Mobilizing Resources for a Water Secure Africa: An Independent Evaluation of the African Water Facility (2005-2018)

The African Water Facility (AWF) is a multilateral Special Fund that provides grants and technical assistance to enable governments, non-governmental organizations and private-public partnerships to address the increasing investment need for the development and management of water resources in Africa. After almost 15 years of implementation, during which the AWF had approved 118 operations in 52 countries for a total volume of €163.3 million, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the trustee of the AWF, commissioned an independent evaluation of the Facility.

Objective and methodology

The evaluation had a dual objective of accountability (by examining the organizational and development effectiveness of the AWF) and learning (by identifying lessons on what has worked, not worked and why).  

The evaluation design used a combined theory-based, system-based and multi-level approach. In line with the status of the AWF portfolio, summative (backward-looking) and formative (forward-looking) approaches were used to conduct the evaluation. The evaluation was informed by five core background reports, namely the inception report, portfolio review, policy and literature review, case studies (covering nine countries), and a synthesis report.

Key findings

The evaluation found the AWF to be a highly relevant instrument and one of the few water-related actors that operate at the African continental scale in support of project preparation, which enables further co-production and co-financing of projects with a range of development partners and actors. The AWF’s focus on “soft” development aspects, such as project preparation, innovation, and policy development, was found to have added a unique value to addressing the continent’s water and sanitation challenges. In terms of development effectiveness, the AWF was deemed overall satisfactory, although there is an indication of a decline in recent years due to shifting strategic priorities. The AWF has been effective in enabling African countries to introduce innovative models for managing national water resources. In regard to organizational effectiveness, its technical capabilities were found to have declined, which was partially attributable to diminished staff resources as a result of limited financial resources at its disposal. Its operational processes and procedures were found to be moderately appropriate and relevant, and suffered a number of drawbacks related to project and data management, reporting, communication, and project follow-up. These shortcomings were largely attributable to staff shortages that should be addressed.

The AWF’s project efficiency was rated unsatisfactory, based on timeliness and disbursement challenges. However, with regard to the ownership and sustainability of partnerships, the AWF’s approach, flexibility, and manner of operating enabled it to be highly relevant to country needs.

The evaluation found that gender equality was not a priority in AWF project proposals and reporting. Also, while 24% of the 118 AWF projects have been undertaken in transition countries and vulnerable contexts, the extent to which they have intentionally been framed as transformative in this regard is limited.

Recommendations

The evaluation proposes the following recommendations to the AWF:

1. Be more flexible, nimble and efficient, to maintain its comparative advantage and fulfill its mandate, in collaboration with the AfDB.
2. Widen the composition of the AWF Governing Council to include a broader set of stakeholders to improve strategic guidance, given the political origins of the AWF, while the AfDB Board of Directors focuses on operational issues.
3. Improve the results reporting and communication of the AWF (about the AWF as a Facility, its operations, and achievements) to its range of stakeholders.
4. Adopt concrete measures to improve its operational efficiency for optimal delivery on its mandates.
5. Engage more with decision-makers and continue to market itself to donors to renew their participation and engagement, thereby increasing its financing.

 

Evaluation Task Manager:

Joseph MOUANDA, Chief Evaluation Officer