Mid-Term Review of the AGIR Programme - Sida

A N N E X 3 – I N C E P T I O N R E P O R T
Recommendations on scope
Since the AGIR programme is still in its early formative years and there is the real
possibility that the capacity strengthening processes may have not, as yet, achieved
the intended but long-term ‘outcomes’, the evaluation team recommends a focus on
the identification and assessment of outcomes at the immediate and intermediate
level of the capacity development process.
The evaluative assessment of the mid-term review will have a primary focus on the
CSO partners involved in the AGIR programme. It is at this level that the achievement
of programme ‘outcomes’ is expected. A critical part of the evaluation will be
the information collected through semi-structured interviews with selected CSO partner
organisations, examining both internal and external capacity of the CSO partner
organisations and their work in the AGIR programme. Out of the total of the current
47 partners it is suggested that 8-10 are to be selected for in-depth semi-structured
interviewing. A set of criteria is proposed to guide the selection of these partners.
A key component of the evaluative review will be an examination of the partnership
strategies used by the intermediaries, which will be critical to assessing the sustainability
of the programme and the ability of the intermediaries to continue with the level
of support that they currently provide to their CSO partners.
Proposed Approach and Methodology
The proposed approach in this inception report will focus its evaluative analysis on
issues of capacity strengthening, partnership development, monitoring and reporting
processes and the effectiveness of the programme. These will be addressed using the
evaluative criteria of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact.
A central perspective taken by this evaluation is that there are multiple ‘spheres of
influence’ in the AGIR programme that are linked together through relationships between
donors and intermediaries, intermediaries and partner CSOs, and CSOs and
their own partners in the communities in which they work. Given the structure of the
AGIR programme (one programme with sub-programme intermediaries partnering
with local CSOs) and its focus on capacity strengthening processes, a clear understanding
of the different ‘spheres of influence’ within the AGIR programme is necessary
to identify and assess outcomes related to the programme approach. Identifying
and documenting the ‘change pathways’ and outcomes associated with this capacity
strengthening process of CSOs will be central to understanding the progress, to date,
of the AGIR programme and its ability to sustain this progress in the near and longterm
future.
The approach to the evaluation will require evidence collecting in both Maputo and in
the provinces of Mozambique where many of the CSO partners work. The two main
sources of evidence to be used in this evaluation will be the review of programme
documentation at the donor, intermediary and CSO partner level, and the use of information
gathered primarily through interviews with individuals at the donor, intermediary
and CSO partner levels.
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