This end term evaluation (ETE) of the AU-EU D4D Hub Project programme both summative and formative with a general purpose to identify all project outcomes and generate learning for the next phase of the European Union and African countries cooperation on digitalisation. The purpose of accountability shall be completed by the Project Management Unit as part of the envisaged Final Narrative Report, which is due in Q4 2024.
The review considered all pillars of the Project and its diversity in activities. Therefore, the scope is:
• Temporal: the ETE covers the whole the implementation period, hence from December 2020 to first Quarter of 2024, complementing the findings of the MTR (covering December 2020 to May 2022).
• Geographical: the ETE covers all countries and regions in Africa where activities took place.
• Thematic: the ETE covers all Project intervention areas and outcomes within intervention areas
• Institutional: the ETE involved stakeholders from INTPA, the Operational Steering Committee (OSC), the D4D Hub Secretariat and notably its Africa Branch, as well as EU Delegations and African strategic partners.
The key methods employed were:
• Outcome Harvesting (OH). This methodology emphasises the collection and interpretation of evidence regarding the achieved outcomes of a project or program. Unlike traditional evaluation methods that rely on predefined indicators and theories of change, OH is participatory and qualitative in nature. It involves identifying and documenting outcomes by engaging with stakeholders and collecting evidence retrospectively, allowing for a more comprehensive and contextually grounded understanding of project impact.
• The Most Significant Change (MSC) approach. This methodology involves generating and analysing personal accounts of change and deciding which of these accounts is the most significant – and why. MSC can be very helpful in explaining how change comes about (processes and causal mechanisms) and when (in what situations and contexts) along the change pathways (see Program Theory of Change).
• Capitalisation (C). This refers to the systematic and intentional process of capturing, organising, and sharing knowledge derived from experiences, activities, and outcomes of a project or program. It emphasises transforming both explicit and tacit knowledge into accessible and usable formats to promote organisational learning, inform decision-making, and contribute to broader knowledge-sharing within and beyond the project