© Courtesy of UNDP Archive: Photo taken by Vlad Ushakov in Issyk-Kul Rehabilitation Center Terminal Evaluation Report of the UNDP-GEF-Snow Leopard Trust (SLT) Project: “Transboundary Cooperation for Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Conservation” GEF Agency: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Implementing Partner: Snow Leopard Trust (SLT) Funding: GEF-5 UNDP Atlas Award ID: 00099684 GEF Project ID: 5886 Project Timeline: Feb. 2017 – Dec. 2020 Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan, Region & Country: Uzbekistan Kazakhstan, Evaluation Timeline: May to August 2020 Tajikistan UNDP PIMS: 5413 Submitted by: Jean-Joseph Bellamy Submitted on September 7, 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................................................................. II LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................... IV 1. MAIN CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND LESSONS .................................................................... 1 1.1. BACKGROUND - INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 3 1.3. RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 5 1.4. LESSONS LEARNT ........................................................................................................................................... 7 1.5. TE RATINGS AND ACHIEVEMENT SUMMARY TABLE ..................................................................................... 7 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT ........................................................................... 8 3. EVALUATION FRAMEWORK.............................................................................................................................. 9 3.1. OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................................................................. 10 3.2. SCOPE ........................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.3. METHODOLOGY............................................................................................................................................ 11 3.3.1. Overall Approach ....................................................................................................................... 11 3.3.2. Evaluation Instruments .............................................................................................................. 12 3.4. LIMITATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS ................................................................................................................. 13 4. EVALUATION FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................... 14 4.1. PROJECT FORMULATION ............................................................................................................................... 14 4.1.1. Analysis of Project Results Framework .................................................................................. 14 4.1.2. Assumptions and Risks ............................................................................................................. 16 4.1.3. Linkages between the Project and Other Interventions ....................................................... 18 4.1.4. Lessons from other Relevant Projects/Initiatives .................................................................. 19 4.1.5. Planned Stakeholder Participation .......................................................................................... 19 4.1.6. Planned Replication Approach................................................................................................. 20 4.1.7. UNDP Comparative Advantage ............................................................................................... 20 4.1.8. Management Arrangements ..................................................................................................... 21 4.2. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION.......................................................................................................................... 22 4.2.1. Adaptive Management .............................................................................................................. 22 4.2.2. Partnership Arrangements ........................................................................................................ 24 4.2.3. Project Finance........................................................................................................................... 24 4.2.4. Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Approach ............................................................................. 27 4.2.5. Contribution of UNDP and Implementing Partners ............................................................... 30 4.3. PROJECT RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................ 31 4.3.1. Overall Achievements/Results ................................................................................................. 31 4.3.2. Attainment of Project Objective / Impact ................................................................................ 40 4.3.3. Relevance ................................................................................................................................... 42 4.3.4. Efficiency ..................................................................................................................................... 43 4.3.5. Country Ownership .................................................................................................................... 44 4.3.6. Mainstreaming ............................................................................................................................ 45 4.3.7. Sustainability ............................................................................................................................... 46 4.3.8. Catalytic Role .............................................................................................................................. 48 ANNEX 1: PROJECT EXPECTED RESULTS AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES ........................................................... 49 ANNEX 2: TERMS OF REFERENCE ............................................................................................................................ 53 ANNEX 3: EVALUATION MATRIX ............................................................................................................................. 63 ANNEX 4: UNEG CODE OF CONDUCT FOR EVALUATION CONSULTANTS..................................................... 70 ANNEX 5: LIST OF DOCUMENTS REVIEWED ......................................................................................................... 71 ANNEX 6: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ........................................................................................................................... 75 ANNEX 7: LIST OF PEOPLE INTERVIEWED ............................................................................................................. 77 ANNEX 8: STAKEHOLDERS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ........................................................................................ 79 ANNEX 9: REMARKS ABOUT CONDUCTING EVALUATIONS ONLINE UNDER COVID-19 ........................... 86 ANNEX 10: RATING SCALES ....................................................................................................................................... 87 ANNEX 11: AUDIT TRAIL.............................................................................................................................................. 88 ANNEX 12: EVALUATION REPORT CLEARANCE FORM ....................................................................................... 89 TE of the UNDP-GEF--Snow Leopard Trust (SLT) Project: “Transboundary Cooperation for Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Conservation” i List of Tables Table 1: Project Information Table .................................................................................................................... 1 Table 2: TE Ratings and Achievement Summary Table ................................................................................... 7 Table 3: Steps Used to Conduct the Evaluation ............................................................................................. 12 Table 4: Project Logic Model ........................................................................................................................... 14 Table 5: List of Risks and Mitigation Measures Identified at the Formulation Phase ..................................... 16 Table 6: Disbursement Status of GEF Grant (in USD) ................................................................................... 25 Table 7: Annual Work Plans versus Actual Expenditures (GEF grant)..........................................................