EVALUATION Fisheries and Coastal Management Capacity Building Support Project Final Performance Evaluation Report 2020 This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared independently by Della E. McMillan, Lynn Hurtak, Annie Dela Akanko, and Evans Arizi. FISHERIES AND COASTAL MANAGEMENT CAPACITY BUILDING SUPPORT PROJECT FINAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION February 28, 2020 Contracted under 641-A18-FY14-IL#007 Prepared by: Della E. McMillan Lynn Hurtak Annie Dela Akanko With Technical Advisor Evans Arizi Submitted by: USAID/Ghana Monitoring, Evaluation, and Technical Support Services (METSS) II Project Photo credit: Centre for Coastal Management, University of Cape Coast. Photo Archive. February 28, 2020. Photo taken by FCMCBSP drone. DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. CONTENTS ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................................ II EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ V 1.0. EVALUATION OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................... 1 1.1. EVALUATION PURPOSE .................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. EVALUATION QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................................. 1 2.0. PROJECT BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................. 3 2.1. MECHANISM DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................................................................... 3 3.0. EVALUATION METHODS AND LIMITATIONS......................................................................... 8 3.1. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2. LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................................................................ 14 4.0 FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................... 15 4.1. EVALUATION QUESTION 1: TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE USAID/UCC FCMCBSP ACHIEVED ITS INTENDED GOAL AND OBJECTIVES AS DEFINED BY THE RESULTS FRAMEWORK? ......................................................................... 15 4.2. EVALATION QUESTION 2: WHAT UNINTENDED OUTCOMES HAVE THE USAID/UCC FCMCBSP’S CAPACITY STRENGTHENING ACTIVITIES ACHIEVED RELEVANT TO IMPROVING SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF GHANA’S MARINE AND COASTAL RESOURCES? ........................................................................................................................... 28 4.3. EVALUATION QUESTION 3: TO WHAT EXTENT HAS USAID/UCC FCMCBSP COLLABORATED WITH OTHER USAID-FUNDED PROJECTS SUCH AS THE CSLP, SFMP, AND GOG PARTNERS, SUCH AS THE MOFAD, OTHER DONOR PROJECTS, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO ACHIEVE THE OVERALL PURPOSE OF STRENGTHENING CAPACITY FOR SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES AND COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT? ............................................... 31 4.4. EVALUATION QUESTION 4: TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE PROJECT ADDRESSED THE GENDER ISSUES RELATED TO CAPACITY-BUILDING AMONG THE DIFFERENT GROUPS OF BENEFICIARIES AND WHAT HAS THE IMPACT BEEN? .... 35 4.5. EVALUATION QUESTION 5: TO WHAT EXTENT ARE THE USAID/UCC FCMCBSP CAPACITY STRENGTHENING INTERVENTIONS LIKELY TO CONTINUE AFTER UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT (USG) SUPPORT ENDS. ................ 39 4.6. EVALUATION QUESTION 6: WHICH USAID/UCC FCMCBSP CAPACITY-BUILDING ACTIVITIES ARE THE MOST AND LEAST EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF GHANA’S MARINE AND COASTAL RESOURCES? .................................................................................................................................................................. 50 ANNEX I. FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS TABLE ............................... 53 ANNEX II. EVALUATION STATEMENT OF WORK ........................................................................... 71 ANNEX III. PERFORMANCE INDICATOR TRACKING TABLE ......................................................... 88 ANNEX IV. FIELD WORK ........................................................................................................................ 94 ANNEX V. ADDITIONAL TABLES ....................................................................................................... 138 ANNEX VI: TECHNICAL REVIEW OF THE FCMCBSP MARINE AND COASTAL RESEARCH AND RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS (ACTIVITY 2.1.1-2.1.5) AND MARINE AND COASTAL FISHERIES DATABASE (2.1.6). ............................................................................................................. 180 ANNEX VII. THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE CENTRE FOR COASTAL MANAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST ............................................................... 223 ANNEX VIII. DISCLOSURE OF ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST .................................................. 225 i | FCMCBSP FINAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REPORT USAID.GOV ACRONYMS AAS Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy ACE Africa Center of Excellence ACECoR Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience ANCoRS Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security AOR Agreement Officer’s Representative CBFMG Community-Based Fisheries Management Group CBO Community-Based Organization CCM Centre for Coastal Management CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy COO Chief of Operations COR Contracting Officer’s Representative CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research CSLP Coastal Sustainable Landscapes Project CSO Civil Society Organization DAA Development Action Association DANIDA Danish International Development Agency DFAS Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences DO Dissolved Oxygen DO 2 Development Objective 2 EG Economic Growth EQ Evaluation Question FASoG Fisheries and Aquaculture Society of Ghana FCMCBSP Fisheries and Coastal Management Capacity Building Support Project FCR Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations FGD Focus Group Discussion FY Fiscal Year ii | FCMCBSP FINAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REPORT USAID.GOV G2G Government to Government GC Gas Chromatography GIS Geographic Information System GITA Ghana Inshore Trawlers Association GoG Government of Ghana ICCAT International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna ICFG Integrated Coastal and Fisheries Governance ICM Integrated Coastal Management ICZM Integrated Coastal Zone Management IGA Income-Generating Activity IR Intermediate Result IRD Research Institute for Development ISO International Standards Organization JFCoM Journal of Fisheries and Costal Management KII Key Informant Interview KNUST Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology KRA Key Result Area M&E Monitoring and Evaluation METSS Monitoring, Evaluation, and Technical Support Services MoFAD Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development MOU Memorandum of Understanding M.Phil. Masters of Philosophy NGO Non-Governmental Organization NRM Natural Resource Management Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy PIR Project Intermediate Result PITT Performance Indicator Tracking Table PMB Project Management Board iii | FCMCBSP FINAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REPORT USAID.GOV Q Questionnaire SFMP Sustainable Fisheries Management Project SOW Statement of Work Sub-IR Sub-Intermediate Result TEC Total Estimated Ceiling ToT Training of Trainers UCC University of Cape Coast UDS University for Development Studies UENR University of Energy and Natural Resources UG University of Ghana URI University of Rhode Island USAID United States Agency for International Development USAID/Ghana United States Agency for International Development’s Ghana Mission USG United States Government VC Vice Chancellor VIP Village Infrastructure Project VSLA Village Savings and Loan Association ZMT Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research ZOI Zone of Influence iv | FCMCBSP FINAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REPORT USAID.GOV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EVALUATION PURPOSE The purpose of this final evaluation was to assess the extent to which the goal and objectives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Ghana University of Cape Coast (UCC) Fisheries and Coastal Management Capacity Building Support Project (FCMCBSP) have been achieved, and how the implementation of project interventions contributed to achieving USAID/Ghana’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) Development Objective 2 (DO 2), “Sustainable and broadly shared economic growth,” and its Sub-Intermediate Result (Sub-IR) 2.4.2, “Improved local community management of natural resources.” The evaluation is expected to provide USAID, its implementing partners, and stakeholders in the fisheries and coastal management sector with data on outcomes, best practices, and lessons learned to inform future programming. ACTIVITY BACKGROUND In its most recent CDCS, USAID/Ghana committed to supporting “Improved sustainable management of Ghana’s marine and coastal resources” in its DO 2 results framework and funded three projects to achieve this result: