The Support to Rural Entrepreneurship, Investment and Trade in Papua New Guinea (EU-STREIT PNG) was the largest grant-funded project of the EU in the Pacific region at the time of the assignment. With a budget of nearly 90 million EUR, it was implemented by a consortium of five UN agencies (led by FAO) from 2020 to 2026 in the two Sepik provinces of Papua New Guinea. It aimed to foster rural development through a holistic approach that integrated the development of three agrofishery value chains (cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries) with enabling services and infrastructure, in particular business services for farmers and their organisations, financial services and digital services, rural transport infrastructure, and renewable energy.
The evaluation was commissioned by the EU Delegation to Papua New Guinea and was managed by the Delegation together with FAO and the Department of National Planning and Monitoring of PNG. Its global objective was to provide the relevant services of the EU, its development partners, and other interested stakeholders with an overall independent assessment of the performance of the programme, paying particular attention to the results achieved and the underlying reasons of these achievements. It also identified lessons learned, conclusions, and recommendations to improve current and future interventions. The evaluation scope included all programme activities over the entire implementation period.
Methodologically, the evaluation adopted a theory-based approach using mixed methods. Qualitative research included a comprehensive document review and primary data collection through remote interviews and an in-country mission in Port Moresby and the Sepik provinces to conduct face-to-face interviews, focus groups with beneficiaries, and field visits to project sites. In terms of quantitative methods, the team analysed the data available in the programme's Management Information System (STREITMIS).