Our projects

The Capacity Building for Results (CBR) Facility was a 5-year USD 350m reform and capacity building program, funded through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). CBR was jointly implemented by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC).

The Facility's objective was to improve the capacity and performance of selected line ministries. This was achieved through a series of capacity and institution building programs, which included systematic monitoring of and reporting on results such as the restructuring of ministries, implementing pay-and-grade reforms, improving budget execution and simplifying business processes.

In return for progress on these reforms, line ministries received resources to recruit, pay and manage skilled national staff. These national staff became part of the ministry’s professional civil service both at central and sub-national level.

• Particip supported the MoF and IARCSC in HR related tasks under the CBR, including supporting the preparation of ToR, recruitment, performance appraisal, checking credentials of applicants, and other due diligence activities in line with government law and procedures.
• Particip reviewed and improved recruitment processes and procedures, management and evaluation of performance, and assure transparent and effective HR processes.
• Particip developed an HR database and reporting system for progress tracking and control.
• Particip assisted development and implementation of a Mid-level Management Development Programme and Management Internship Programme.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus is aware that an indicator of the efficiency of all services and units can only be the well-being of citizens of Belarus. For citizens to feel safe, the rescuer should be professional and show a high level of professionalism, both in emergencies and in everyday life, providing work to prevent accidents, fires and other disasters.

Therefore, the global objective was to support the EU Delegation to Belarus and the Government of Belarus in the preparation of documents needed for launching a twinning project with the Ministry of Emergency Situations to be financed under the European Neighbourhood Instrument. The purpose of this project was to strengthen the capacities of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to effectively address existing and emerging disaster risks in Belarus.

The specific objective of this contract was to draft a twinning fiche to improve civil protection and disaster risk management services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus by applying best practices from the EU Member States in implementation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

The global objective was to improve efficiency and professionalism in the judiciary with regards to a broader access to justice

The specific objective was to support the Ministry of Justice in establishing an effective system of legal aid.

Global objective:

• To increase NGOs capacity to perform their roles as independent development actors more effectively.

Specific objective(s):

• To strengthen the capacity of Timorese NGOs in proposal writing, project management and management of grant contracts under EU procedures.

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.

In its 21 years of independence, Azerbaijan had made significant progress in terms of socio-economic development. However, although some important results had been achieved in the justice sector, inter alia through an EC financed budget support programme, the justice systems needed to be further modernized.

In line with this approach, the global objective of the assignment was to contribute to strengthening the rule of law in Azerbaijan. The specific objectives were to provide technical assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan by supporting the development of an independent, professional, impartial and fair judicial system and improving the services provided by the agencies that implement criminal court orders.

This project was developed as part of the Institutional Reform Programmes (IRPs) on rule of law, aiming to strengthen the institutional capacity of key actors involved in justice reform, in particular the Ministry of Justice (including the Penitentiary Administration), the Judicial Legal Council and the Anti-Corruption Department within the General Prosecutor’s Office.

The project was made up of two components:

• Component 1: Judicial Reform

Results to be achieved for component 1

1. The core elements of judicial independence were analysed and relevant measures were addressed.

2. Anti-Corruption legislation and practices were strengthened.

3. The level of public trust in the Court system was increased.

The project supported the Judicial Legal Council in its role as guarantor of judicial independence. More specifically, the role and functions of the Judicial Legal Council and modernization of current legislation were analysed. Open debates and discussions on European and International standards on judicial independence were held at national level.

Close collaboration with the Ministry of Justice was ensured and the Head Department on Anti-Corruption within the General Prosecutor’s Office was institutionally strengthened.

Taking a rights-based perspective, the project fostered the legal education at grass-roots level (in 3 rural areas), and surveys amongst Court users, including the development of several sets of surveys/indicators. The project contributed to building the institutional capacity of the Head Department on Anti-Corruption within the General Prosecutor’s Office in order to properly enforce the integrity measures for the judiciary, including conflict of interest, and to modernize the techniques of criminal investigation and pursuit.

• Component 2: Offender Management System

Results to be achieved for component 2:

1. Preparations to introduce a Probation Service were significantly advanced.

2. Pilot projects demonstrated key aspects of a modern probation service.

3. The offender management agencies worked in closer cooperation.

The first task in offender management was to invigorate efforts to establish a probation service in Azerbaijan. Alternatives to prison sentences for mid-range offenders, and supervised early release schemes for more serious offenders, were considered essential aspects of effective offender management. The second part of this component involved demonstrating selected aspects of a modern probation service. Pilot projects were therefore established in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, other government departments and civil society. Moreover, this project introduced leaders of the penal agencies to methods of integration used in other countries, and supported practical action.

Coordination between the main agencies for penal services (i.e. police, prosecutors, courts and prisons) were improved.

The MTE aimed to provide independent insights into further improving effective, efficient and economic delivery on results in order to inform the project implementation and make adjustments if necessary through the evaluation of the management and delivery set-up, structures and processes of the ongoing project.

It also aimed to enable ICMPD as well as project stakeholders to assess the project implementation experience at mid-term, learn from the experiences mindful of evolution of the context, and determine adjustments to optimize project implementation and outcomes.

The evaluation identified lessons learnt as well as effective practices based on the experience of 24 months of the project and come up with proposals/recommendations on how to refine the project activities as well as management to best achieve its intended results.

Through the OECD evaluation criteria the exercise reviewed the project implementation, including management, structure, internal mechanisms, and working procedures, as well as outputs and outcomes.

The evaluation reviewed the ways the project adapted its structure and internal mechanisms to the changing environment of migration issues.

The evaluation fully covered eight issues underlined in the tender ToR, plus one to incorporate the OECD criteria:

• Describe the status quo of project implementation based on a review of activities and budget expenditures (comparison planned vs. actual);
• Assess to which extent the project activities have remained consistent with objectives and key results outlined in the project proposa;
• Informally assess the extent project objectives remain suited to possibly evolving priorities and policies of target groups, and consistency of activities and outputs with over goal and objectives;
• Assess whether the logic intervention (logframe) of the project needs to be updated, considering the fast changing project context, and suggest a revised logframe design;
• Determine the interaction with the project partners and gain stakeholder information and feedback;
• Rate how the management arrangements support the effective and efficient implementation of the project;
• Identify constraints and challenges and how these can be mitigated during the project continuation;
• Identify lessons learned, effective practices and formulate recommendations as regards the implementation and management of the project;
• Formulate recommendations on how to enhance the expected impact of project activities.

The main objectives of this evaluation were to provide the relevant services of the European Union, the interested stakeholders and the wider public with:

• an overall independent assessment of the past performance of the IfS/IcSP support to mine;

action related projects and programmes;

• key lessons and recommendations in order to improve current (if relevant) and future actions;
• recommendations for the future within the frame of the EU guidelines on Mine Action that are currently subject to review.

In particular, this evaluation served the European Commission, the European External Action Service, and other relevant stakeholders with:

• an independent assessment of the overall IfS/IcSP support to mine action (2007-2017), paying particularly attention to the results achieved against its objectives;
• key lessons and recommendations to FPI.2 in order to improve current and future support for mine action related interventions financed under the IcSP;
• recommendations to the European Commission on the best way to approach and improve its support to mine action overall.

The main users of this evaluation will be the European Commission and the European External Action Service.

This evaluation assessed Finland’s development co-operation activities and policy influencing on gender equality and commitment to enhance the rights of women and girls as a cross cutting objective as well as the priority objective of funding. The emphasis in this evaluation was on co-operation where gender equality is the priority objective.

The main objective of this evaluation was to assess the value and merit of programmes and policy influencing in those initiatives where Gender equality, especially rights of women and girls has been the main objective of the initiative, or the mainstreaming has been prioritised in the initiative or it has been a condition for Finland’s engagement with an organization.

This evaluation covered the activities under the two last development policies from 2012 until the end of 2017.

The evaluation was divided into five phases:

• Planning phase: Identification of Team Leader and finalisation of ToR,
• Start-up phase: Development of first draft approach and methodology
• Inception phase: Desk analysis and preparation of a detailed evaluation matrix. The desk study included a comprehensive context and document analysis. It also included a mapping of programs and their different sources of funding.
• Implementation phase: Included visits at the HQ offices of UNFPA and UN Women in New York, EU HQ in Brussels and three bilateral cooperation countries (Nepal, Kenya and Somalia).
• Reporting and dissemination phase: Drafting of final report and dissemination of final results.

The report is available at: https://um.fi/documents/384998/0/Evaluation_Women_and_Girls_rights_NETTI_2018+%281%29.pdf/eec54c45-a96e-c084-4ada-8c9056548d04

The Task Force was requested to feed the debate with a large variety of documents and analysis, both on the content and on the form of the possible future partnership beyond 2020.

The consultants supported the Task Force in drafting documents. The documents took the form of e.g. briefings, option papers, issue papers, sectorial or geographical analysis. Specific tasks were detailed during the contract period, depending on the outcomes of the current debate and on the orientations yet to be taken at political level.