The mid-term evaluation focusses on progress made to date and, explains why progress is happening or is not happening as planned, and shall provide recommendations on how to improve the Action during its residual duration in order to achieve the expected objectives, taking into account problems and opportunities. Further, the evaluation examines the mandate and capacity of ABAKIR, the intended transboundary resource management mechanism for the three states of Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo.
The evaluation should also serve to prepare new Actions and encompass both forward and backward-looking perspectives including whether gender, environment and climate change were mainstreamed; the relevant SDGs and their interlinkages were identified; the principle of Leave No-One Behind and the rights-based approach methodology were followed in the identification/formulation documents and the extent to which they have been reflected in the implementation of the Action, its governance and monitoring.
1. Is the Action relevant as such and in particular in the current context (security situation in the region, the selected partner ABAKIR and its capabilities, etc)?
2. Is the method of management and of implementation applied by the contractor GIZ still appropriate in the current context and within the time remaining and the limited budget specifically dedicated to the activities?
3. Were all stakeholders appropriately involved in the preparation of the Action or were their views and expectations at least taken into consideration in the Action's design?
4. The Action is experiencing issues in terms of stakeholders' appreciation, ownership and expectations. The evaluators will analyse the reasons for these issues in view of proposing corrective measures to achieve the project objectives with a higher level of involvement and ownership of partners and beneficiaries - even by amending some terms of the Action and by redefining its objectives. Among the possible options, the evaluators will consider the following:
(1) an extension of the Action's duration without any extra budget allocation, namely a No-Cost Extension,
(2) a downsizing or a modification of some activities without altering the original Action's objectives,
(3) a suspension of the activities, as a whole or just partially, for a duration allowing some corrective actions to be taken, or
(4) an anticipated end of the Action and a termination of the contract signed with GIZ. In case this would not turn feasible, the evaluators will propose the best possible ways and conditions to terminate the Action with a limited impact on beneficiaries and stakeholders.
5. The evaluators will analyse the project achievements, all along its results chain.
6. The evaluators will consider the coordination with other Actions like the one similarly launched in favour of the Lake Tanganyika and with the GIZ-led Nexus programme.