Our projects

The aim of this specific contract was to support the Peruvian Authorities for the identification and formulation of a new intervention for the drugs sector based on a comprehensive analysis of the key problems and the assistance already available.

The assignment was split into two phases:

The specific objectives of ++Phase 1++ were:

• Mapping of current and past EU actions in the area of drugs and their impact/results (under bilateral, regional and thematic programmes).
• List the main areas of current/future intervention of other key donors.
• Assess the main achievements and challenges of the national strategy to fight against drugs.
• Based on (a), (b) and (c), propose potential lines of action under MIP 2014-2017 (up to €12 millions), taking into account their relevance with respect to the sector challenges and the feasibility to achieve concrete results in the framework of a project.

The specific objective of ++Phase 2++ was to develop the full project proposal once the Delegation and the newly elected authorities had agreed on the lines of intervention.

The global objective of this assignment was to carry out a Mid-Term Review (MTR) of SAAP III (n°ENPI/2009/20492) and SAAP IV (n°ENPI/2010/21871). The MTR provided the Government of Egypt, institutional counterparts and the European Union (EU) with an overall independent assessment presenting sufficient information to make an informed judgement about the performance of the project (its efficiency, effectiveness and the likelihood for the project to achieve its stated objectives), and to take decisions about any required adjustments for the last two years of implementation.

The specific objectives of the MTR were:

• To conduct a comprehensive review of the performance of the project to assess key elements of efficiency, effectiveness, and potential sustainability.
• To identify lessons learnt and to make recommendations for the improvement of the project performance.
• To assess whether the project is on track to achieve its outcomes and impact, and make recommendations for an exit strategy that would ensure sustainability of the outcomes after the completion of the project.

The project objective was to further approximate and implement the environmental acquisition, through strengthening the administrative capacities for environmental management on central and local level in the fields of water management, waste management, nature protection, air management and climate change.

The specific objective of this assignment was to assist the Beneficiary institution – MoEPP with the preparation of Technical Specification for TAIB 2012 Supply Contract for appropriate equipment to exchange and manage information and monitoring for water, waste, air management, nature and climate change.

Relevant background

Since early 2007, the Commission, the UN-family and the World Bank have worked together in setting up a platform for cooperation on post-crisis needs assessments for natural disaster (Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, PDNA) and conflict (Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPBA), previously named Post-Conflict Needs Assessment, PCNA) scenarios. This trilateral cooperation was framed and formalised through the signature of a Joint Declaration on “Post-Crisis Assessments and Recovery Planning” in September 2008. The EU/UN/WB platform covers the whole PDNA/RPBA(PCNA) process, including strategic coordination, development of joint methodologies for post-crisis assessments, joint deployment of assessment teams, joint training and joint recovery planning and monitoring.

In line with the 2008 Declaration on Joint Post-crisis Assessments and Recovery Planning, the overall objective of the project is to assist and develop third countries’ in-country capacity to gradually assume a more prominent role in Post-Disaster Needs Assessments and Post-Conflict Needs Assessments (now changed to Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessments, RPBA).

The purpose of this project was:

• to support further development of joint PDNA/RPBA(formerly PCNA) methodologies, tools, training programmes, etc.;
• to support joint PDNA/RPBA(formerly PCNA) missions in-country/in region (in coordinating with EU Heads of Delegations and with the European External Actions Service (EEAS) and European Commission). While such support could cover any relevant technical field (long-term and short-term expertise), it is foreseen that a particular emphasis is put on expertise in mission planning and development of final reports/recovery frameworks.

The two phases of the project contributed to a variety of outputs and results, including:

• Phase 1 (01/01/2013 – 31/07/2015): revision of the PDNA methodology and development of the joint EU/UN/WB PDNA Guide, development of the Disaster Recovery Framework (DRF) Guide, review of the PCNA methodology, development of training and capacity building materials, delivery of information/capacity building sessions, joint PDNA/PCNA training courses for national authorities and regional/international organisations, support to over 15 joint EU/UN/WB PDNA/PCNA missions;
• Phase 2 (10/07/2015 – 09/07/2017): revision of the PCNA methodology and development of the RPBA methodology, development of training and capacity building materials, delivery of information/capacity building sessions, joint PDNA/RPBA training courses for national authorities and regional/international organisations, support to over 10 joint EU/UN/WB PDNA/RPBA missions.

The general objective of the Binational Programme was the promotion of socioeconomic development in the two countries, in the border regions and in the Northern Corridor of the Island.

The Binational Programme consisted of two programmes with two distinct Financing Agreements. The first programme, whose coordination was assured by the National Authorising Officer in Haiti, was in the areas of trade, environment / local development and in the reinforcement of the Joint Bilateral Commission. The second programme, coordinated by the National Authorising Officer of the Dominican Republic, aimed to reinforce the infrastructure in the Northern Corridor.

Both programmes aimed at strengthening the planning, implementation and monitoring of public environmental and infrastructure policies.

The specific objectives were:

• to assist the National Authorising Officers and the Ministries of Environment and Public Transport in the two countries in the coordination of activities and in the management and implementation of the Binational Programme;
• to give technical support to operators and partners in the implementation of technical and administrative issues and financial resources required for the effective operation of the Binational Programme;
• to assist the authorities of the two countries in assuring the strategic steering of the programme by pursuing global coherence in the implementation of the Binational Programme and its connection with other national or regional programmes financed by the resources of the cooperation;
• to assist in the capitalisation of the programme results by systematising the experience and by popularising the important lessons learned.

The European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) aims to develop closer relations between the EU and its neighbouring countries (6 in Eastern Europe and 10 in North Africa and the Middle East). To that end, the ENI evaluation was designed to assess whether ENI was fit for purpose to deliver EU resources towards EU’s external policy, both at the start of the planning period (2014) and currently, and considered the place of ENI –its complementarities and synergies – within the wider set of external financing instruments (EFIs). Together with other independent evaluations of each EFI, the ENI evaluation will feed into the Mid Term Review Report of the EFIs required by the Common Implementing Regulation (CIR) by end December 2017.

The specific objectives of the ENI evaluation were to 1) provide the relevant external relations services of the European Union and the wider public with an independent assessment of the ENI instrument, including complementarities/synergies between ENI and the other EFIs; and 2) to inform the future programming and implementation of the current EFIs, as well as the next generation of the EFIs.

The evaluation used a mixed methods approach blending quantitative and qualitative methods, with a focus on the latter. The main analytical tools consisted of rigorous assessment of documentation (policy documents, evaluations, etc.), statistical information and consultation of stakeholders (via interviews, group consultations, a telephone survey focusing on EU Delegations and the Open Public Consultation- OPC; key issues are additionally addressed by a joint-EFI survey managed by the chapeau contract). Country case studies were prepared for Egypt, Georgia, Lebanon, Tunisia and Ukraine. With the exception of Lebanon, these case studies were backed by short country visits.

The report is available at:

https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/final_report_eni_evaluation.zip

The Annual Report is a legal obligation for the European Commission to report to the European Council and the European Parliament on development and external assistance and their implementation. Furthermore, it also serves as a public information tool.

++Global objective:++

• Production of the “Annual Report 2016 on the implementation of the

European Union's instruments for financing external actions in 2015

• Production of the accompanying Staff Working Document
• Production of a Factsheet with infographics

The project provided a change management expert who, under the supervision of the Reform Task Team (RTT), is entrusted with conducting a comprehensive re-orientation and re-structuring of the National Authorising Officer's Support Unit (NAO SU) with a final goal of significant and measurable improvement and optimization of the NAO SU.

Specifically, the change management expert developed a comprehensive reorientation plan for the NAO SU on the basis of a situation analysis and previous recommendations received through a mid-term review (MTR) and assisted the various stakeholders in implementing the plan. The ultimate goal was that the Change Management Process results in more effective governance and efficient performance of the NAO SU.

The project “Enhancement of Procurement Capacity of Local Government Authorities in Tanzania” contributed to ensuring systems and structures of governance to uphold the rule of law which are democratic, effective, accountable, predictable, transparent, inclusive and corruption free at all levels.

The evaluation provided answered to "how" and "why" questions and was essential for assessing the value of the achieved results and of the implementation process of the whole intervention.

The evaluation served the following functions:

• To support steering. On the basis of in-depth analyses, the review offered useful recommendations that are based on data (evidence-based).
• To contribute to learning. By analysing the development process, the review allowed to explain what works, what does not work and why, and to thus draw lessons for other interventions or for the elaboration of new policies, strategies and programmes.
• Accountability to the donor, partner and other internal actors by supplying an external assessment of the progress made and the results achieved.

The Evaluation of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) assessed whether IPA II is fit for purpose to deliver EU resources towards EU's external policy, both at start of the planning period (2014) and at the time of the evaluation (2017), and considered the place of IPA II – its complementarities and synergies – within the wider set of external financing instruments.

The objective of the IPA II evaluation was: 1) to provide the relevant external relations services of the European Union and the wider public with an independent assessment of the IPA II instrument, including complementarities/synergies between IPA II and the other EFIs; and 2) to inform the future programming and implementation of the current EFIs, as well as the next generation of the EFIs.

The evaluation was evidence-based using a non-experimental mixed methods approach combining quantitative and, more importantly, qualitative data and was guided by Evaluation Questions (EQ) covering EU evaluation criteria (relevance; effectiveness, impact and sustainability; efficiency; added value; coherence, consistency, complementarity and synergies; leverage).

The main analytical tools consisted of a rigorous assessment of documentation, analysis of statistics and quantitative data and a consultation of stakeholders (via interviews, group discussions, the online-survey focusing on EU Delegations and the Open Public Consultation).

The report is available at:

https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/final_report_ipa_ii_evaluation.zip