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Project: Transparency and Public Accountability in Education in Brazil
Evaluation Date: June 2020
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

For an objective assessment of the project impact, the results frameworks must contain baseline, indicators and target that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART). Use a Monitoring work-plan to determine how the project’s specific activities and results are contributing to the achievement of the project’s outcomes and final impact.

Theme: Interaction with government

Brazil baseline, impact, indicator, measure, monitoring, objective, plan, relevant, results, results framework, SMART, target

Project: Empowering Female and Youth Domestic Workers in Uganda
Evaluation Date: September 2020
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Training individual duty-bearers can impact on their own attitudes but rarely has a wider or organizational impact.

Theme: Rule of law

Uganda impact, stakeholder, training

Project: Fostering the Electoral Participation of Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia
Evaluation Date: November 2021
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

This project, as designed and presented had the potential to develop into a forward-looking program with a far-reaching positive impact on increasing the target population’s participation in elections as voters and as candidates. Though most of the expected outputs were successfully delivered, their impact was rather limited. LAG put efforts into producing the outputs in quantity, but due to the lack of programmatic approach and appropriate followup missed an opportunity to ensure their long-term applicability. In some cases, especially as regards the two main assets developed within the project’s framework – the Trainers’ Pool and the capacitated CSOs, this resulted in insufficient performance. Applying the mechanisms and capacity developed within the project’s framework during the 2021 municipal and subsequent elections would be instrumental in increasing the sustainability of the project’s results and its longer-term impact.

Theme: Community activism

Georgia candidate, capacity, elections, impact, long-term, output, participation, project design, result, sustainable, target, training, voter

Project: Fostering the Electoral Participation of Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia
Evaluation Date: November 2021
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Elections-related projects aimed at contributing to the democratic consolidation, cannot be seen as self-sufficient, stand-alone initiatives. In the current case, not considering the deviation of the team’s assumptions from the actual baseline and the lack of subsequent review of the implementation strategy negatively affected the project’s relevance and overall impact. When drafting and implementing such projects, it is therefore important to consider the wide range of factors related not only to the micro dimension but also those related to the macro dimension, which are relevant for the project’s integration and relevance within the larger policy context and important for the sustainability and impact to reach beyond the project’s immediate lifetime.

Theme: Community activism

Georgia analysis, baseline, context, democracy, elections, impact, policy, project design, relevant, sustainable

Project: Learning Democracy DemoLab in Hungary
Evaluation Date: September 2020
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Projects often trigger soft outcomes (e.g. openness, more respect towards other, team work, etc.) – or the impacts are only visible in the longer run – and therefore are hard to measure.

However, it is important to think about meaningful and appropriate indicators and ways to measure them that can be realistically followed up later.

Theme: Youth engagement

Hungary impact, indicator, measure

Project: Towards a Rights-based Political Culture for the Political Participation of the Dominican Population of Haitian Origin
Evaluation Date: November 2018
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

When the project tackles long-standing generational issues (as is the case in this project), the methodology used to guide the intervention plays a key role in project impact.

The use of a ‘Theory of Change’ (ToC) approach can help with looking beyond the logical framework to collectively construct a clear understanding of the transformations sought by the project.

The use of a ToC approach can help…:
1) Organizational awareness of the need to review and update the assumptions used in the initial project design
2) Simplify the nature of the context and determine whether the initially established conditions for change have been maintained
3) Redefine new strategies as needed

Theme: Rule of law

Dominican Republic context, impact, implementation, planning

Project: Fostering Ethical Democracy and Advancing Micro Justice in India
Evaluation Date: September 2018
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

In order to effectively achieve project goals, grantees must be realistic about their organizational capacity, especially when working in areas and subject matters that are new to their organization. Grantees should call upon the expertise of other organizations with more experience in those fields if possible.

Theme: Rule of law

India assistance, coordination, delegate, impact, networks, project strategy

Project: Increased Citizen Dialogue through Strengthened Media in Jordan
Evaluation Date: October 2017
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Software and tools developed in a project may have different applications beyond the initial concept. In spite of the issues linked to different understandings of “Maidan” app, the tool has potential to be highly useful and efficient for journalists and other actors alike. It is important for both the grantee and UNDEF to consider other applications of specific software development or upgrades beyond the scope of the project for sustained impact.

Theme: Media

Jordan adapt, impact, journalists, technology

Project: Rural Media Development for Promoting Democracy and Human Rights
Evaluation Date: November 2017
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The grantee collected rich and interesting data but was let down by not analyzing this data sufficiently to provide evidence of progress. Moreover, the overall M&E system needed more coherence, so that projects are able to measure the same indicators at the beginning and the end to show progress. This could have been done in various ways, for instance, by using the same framework for baseline and endline data collection, or by pre and post training questionnaires.

Theme: Media

Bangladesh impact, indicators, monitoring

Project: Advancing the rights of women in the West Bank periphery, Palestine
Evaluation Date: February 2015
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

While the impact of increased skills in urban planning on the development of West Bank communities will take some time to materialize, some of the participants were able to access work placements and as a result were likely to be able to compete more equitably for urban planning jobs. In addition, women from these groups have provided input to the Palestinian Authority’s Physical Planning Manual.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Palestine impact, urban planning

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