Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development National Solidarity Programme Post-war Reconstruction & Development Unit (PRDU) Mid-term Evaluation Report of the National Solidarity ACKUProgramme (NSP), Afghanistan May 2006 Evaluation Team Leader Professor Sultan Barakat ACKU Islamic Republic of Afghanistan National Solidarity Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation Programme and Development Mid-term Evaluation Report of the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), Afghanistan ACKU May 2006 Evaluation Team Leader Professor Sultan Barakat Post-war Reconstruction & Development Unit (PRDU) Evaluation Team Team Leader: Regional Assessment Team Leaders: Professor Sultan Barakat Dr Margaret Chard (BA, MA, MSc, PhD) (BSc, MA, DPhil, ICDDS) Dr David Connolly (BA, MA, PhD) Founding Director of the Post-war Dr Richard Jones (BA, MA, MSc, PhD) Reconstruction and Development Unit, Mr Waheed Omer (BA, MA) University of York. Mr Mirwais Wardak (BA, MA). Specialist in Public Institutions: Regional Assessment Team Members: Professor Mark Evans (BA, PhD) Mr Khushal Akhtar Head of Department of Politics, Mr Malaiz Daud University of York. Mr Jawed Nader Ms Marina Nawabi Mr Samiullah Nazemi Dr Lida Rahimi Specialist in Mr Qutabuddin Roydar Community Development: Dr Khalid Sharifi Ms Asila Wardak Dr Arne Strand (MA, PhD) Mr Idrees Zaman. Researcher at Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway. Specialist in Infrastructure Projects: Engineer Richard Brown (BSc, MBA, MA, CEng, CDipAF, DipM, FICE, FCILT, MCMI, MCIM) Associate Director, Arup, UK. ACKU © 2006 Post-war Reconstruction & Development Unit (PRDU), The University of York; and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical or otherwise without the prior permission from the publishers – Post-war Reconstruction & Development Unit (PRDU), The University of York NSP AFGHANISTAN (see back cover for contact details). Mid-term EVALUATION REPORT Table of Contents page page Preliminary Pages The role of the NSP Oversight Consultant in programme List of Abbreviations v management and coordination 27 List of Illustrations vi Summary and recommendations Preface vii for national level coordination 34 3. Sub-national Level Coordination Main Report and Operational Delivery of the NSP 37 Executive Summary 1 The MRRD and provincial Programme design and rationale 3 and district government 37 National level programme The provincial OCs and teams 45 management and delivery 4 The role of the Facilitating Sub-national coordination and Partners in NSP coordination operational delivery of the NSP 7 and operational delivery 49 The role of Community Development Councils in programme management 4. The Role of Community and operational delivery 10 Development Councils in Representative Governance The enhancement of and Community Development 69 NSP engineering projects 13 The strategy for evaluating NSP Financial Operations 15 Community Development Community Development Councils 69 Councils and future The Community Development governance in Afghanistan 16 Council Community Power Linkages with the evaluation Survey 70 of other community-driven Principal findings 70 development programmes 17 The Household Survey 77 ProgrammeACKU costs, expectations and impact 17 Conclusions 91 Recommendations for CDCs 94 Findings and Recommendations: 5. An Analysis of National 1. Programme Design Solidarity Programme and Rationale 19 Engineering Projects 97 Analysis 19 Methodology 97 Summary and recommendations Project relevance 97 for programme design and rationale 22 Project quality and sustainability 98 Project management 99 2. National Level Programme Management and Coordination 25 Intangible benefits 99 National level coordination Key recommendations for committees 25 the enhancement of NSP engineering projects 100 page page 6. National Solidarity Programme Annexes Financial Operations 103 A1. General Introduction 135 Financial processes 103 Map of Research Districts 136 Obstacles to effective A2. Evaluation Methodology 137 operational delivery 104 Key recommendations Field Research Findings: for financial operations 105 A3. Badghis Province 143 A4. Balkh Province 163 7. Programme Enhancement 107 A5. Bamyan Province 203 A new institutional venue for the National Solidarity A6. Herat Province 217 Programme 107 A7. Kabul Province 223 Community Development A8. Kundoz Province 245 Councils and future governance in Afghanistan 108 A9. Nangarhar Province 265 Annex 1. Laghman Province 296 The role of the National Solidarity Programme in A10. Paktia Province 301 poverty reduction 110 A11. Paktika Province 307 Measuring the performance A12. Takhar Province 313 of the National Solidarity Programme 112 B1. Terms of Reference 321 Government capacity development in National Solidarity Programme Phase 2 115 C1. Stakeholders Consulted 327 The Management of cultural change in the National D1. References 333 Solidarity Programme Phase 2 116 Gender issues for Phase 2 of the National Solidarity Programme 119 8. In Conclusion – Programme Costs, Expectations and Impact 121 Approach 121 ACKU Programme costs 122 Programme expectations 123 Programme benefits 127 Programme efficiency and effectiveness 130 NSP AFGHANISTAN Mid-term EVALUATION REPORT List of Abbreviations AKDN Aga Khan Development MISFA Micro Finance Investment Network Support Facility of Afghanistan ARTF Afghanistan Reconstruction M&E Monitoring and Evaluation Tr ust Fund MRRD Ministry for Rehabilitation and BRAC Bangladesh Rural Action Rural Development Committee MoU Memorandum of Understanding CBD Community Based NABDP National Area Based Development Development Programme CDC(s) Community Development NEEP National Emergency Council(s) Employment Programme CDD Community Driven NGO Non-Governmental Development Organization CDP Community Development Plan NSP National Solidarity Programme CDSO Community Development OC Oversight Consultant Support Officers OECD Organization for Economic CIDA Canadian International Cooperation and Development Development Agency OM Operational Manual CHA Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance PCU Public Communication Unit DAB Da Afghanistan Bank PO Provincial Office DAI Development Alternatives PRT(s) Provincial Reconstruction Incorporated Team(s) DFID Department For International PRDU Post-war Reconstruction and Development Development Unit, University of York DRRD Department for Rural Rehabilitation and Development PSG Professional Skills for Government EU European Union ACKURAT(s) Regional Assessment Team(s) FHH Female Headed Households RuWATSAN Rural Water Supply and FP(s) Facilitating Partner(s) Sanitation Programme GRSP Ghanzi Rural Support SDF Sanayee Development Programme Foundation GTZ/IS Deutsche Gesellschaft für SO Social Organizer Technische Zusammenarbeit/ International Services UNAMIR United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda IDA International Development Association UNHCR United Nations High Commision for Refugees IDP Internally Displaced Person UNICEF United Nations International JICA Japan International Cooperation Children’s Emergency Fund Agency USAID US Agency for International MHP Micro Hydro Power Development MIS Management Information WB World Bank System v List of Illustrations page page Boxes Figures Box 1. The organizational structure Fig 1. Professional skills of the NSP Oversight for government 116 Consultant, GTZ-DAI 28 Fig. 2. Composition of NSP total Box 2. The training of DRRD costs (Dec 04 to Feb 06) 122 staff in Kundoz 41 Fig. 3. Composition of NSP Box 3. Transportation stress programme delivery costs in Bamyan 42 (Dec 04 to Feb 06) 122 Box 4. Villages unified in Balkh 46 Fig 4. Mapping obstacles to NSP success/failure 125 Box 5. Weak community capacities in Nangarhar 46 Box 6. An integrated approach to Tables DRRD capacity development in Kabul 48 Table 1. The operations of NSP Facilitating Partners 50 Box 7. BRAC in Nangarhar 57 Table 2. The disbursement process Box 8. Identifying community in the context of programme priorities through project development 103 selection – Examples from CHA and UN-HABITAT 61 Table 3. Governance in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 109 Box 9. Examples of the issue of appropriate design and Table 4. The Impact of the NSP construction – CHA on community poverty 111 District Team in Balkh 64 Table 5. Programme obstacles 123 Box 10. Examples of the issue of ACKU appropriate design and Table 6. NSP outputs – September construction – The BRAC 2003 to February 2006 130 Team in Nangarhar 65 Table 7. NSP capacity development 131 Table 8. NSP projects 131 NSP AFGHANISTAN Mid-term EVALUATION REPORT vi Preface Tw enty-five years of conflict has left munities to social and productive infrastruc- Afghanistan with a profound need for ture and services. extensive intervention to address recon- struction and development requirements, The implementation strategy of the NSP particularly in rural areas, many of which consists of four core elements: (1) facilita- were never reached by consecutive govern- tion at the community level to assist com- mental developmental plans. In 2002, the munities to establish inclusive community transitional administration of the country institutions (CDCs) through elections, recognized that the legitimacy of the new reaching consensus on priorities and corre- government by the rural population sponding sub-project activities, developing depended in no small measure on its ability eligible sub-proposals