting the key informant interviews and focus group discussions, transcription, and translation from Tagalog to English. This team has added value to the methodological insights, collection of bibliographic reference of documents reviewed, Quality of data collected, and most importantly, ensured a personal feeling of security and respect among the respondents. This team provided crucial explanation of the peace process within the introduction and overview chapter of the report and has also traveled far and beyond to meet Moro male and female leaders and to engage them in the evaluation process. I appreciate their contribution to the evaluation process and data analyses from Moro men and boys, women and girls' perspective. In the end, I dedicate this evaluation report to my father, Vlado Radivojevic, who was patient with me and my choices in life and from whom I inherited the passion for mathematics, attention to details, punctuality, and fanatic organizational skills. His faith in me, encouragement and love, kept me going even when the times were tough and when many were not brave enough to take a step forward. I wish for the Moro leaders in the Philippines, and in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, to provide love and support to their daughters and sisters, partners, and female relatives, and to encourage them to continue with their education and carrier aspirations. My father, who was working with military forces as a civilian, not only invested money in my education and in my carrier, but also provided care and guidance to his two grand-daughters from their birth and especially when they lost their own father. Dear Father, for all your love and support, I remain forever grateful. And proud. Until we meet again, rest in peace. Milica Turnic 26 April 2020 Final Evaluation of the Project “Building Capacities for Sustaining Peace in Mindanao” 5 I. Project and evaluation information details Project/Outcome Information Project/outcome title PBF-IRF-188: Building Capacities for Sustaining Peace in Mindanao (Philippines) Project ID 001069461 Atlas (Output) ID 00107423 Corporate outcome and output: PBF focus areas: - Three focus areas: 1.4. – Political dialogue; 2.1. – National reconciliation; 2.3. – Conflict prevention/management; UNDAF for the Philippines 2012-2018, outcome area 3: Democratic governance and related outputs: - 3.1. Citizens’ participation and oversight - 3.2. Integrity and accountability - 3.3. Local development planning and management - 3.4. Conflict prevention and peacebuilding - 3.5. Population and development - 3.6. Women’s empowerment Country Philippines Region Asia and the Pacific Date Project document signed 14 September 2017 Start End Project dates2 24 October 2017 30 April 2019 Project budget USD 3,000,000 Project expenditure at the time USD 2,950,000 of evaluation – 01 Nov 2019 (remaining USD 50,000 for Project Evaluation) Funding source Peacebuilding Fund IRF Implementing party3 Recipient UN Organization(s): UNDP, UNICEF, and UN-Women Evaluation information Evaluation type Project evaluation Final/midterm review/ other Final Period under evaluation Start End 24 October 2017 30 April 2019 Evaluators: Ms. Milica Turnic, Team Leader Tatjana Obradovic-Tosic, [email protected] Mr. Ombra Imam, National Consultant, [email protected] Evaluator’s email address: [email protected] Evaluation dates: Start Completion 27 Aug 2019 30 April 2020 1 http://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/project/00107354 2 http://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/project/00107354 3 The entity that has overall responsibility for implementation of the Project (award), effective use of resources, and delivery of outputs in the signed Project Document and work plan. Final Evaluation of the Project “Building Capacities for Sustaining Peace in Mindanao” 6 II. Table of Contents I. PROJECT AND EVALUATION INFORMATION DETAILS .................................................................................... 5 II. TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................................... 6 III. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................... 9 IV. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................