United Nations Nepal Independent Evaluation of the UN Peace Fund for Nepal September 2016 Evaluation Report Disclaimer The opinions expressed are those of the Evaluation Team, and do not necessarily reflect those of UNPFN. Responsibility for the opinions expressed in this report rests solely with the authors. Publication of this document does not imply endorsement by UNPFN of the opinions expressed. Independent Evaluation of the UN Peace Fund for Nepal Table of contents ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................................... 1 PREFACE.............................................................................................................................. 5 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................... 6 2 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 10 2.1 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 10 2.2 Evaluation Scope ............................................................................................................ 10 2.3 Evaluation Methodology .................................................................................................. 11 3 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................. 15 3.1 Peace process in Nepal .................................................................................................. 15 3.2 The UNPFN Seen in Context .......................................................................................... 16 3.3 Portfolio Analysis ............................................................................................................ 23 4 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION ................................................. 25 4.1 Relevance ....................................................................................................................... 25 4.1.1 Clarity, flexibility and adaptability of the strategy ...................................................... 25 4.1.2 Quality of stakeholder involvement .......................................................................... 28 4.1.3 Complementarity with other mechanisms and donors .............................................. 30 4.1.4 Alignment to the Context .......................................................................................... 31 4.2 Effectiveness .................................................................................................................. 32 4.2.1 General performance of UNPFN management ........................................................ 32 4.2.2 Strategic priority setting and oversight ..................................................................... 33 4.3 Efficiency ........................................................................................................................ 34 4.3.1 Efficient governance and avoidance of gaps and duplication ................................... 34 4.3.2 Contribution to coherence in relation to the peace process ...................................... 36 4.3.3 Degree of success in providing for accountability without undue reporting burdens . 37 4.4 Sustainability .................................................................................................................. 39 4.4.1 Degree of success of projects in capacity development ........................................... 39 4.4.2 Exit strategies to ensure sustainability ..................................................................... 40 4.4.3 Success of the projects in being catalytic ................................................................. 41 4.4.4 Degree of success in achieving a lasting impact on Nepal peacebuilding capacities 42 5 CUMULATIVE PERFORMANCE .................................................................................... 44 5.1 Relevance ....................................................................................................................... 44 5.1.1 Extent to which the projects demonstrate national ownership and conflict sensitivity 44 5.1.2 Alignment of the projects with the post-conflict needs of communities ..................... 46 5.1.3 The special status of gender .................................................................................... 47 5.2 Efficiency ........................................................................................................................ 49 5.2.1 Extent to which risks were monitored and managed ................................................ 49 5.2.2 Advantages of the UN, evidence of successful partnerships and innovation ............ 52 5.2.3 Extent to which the projects complement each other, strategic coherence ............... 54 5.3 Effectiveness and Impact ................................................................................................ 54 5.3.1 Achievement of high level peace building outcomes ................................................ 55 5.3.2 Application of the peace building theories of change ............................................... 57 5.3.3 Promotion of the concerns of women, children and marginalized groups ................. 57 5.4 Sustainability .................................................................................................................. 60 5.4.1 Sustainability strategies and partnerships ................................................................ 60 5.4.2 Extent to which UNPFN helped the UN to be catalytic in peace building .................. 62 5.4.3 Extent to which UNPFN management and oversight have left a lasting impact on Nepal 62 6 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................. 64 6.1 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 64 6.2 Strategic Management .................................................................................................... 64 6.3 Cumulative Performance ................................................................................................ 66 7 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................... 69 Evaluation report Independent Evaluation of the UN Peace Fund for Nepal ANNEXES ........................................................................................................................... 72 ANNEX 1: Note on Methodology ............................................................................................... 72 ANNEX 2: Country Background ................................................................................................. 76 ANNEX 3: Background Note on Portfolio Analysis ..................................................................... 80 ANNEX 4: Project Briefs ............................................................................................................ 84 ANNEX 5: List of people met ................................................................................................... 105 ANNEX 6: Documents Consulted ............................................................................................ 111 ANNEX 7: Terms of Reference ................................................................................................ 117 List of figures and tables Figure 1: UNPFN structure and stakeholders ................................................................................ 16 Figure 2: UNPFN Theory of Change diagram ............................................................................... 21 Figure 3: Timeline of peace building process and UNPFN interventions ....................................... 22 Figure 4: Transferred funds per year (2007-2015)......................................................................... 23 Figure 5: Net funds by implementing organisation......................................................................... 24 Figure 6: Principles Which Parties Signed to in the CPA – UNPFN clusters .................................. 29 Table 1: Positioning of case studies according to criteria .............................................................. 12 Table 2: List of Project Case Studies ............................................................................................ 13 Table 3: PBF and UNPFN strategic outcomes .............................................................................. 19 Table 4: Financial flows under UNPFN ......................................................................................... 23 Table 5: Transfers by cluster ......................................................................................................... 24 Table 6: Transfers fund by range of number of districts covered ................................................... 24 Table 7: Risks and Mitigation Strategies in Rule of Law and Human Rights project ...................... 49 Evaluation report Independent Evaluation of the UN Peace Fund for Nepal ACRONYMS AA Administrative Agent AMMAA Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies AVRSCS Armed Violence Reduction and Strengthening Community Security BCPR Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery BOGS Basic Operating Guidelines on Operational Space CAAFAG