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
Donor Intermediary CSO Partner
Understanding how AGIR
intermediary organisations
have influenced their
CSO partners requires an
equal understanding of the
cascading levels of actors
and the spheres of influence
that each represent.
Documenting the linkages
between these spheres of
influence – essentially the
‘pathways of change’ through which influence happens – are critical to identifying
and documenting outcomes (both immediate and intermediate) achieved through the
work of the programme. As stated by Patton, “Interacting elements and agents respond
and adapt to each other, and to their environment, so that what emerges is a
function of ongoing adaptation both among interacting elements and the responsive
relationships interacting agents have with their environment” (2011;131). The key to
understanding and documenting these ‘pathways to change’ (and the linkages between
outputs, outcomes and impact) is to focus on the relationships between the various
actors involved in the programme – in the case of the AGIR programme, these
are the levels of donor, intermediaries, CSOs and finally, local communities. All are
part of the results change through which support flows outwards and outcomes/results
flow back. A primary goal of this evaluative work will be to identify, analyse and
document these linkages and the results that are produced.
Recommendations Regarding Evaluation Scope
The scope of the evaluation needs to be considered both in terms of the period of Sida
support to be assessed and concerning the range of the programme components to be
examined.
Time Period
The AGIR programme is still in its early formative years. The AGIR programme was
initiated in 2010, however a large part of its active operation has taken place in 2011-
12. With this in mind, there is the real possibility that intended but long-term ‘outcomes’
(or impact) of the capacity strengthening processes by the intermediary IN-
GOs with their CSO partners may not have, as yet, been achieved. Therefore a focus
on identifying and assessing outcomes at the immediate and intermediate level of
this capacity development process will be the focus.
Program Components and Evaluative Focus
The evaluative assessment within 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. Our initial review of programme
documentation, as well as through direct discussions with AGIR intermediary organisations,
indicates that the ‘pool’ of CSO partners across the different sub-programmes
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