Kazakhstan

The objective of this facility is to improve the overall quality of the NDICI Rapid Response and Peace, Stability and Conflict Prevention thematic areas by providing high quality research services.

We will provide the FPI with flexible and ad hoc research services and prepare literature reviews and rapid assistance reports in the thematic areas specified below.

The general objective of this assignment was to provide UNDP, national governments, and other key stakeholders with an independent assessment of the contributions of UNDP’s country programmes in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan toward achieving national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The specific objectives of the evaluations

• To provide an assessment, in both qualitative and quantitative terms, of the relevance, implementation conditions, and performance of UNDP country programmes, particularly their efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, impact, and added value, with an emphasis on experiences from the design and execution of programme activities;
• To evaluate UNDP’s cooperation potential with national and international stakeholders and its added value within the broader development ecosystem in Central Asia;
• To identify lessons learned (both positive and negative), best practices, and actionable recommendations, particularly regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the programmes and the factors that facilitated or hindered their contributions to national and regional development objectives.

The results of these evaluations informed the preparation of the next UNDP Country Programme Documents, contributing to enhanced programme design and implementation in the region. They also strengthened accountability to stakeholders and fostered institutional learning within UNDP, while aligning with the broader objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.

The geographical scope of this evaluation covered Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The thematic scope encompassed UNDP’s interventions across several key ars:

• Governance and institutional reforms, with a focus on transparency, accountability, and digital transformation;
• Inclusive economic development, including private sector engagement, social protection, and green and digital economies;
• Environment and climate resilience, particularly in disaster risk reduction, renewable energy, and sustainable urban development.

The main objectives of this evaluation are to provide the relevant services of the European Union, the interested stakeholders with:

• An overall independent assessment of the performance of selected CT-P/CVE measures funded by FPI.2 during the years 2017-2022, paying particular attention to its different levels of results measured against its expected objectives; and the reasons underpinning such results
• As a particular approach to regional actions, a specific case study shall be carried out to assess the regional framework for support to CT-P/CVE measures in the Asian context, managed by the Regional Team in Bangkok. It is expected that the present evaluation assesses the relevance, added value and success of developing a model for CT and P/CVE actions, respectively, which have been replicated in different countries/contexts in Asia/Pacific (in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives for CT; and in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and Maldives for P/CVE). If deemed relevant, links can also be made to regional approaches in other RTs;
• Key lessons learned, conclusions and related recommendations in order to improve current and future interventions.

In particular, this evaluation will serve the contracting authority and other interested services to better understand the performance of the Intervention, its enabling factors and those hampering a proper delivery of results to inform the planning and implementation of current and future support to tackle CTP/CVE.

The main use of the results of the evaluation is expected to be

• To draw general lessons that can be used for the future approach to interventions in the sector
• To draw specific lessons that can be replicated in other similar interventions
• To draw specific lessons from the regional approaches, in particular the one applied by the Regional Team in Bangkok in terms of stocktaking, dynamics and replicability.

The main users of this evaluation will be the contracting authority, FPI.2, including its Regional Teams in Bangkok, Nairobi, Dakar, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (managed from Brussels). The Regional Team in Brasilia is less involved since they currently do not manage any CT-P/CVE projects.

The overall purpose of the evaluation was to inform the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Finland (MFA) on the achievements of its development policy and cooperation in the region over the past decade, and to support the MFA in deciding how to best achieve its policy objectives and to enhance its management of the programme in the region at strategic level. Main sectors of cooperation in the region are i) Government and Civil Society, ii) Energy, iii) Education and iv) Environment Protection. The evaluation was mostly forward-looking but also included summative analysis to respond to the evaluation questions.

Objectives: The objectives of the evaluation were to produce evidence and present well justified conclusions on the following:

1. To assess the impact(s), if any, of Finland’s development cooperation carried out in the region by the Department for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia;

2. To assess the scope of the impact(s) and their relative significance to development in the area;

3. To assess the levels of sustainability of the achieved results and impact;

4. To assess the results achieved by, and management of, the current country strategies;

5. To analyse the reasons explaining success and/or failure in performance and in reaching a lasting impact, including the operational context, human aspects and resources; and

6. To provide recommendations that serve the Ministry in developing its strategic planning, management and response in the region as well as drawing the broader lessons on how to increase impact and sustainability, in advancement of Finland’s development policy objectives.

Final report available here: https://um.fi/development-cooperation-evaluation-reports-comprehensive-evaluations/-/asset_publisher/nBPgGHSLrA13/content/evaluointiraportti-suomen-kehitysyhteisty%25C3%25B6-it%25C3%25A4-euroopassa-ja-keski-aasiassa/384998

In 2015 was the launch of Kazakhstan's Plan for the Nation which provided for main policy reforms and their likely implications over a period of five years. One of five key pillars of the reform programme was the creation of a modern and professional civil service which eschews nepotism, protectionism and corruption. Kazakhstan looks to Europe, North America, and countries such as Malaysia and Singapore for models of best practice, embracing key elements of public management (e-government, decentralization, and performance management systems). The EU has been committed to supporting the plan which, taken together, maps a pathway towards deep political, economic and social reforms.

The two projects to be evaluated (Enhancing Kazakhstan’s Sector Competitiveness through Better Regulations and Institutions; and Civil Service Reform and Modernisation of the Government of Kazakhstan) were key elements in the EU's support to Kazakhstan's wider Plan for the Nation. They fell under the programme "Public sector reform and modernization: supporting Kazakhstan's policy to modernize its public administration" (PSRM) (DCI-ASIE/2010/022-081). This programme aimed at contributing to the implementation of the Government's public sector reform, focusing on (i) effectiveness of central state administration in four sectors (Education, Environment, Agriculture and Industry/Innovation), (ii) improved public service standards (iii) and professionalization of civil service.

Since December 2015 there existed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the European Union, however bi-lateral financial support from the EU to Kazakhstan has now come to an end. Therefore, the aim of the evaluation of these two major projects was to examine the extent to which the projects delivered their objectives and to offer recommendations on the way forward, especially taking account of the new reality of a regional as opposed to a bi-lateral cooperation approach. Since Kazakhstan is seen as a leading country in the Central Asian region there may well be important lessons for neighbouring countries (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan).

Therefore the main objectives of this evaluation was to provide the relevant services of the EU, the interested stakeholders and the wider public with:

• An overall independent assessment of the past performance of the projects "Enhancing Kazakhstan’s Sector Competitiveness through better Regulations and Institutions" and

"Civil Service Reform and Modernisation of the Government of Kazakhstan"; and

• Key lessons and recommendations in order to improve future actions.

More specifically, the evaluation team

• Conducted an overall independent assessment about the performance of the two projects, paying particularly attention to the actual impact of the projects’ actions against their objectives; and
• Identified key lessons and propose practical recommendations for relevant follow-up actions by the Delegation of the EU and national stakeholders, taking full account that Kazakhstan is a graduated country without any new bilateral cooperation under the DCI instrument since 2014.

The objective of the study was to provide the EU with a review of the gender situation in Central Asia and in each of the 5 countries of the region (i.e. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan) as well as specific recommendations.

The review provided an understanding whether gender inequalities persist both formally and informally in each country of Central Asia, i.e. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and in the Central Asia region considered as a whole.

The study focused equally on causes of gender inequalities and discrimination, how it intersects with other inequalities, how it impacts on human rights enjoyment and/or benefits produced by and access to development efforts as well as an understanding of partner governments' commitment and capacity to work on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE) issues.

Finally, it provided specific recommendations on issues to be addressed to improve gender situation and discrimination in each of these sectors through EU assistance through the Development and Cooperation Instrument at regional and bilateral levels focussing for the latter on the focal sectors of EU intervention in each country.

The Evaluation of the European Union’s co-operation with Central Asia (2007-2014) evaluated the design and the implementation of policies, strategies and sector programmes of the EU’s past and current development cooperation support to Central Asia.

The main objectives of the evaluation were:

• to provide the relevant external co-operation services of the European Union and the wider public with an overall independent assessment of the European Union’s past and current co-operation;
• to identify key lessons and to produce recommendations to improve current and inform future choices on co-operation strategy and delivery.

The evaluation used the five standard OECD/DAC evaluation criteria, namely relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability. In addition the evaluation also looks at the EU added value and the 3Cs.

The evaluation was conducted in four phases:

• an Inception Phase, focusing on the design and the methodology of the evaluation including the reconstruction of the intervention logic and the compilation of a comprehensive inventory incl. monetary flow of all relevant activities between 2007 and 2014;
• a Desk phase, focusing on gathering and analysing existing data and information (through literature/document reviews and interviews/focus groups/surveys) and the delivery of a Desk report;
• a Field phase, including preparation of field missions, visits to the study countries and drafting of country notes;
• a Synthesis phase, producing a final report and dissemination of results to concerned stakeholders.

The evaluation included an in depth analysis of the contribution of EU support to development outcomes in the following sectors:

• Environment (focus on water management and climate change)
• Private sector development
• Education (higher education and vocational training)
• Border management, customs, fight against organised crime, and the rule of law

The report is available at:

https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/evaluation-eu-regional-level-support-central-asia-2007-2014_en