Central African Republic

The general objective of this assignment was to provide the European Commission, EU Member States, and other stakeholders with an independent final evaluation of the EU Trust Fund Bekou. The Bekou Trust Fund had been established in July 2014 to support the Central African Republic in its transition from crisis to development through stabilisation, reconstruction, and resilience-building interventions. The final evaluation covered the period from the Fund's inception until 2024. This strategic evaluation had a dual thematic scope: on the one hand, all the sectors of intervention financed by the Fund, and, on the other hand, the Fund as a political and financial instrument.

The specific objectives of the evaluation are:

• To assess the response of the Bekou Trust Fund to the needs of beneficiaries and its contribution to results in a crisis context and regarding the SDGs;
• To assess the ownership by stakeholders in the CAR and the sustainability of the interventions financed by the Bekou Trust Fund;
• To identify lessons learned from the Bekou Trust Fund within the framework of the principles of aid effectiveness;
• To examine the comparative advantages of the functioning of the Bekou Trust Fund and on the sustainability of its working methods.

The technical assistance contributed to a more efficient implementation of EU resources in the Central African Republic and, as a result, improved the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of aid in order to increase its impact on the economic and social development, in line with the National Plan for Recovery and Peacebuilding in the Central African Republic (RCPCA 2017 - 2021) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Through the institutional support to the National Authorising Officer (Component 1) and the Technical Cooperation Facility (FCT) (Component 2), the project aimed to:

• improve coordination and streamlining of aid (from the EDF, the Bêkou Fund or other donors);
• strengthen the monitoring of public policies through regular political dialogue and interface with technical ministries;
• support the National Authorising Officer Support Unit (CAONF) and the EU-funded project and program management teams;
• support the Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation in his leadership on the process of implementation of the RCPCA and the management of aid in the Central African Republic.

In addition, the Consortium managed a Programme Estimate in the "Private commissioned operations" mode amounting to 849,727.07 Euro.

The general objective of the project was to reduce gender-based violence in the Central African Republic. The action was aligned with the national strategy to combat gender-based violence, child marriage and female genital mutilation in the Central African Republic (2019-2023).

The specific objective of this contract was as follows: CAR's governance in the fight against GBV is strengthened. The aim was to strengthen the MPFFPE's technical expertise in women's rights, gender and GBV, based on jointly identified needs.

The general objective of this technical assistance was to support the CEMAC Commission in the coordination and monitoring of infrastructure projects financed through blending mechanisms under the Support Programme for the Governance of Regional and National Infrastructure in Central Africa (PAGIRN).

From a specific perspective, the technical assistance supported the specialized structures of the CEMAC and ECCAS Commissions in:

• The coordination and monitoring of infrastructure projects financed through blending mechanisms for the beneficiary states of PAGIRN in Central Africa;
• The search for financing for regional infrastructure projects using blending mechanisms and providing coaching on financial structuring for proposals deemed eligible by CEMAC/ECCAS Member States and Development Partners (including development financial institutions);
• Ensuring the ownership, by the specialized structures of the CEMAC and ECCAS Commissions, Member States, and the private sector, of the financing instrument through blending mechanisms.

The following results were to be achieved by the service provider:

• Financing proposals for priority infrastructure identified by Member States, with concrete interest from financial institutions, were prepared and negotiated;
• Staff from the two RECs were trained in the coordination and monitoring of infrastructure projects financed through blending mechanisms;
• Member States, as well as the private and financial sectors, were sensitized to the blending financing modality for infrastructure;
• The directory of regional infrastructure projects financed through blending mechanisms was consolidated to facilitate their monitoring;
• PAGIRN Steering Committee (COPIL) meetings were held (at least once a year);
• An operational coordination mechanism by the CEMAC Commission for regional infrastructure projects eligible for blending financing in Central Africa was established.

The overall objective of the project of which this contract is a part is to foster a credible, inclusive and transparent electoral process in the Central African Republic.

This contract has the following specific objectives:

• the electoral framework in CAR is comprehensive and coherent;
• the organization of the presidential, legislative and local elections 2020/2021 is done by ANE in compliance with the legal framework ;
• The communication of the ANE (National Authority of Elections) with the actors of the electoral process is objective, factual and precise;
• ANE is strengthened in the work that it will be called upon to build in the post-election period, which may include evaluations, the perpetuation of achievements, and the preparation of electoral reform projects.

The mission will contribute to the adoption of effective solutions, the choice of measures aimed at sustainability, and the strengthening of beneficiaries' capacities by focusing as much as possible on the transfer of skills.

The Evaluation focuses on the development cooperation of the European Union (EU) with the Central African Republic (CAR), the cooperation strategy since 2008 and its implementation from 2014 to 2019.

This evaluation had two overarching objectives. Firstly, to provide the relevant external co-operation services of the European Union (EU) and the wider public with an overall independent assessment of the EU's past and current cooperation with Central African Republic. And secondly, to identify key lessons and to produce recommendations in order to inform the responsible decision makers on how to improve the current and future strategies, programmes and actions of the EU.

In addition, the specific objectives for this evaluation were to:

• Assess the performance (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, impact, sustainability and EU value added) of EU support (policy dialogue and financial assistance) and its contribution to the restoration of an inclusive and sustainable peace in CAR;
• Draw lessons for the EU's future intervention in fragile states;
• Provide recommendations for the next programming cycle (2021-2027).

The thematic scope of the evaluation covered: economic governance and public administration, justice, democratic governance, security, education, health (including urban water and sanitation), as well as rural resilience, job creation and the management of natural resources. The evaluation also analysed the support for major infrastructure networks and regional economic integration.

The overall objective of the program of which this market is a part was "improvement of the governance of natural resources and the management of protected areas with a view to contributing to a green economy characterized by endogenous, sustainable and inclusive economic development, as well as 'to the fight against climate change".

The specific objective was "a more effective preservation of diversity and fragile ecosystems" in relation to associated ecosystem services.

This project had the following three specific objectives:

• Establish a rapid assessment and disgnosis of the Ecofaune+ (NE component) and Chinko (SE component) projects; contextualize this diagnosis at the national and international level.
• Identify and formulate an action to take over from Ecofaune+ in the comming years and at the latest until April 2022 (deadline for the implementation of Ecofac VI).
• Specify the action document for the Chinko grant no later than April 2022 (deadline for implementation of Ecofac VI).
• Propose the most relevant indicator to be included in the logical framework of the previous two actions, and define the targets to be included in the logical framework model proposed by the ECOFAC 6 financing agreement.

The objective of the evaluation was to provide an overall independent assessment of the performance of the African Peace Facility (APF) for the period 2014-2016 and, on this basis, draw key lessons and recommendations in order to improve current and future support through that instrument.

The evaluation served policy decision-making and project management purposes. The main users of this evaluation were DG DEVCO, the EEAS, EU delegations in the APF beneficiary regions; the AU and the REC/RMs. The evaluation also generated results of interest to governmental and civil society partners and the EU member states.

Evaluators followed a two-step approach:

• First, the evaluation provided an assessment of what has been achieved through the APF for the period 2014-2016 with regards to Peace Support Operations and capacity-building, taking into account the conclusions and recommendations of th11-0248-052e 2013 APF evaluation.
• Second and based on the findings of the first step, the evaluation offered concrete and actionable follow-up as well as new recommendations to address the remaining and new challenges faced by the APF.

The principal objectives of the evaluation were to present the following to the concerned departments of the EU’s international cooperation, to the partner government and, if need be, to the general public:

• a global, totally independent assessment of the results of the intervention (1st phase of the project Rehabilitation of basic social services and reinforcement of local authorities’ capacities in the poles of development (PDD)) by putting a special focus on the results of the project in relation to its objectives;
• the principal lessons learnt of the intervention as well as recommendations in order to improve the measures in place and future actions.

Being the mid-term evaluation, its principal objective was related to the weak performance of the implementation of the Project less than a year before the expiry of the contract, which had already been extended to D+7. It seemed to be crucial to identify the underlying causes for that in an independent and detailed way, which allowed the evaluator to propose short-term correcting solutions in order to finalize or reorient the foreseen activities in an appropriate way, to strengthen the achievement of the results and to limit decommitments upon expiry of the convention.

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 main objectives of the evaluation were to provide the relevant external co-operation services of the contributing partners the African Union and, when appropriate, the wider public with:

• an overall independent assessment of the past performance (from 1 January 2013 until 31 December 2015) of the intervention (Sustaining and strengthening African Union’s Liaison Offices in post-conflict countries), paying particular attention to the results of the project against its objectives;
• key lessons learnt and recommendations in order to improve current and future action.

The evaluation was intended to inform the remaining period of implementation of the project, as well as the additional support to the AULO from 1 January 2018.

Evaluations should serve decision-making, learning and management purposes. This evaluation did provide indications to both the AUC and partners on key aspects of the programme management, and fed in the discussion on perspective mandate renewals.