Evaluation Report of the Pakistan SDPD-II project & Recommendations F I N A L R E P O R T 23-10-2012 - Franklin De Vrieze, Ruth Beeckmans, Raza Ahmad Table of Content Acronyms Acknowledgments I. Executive Summary II. Introduction to the SDPD-project III. The IPU-UNDP Evaluation Mission in 2012 3.1. Evaluation objectives 3.2. Structure of the evaluation report 3.3. Criteria for the evaluation 3.4. Methodology for the evaluation 3.5. Challenges to the evaluation IV. Context: Parliamentary Democracy and Political Processes in Pakistan V. Project Design VI. Project Implementation Outcome 1. Capacity Development and support to selected Parliamentary Committees Outcome 2. Enhance the Skills of the Secretariat Staff that work with Committees Outcome 3. Citizens Advocacy; Working with CSOs to create effective advocacy Outcome 4. Better Coordination of Aid and Support to the Federal Parliament VII. Project Management 7.1. Project Review Board (PRB) 7.2. Project Human Resources 7.3. Project’s Primary Partners: PIPS and IPU 7.4. Project Financial Management 7.5. Project Reporting 7.6. Project Communication 7.7. Relations with UNDP and UN Agencies VIII. The Way Forward: Challenges and opportunities for parliamentary democracy in Pakistan IX. Recommendations 9.1. Recommendations for SDPD-II 9.2. Recommendations for the third phase of SDPD, 2014 onwards X. Annexes: Annex 1. List of interlocutors and persons interviewed Annex 2. Bibliography of documents consulted Annex 3. Biography of members of the IPU-UNDP evaluation team Annex 4. Parliamentary staff questionnaire Annex 5. ToR of the evaluation mission Annex 6. ToR of the Chief Technical Advisor to SDPD-II Evaluation Report of the Pakistan SDPD-II project & Recommendations F I N A L R E P O R T 2 Acronyms AWP Annual Work Plan BDP Bureau for Development Policy CO Country Office CPA Commonwealth Parliamentary Assembly CPAP Country Program Action Plan CSOs Civil Society Organizations CTA Chief Technical Advisor DGG Democratic Governance Group ILO International Labor Organization IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union KP Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa MDGs Millennium Development Goals MoU Memorandum of Understanding MP Member of Parliament NA National Assembly NPD National Project Director NPM National Project Manager NTA National Technical Advisor OPPD Office for the Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy PAC Public Accounts Committee PCOM Project Cycle Operations Manual PEMRA Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority PILDAT Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency PIPS Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services PMU Project Management Unit PRA Parliamentary Reporters Association PRB Project Review Board PSDP Public Sector Development Program RRF Results and Resources Framework SDPD Strengthening Democracy through Parliamentary Development TNA Training Needs Analysis ToR Terms of Reference UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework WFD Westminster Foundation for Democracy DISCLAIMER The “Evaluation Report of the Pakistan SDPD-II project & Recommendations” has been drafted by Franklin De Vrieze, Ruth Beeckmans and Raza Ahmad. It was developed in the framework of the “Strengthening Democracy through Parliamentary Development” program in Pakistan, funded by the Kingdom of The Netherlands and co-funded and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of these institutions. Evaluation Report of the Pakistan SDPD-II project & Recommendations F I N A L R E P O R T 3 Acknowledgments The IPU-UNDP evaluation team would like to express its appreciation for the unhindered access to and for the frank and kind discussions held with members of parliament and staff of the National Assembly, Senate and provincial assemblies of Pakistan, the National Program Director, the various experts, representatives of CSOs, the media, development partners and other stakeholders during the time of the project evaluation mission. The evaluation team is very grateful to the UNDP Deputy Country Director, Assistant Country Director, National Program Manager and all SDPD staff for the information and documentation provided, and for their insights and perspectives on the parliamentary support project. The evaluation team also appreciates the practical and logistical support provided by the UNDP Country Office, the SDPD team, the federal parliament and the provincial assemblies in support of the mission during the three week evaluation period in September 2012. Finally, the evaluation team is particularly grateful for the warmth and hospitality extended to it in parliament, at UNDP and with other interlocutors. Franklin De Vrieze Ruth Beeckmans Raza Ahmad Brussels, New York, Islamabad October 2012 Evaluation Report of the Pakistan SDPD-II project & Recommendations F I N A L R E P O R T 4 I. Executive Summary Cooperation between the Parliament of Pakistan, the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) started when the project “Strengthening Democracy through Parliamentary Development” (SDPD) was initiated. The first phase of the project started in 2004, followed by a second phase which started in 2009. The project is funded by the Kingdom of The Netherlands and co-funded and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Because the second phase of SDPD was half-way through its project cycle and as foreseen in the Project Document, an independent review of the project was commissioned. IPU and UNDP engaged three experts to work on this assignment. The evaluation team included an international parliamentary expert proposed by IPU (the Mission Leader, Franklin De Vrieze), a parliamentary development specialist from UNDP Democratic Governance Group - DGG (Ruth Beeckmans), and a national consultant with expertise in governance in Pakistan (Raza Ahmad). The evaluation started on 10 September 2012 and continued in-country until 27 September 2012. The main objectives of the evaluation were to: Evaluate the results and initial impact achieved by the project; Assess the effectiveness of UNDP support to the project; Identify and critically analyze the relevance of the project activities; Critically analyze the effectiveness of the implementation modalities; Formulate recommendations on the way forward. During its three weeks assignment in September 2012, the evaluation team conducted a wide range of interviews with stakeholders and interlocutors both within and outside the National Assembly and the Senate. The evaluation team also analyzed the project-documentation, visited the Provincial Assemblies in Punjab and Sindh, met with civil society in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, and engaged with other international partners of the parliament. Based upon the analysis deriving from the assessment, the evaluation team structured the final evaluation report under three headings: (i) project design, (ii) project implementation and (iii) project management. Under the section “Project design” the evaluation team analyzed the extent to which the Project Document provided a solid and workable basis for successful project implementation. The section “Project implementation” evaluated the activities against the stated outputs. The evaluation was based on four criteria: relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and impact/sustainability. The section “Project management” reviewed how the implementation and evaluation mechanisms were structured and managed. The evaluation team identified a number of successes achieved by SDPD-II during the three years of its implementation to date. These included: The Women’s Caucus of the Pakistani parliament has become a platform that cuts across party lines which allows building consensus on priority issues concerning women and ensuring that gender concerns are addressed through legislation, policies and programs. The project has provided substantial support by organizing a national conference, developing a web-site, creating the Secretariat of the Caucus and assisting in international outreach. The project offered the technical assistance of research assistants to a number of selected Standing Committees. The research assistants conducted legislative research on issues under debate in Committees and monitored the implementation status of recommendations Evaluation Report of the Pakistan SDPD-II project & Recommendations F I N A L R E P O R T 5 formulated by the Committee. The research assistants also drafted the annual or multi- annual Committee reports of a growing number of Committees. The Project provided substantial input to the orientation session for newly elected Senators on issues such as parliamentary procedures, the Committee system and the administrative structure of the parliament. Staff trainings have upgraded the knowledge and skills of Committee staff on legislative drafting, the budget process, research methodology and parliamentary oversight. The project has contributed to improve the outreach of parliament towards young people through the launch of the Youth Parliamentary School and the Children’s Parliament. CSOs and parliamentary reporters have benefitted from the policy roundtables and workshops offered to them. The evaluation team also found a number of shortcomings: The delayed recruitment of technical expertise to the Project Management Unit (PMU), namely an international Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) and national technical advisors, has considerably reduced the project’s ability to offer advice to