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Empower:Building peace through the economic empowerment of women in northern Sri Lanka - Final evaluation

eval_number:

2851

eval_url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/2851

lessons_learned:

themes:

theme:

Resource management

category:

Organizational issues

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comments:

ILO Country Office, and UN RC Office, ILO teams overseeing financing and resource mobilization options at ILO regional office and Headquarters.

challenges:

Low capacity for the ILO country office, longer time needed for conceptualization and project preparation, delay in the recruitment of skilled personnel to oversee programme management functions, and a longer time duration for provincial and local agencies to fully come on board, given its low institutional and organizational capacity. A few weeks before completion, the ILO Country Office requested second extension given its uncommitted fund balance and pipeline projects that had already been identified. However, the PBF Secretariat refused the second extension.

success:

It is likely that the UNCT had several agencies requesting funding. The funding pot was small and could not accommodate a medium term request from the ILO. All these forms the reason for the ILO to document its best practice and lessons learned with good evaluative evidence of its programmes going forward. PBF Secretariat allowed a six month extension of the project given its uncommitted balances and the project implementation delays.

context:

Given the ILO mission and mandate and the recognition that DWCPs and its tenets require long term planning, the decision to go with a short term instrument in a post conflict zone that required long term programming and planning instruments, with carefully designed results and risks frameworks that are operationally feasible are key. The 18 month caveat with multiple project implementation delays were costly in the short run, for all the key players concerned especially the ILO as a lead agency. Country missions must adopt strict planning and design tools and carefully consider the costs and benefits of different financing modalities and instruments in terms of their timeline and collaborative arrangements on a case by case basis to allow for efficiency in operations at all levels The PRF is generally better suited to more stable post conflict contexts given the situation with Sri Lanka, having been able to build peace reconciliation efforts in the Northern Province, it was surprising to note as to why the ILO had not negotiated a longer term financing modality.(The requirements of a PRF are a government peacebuilding strategy, conflict analysis and UNCT prioritization). Although the IRF provided an extension of six months, this was not adequate to complete all the project commitments and this led to a fair percentage of funds having to be returned to the PBF Secretariat Office.

description:

The PBF financing modality: The PBF modality was that of a short term financing instrument with long term planned outcomes, which was a disconnect.

administrative_issues:

ILO staff capacity, difficulty of agreement with the UN RC Office on prioritization of the ILO EMPOWER project based on results achieved with its agro centric cooperatives and value chain programmes. Inadequate staff skills at ILO for conceptualization and formulation of the project profile given its multidimensional aspects. Agreement from provincial and local authorities for the prioritization of the ILO project.

url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/lessons/227904

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location:

country:

Sri Lanka

region:

Asia and the Pacific

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eval_title:

Empower:Building peace through the economic empowerment of women in northern Sri Lanka - Final evaluation