Summary of Terminal Evaluation
I.

Outline of the ProjectCountry: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Project Title: The Community Development Project for
Returnees and Receiving Communities in Nangarhar
Province

Issue/Sector: Infrastructure

Cooperation Scheme: Technical Cooperation Project

Division in Charge: Economic Infrastructure

Total Cost： 1 billion yen (as of Terminal Evaluation)

Department
Period ofJuly 2010 – July 2013

Partner Country’s Implementing Organization:

Cooperation（36 months）

Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG)
Provincial Government of Nangarhar Province (PGON)
Cooperation Organization (Japanese side): -1-1 Background of the Project
Since the start of Assisted Voluntary Repatriation Program in 2002, more than 5.7 million of those1

Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland at the time of the Project started . The returnee
population, coming mostly from neighboring Pakistan and Iran, amounts to nearly a quarter of Afghanistan's
population of an estimated 24 million citizens. In 2010, approximately 110,000 Afghans have voluntarily
2

repatriated, with 23.9 percent of them returning to Nangarhar. Given the scale of return and limited
resources, a large part of the reintegration needs of returnees remained unmet and reintegration difficulties
for both returnees and receiving communities have increased. These problems are further exacerbated bylack of physical infrastructure in the return area, including clinic and schools, as well as lack of access roads
from/to the villages to the district or provincial center.
UNHCR and JICA share a common understanding of the necessity of assistance which aims ataddressing the reintegration needs of returnees in particular and, development needs of the receiving
community in general. Based on this understanding, UNHCR and JICA selected the location of the Project
taking into account the number of returnees, reintegration needs and other relevant factors. As a result,eleven (11) villages in Surkhrod and Behsud districts of Nangarhar Province have been prioritized for the
Project.
The Project has been designed based on the request from PGON and the understanding between
UNHCR and JICA, and through full consultation with PGON.
1-2 Project Overview(1) Overall Goal
Living environment of the returnees and receiving communities will be improved by effective
implementation of operation for improved of basic infrastructure at community level in Nangarhar
Province.
(2) Project Purpose
An environment conducive to implement projects for improvement of basic infrastructure at community
level in target 2 districts is developed in order to improve the living environment of the returnees andreceiving communities.
(3) Output
1
2

UNHCR information from February 2010 and from October 2010.
http://www.jica.go.jp/usa/english/office/others/newsletter/2010/1010_12_03.html

iOutput 1）

To compile current situation and development needs of Behsud and Surkhrod District inNangarhar Province.

Output 2）

To select pilot projects and prepare implementation plan with participation of local company.

Output 3）

To develop a system to be able to implement projects for improvement of basic infrastructure
in community level by local residents.

Output 4）

To develop a system to be able to implement projects for improvement of basic infrastructure
in community level by local contractor.

Output 5）

To develop an operation & maintenance system of basic infrastructure in community level.

(4) Inputs
Japanese sidea) Personnel:

11 experts in nine areas 110.3 M/M (78.1 M/M in Afghanistan, 32.2 M/M in Japan)b) Equipment: N/Ac) Training in Japan: N/Ad) Local Cost: 101.9 million yen

Afghanistan sidea) Personnel: 7 CPs
II.

b) Office space:

N/Ac) Local Cost: N/A

Evaluation Team

Members

Leader: Ms. Katsura MIYAZAKI (Deputy DG, Economic Infrastructure Department)
Peace Building: Dr. Keiichi HASHIMOTO (Senior Advisor, JICA)
Evaluation Planning: Mr. Tomoyuki YASUDA (Advisor, Economic Infrastructure Dept.)
Evaluation Analysis: Dr. Keiko WATANABE (Senior Researcher, FASID)

Period of Evaluation

10-14 February 2013

Type of Evaluation

Terminal Evaluation

III. Results of Evaluation
3-1 Achievement of Outputs
3-1-1

Output 1: To compile current situation and development needs of Behsud and Surkhrod
District in Nangarhar Province.
The Evaluation Team confirmed the level of achievement of Output 1 was high despite more timerequired to complete social surveys than planned. However, this did not undermine the achievement of
Output 1.
Objectively Verifiable Indicators

Achievement

1-1 Development needs of Behsud
and Surkhrod District in Nangarhar
are compiled in database.

・A social survey to identify needs of all target 11 villages in two
districts were conducted although it took 6 months more thanplanned schedule. The report on needs assessment on 11
villages was produced in August 2011.
・The reports on development needs for the two target districts
were also compiled in September 2011 for Surkhrod District andin November 2011 for Behsud District.

3-1-2

Output 2: To select pilot projects and prepare implementation plan with participation of
local community.
The Team confirmed that Output 2 has been achieved with utmost efforts of the Project Team. A

consensus building mechanism among communities was established by the Project and 44 projects in total
were identified.

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Objectively Verifiable Indicators

Achievements

2-1 Consultation mechanism

・BCDC was established as a mechanism for consultation among

among community residents iscommunity by the Project in all 11 targeted villages.

established.

・Besides, Implementation Committee, Procurement Committee
and Operation & Management Committee were formed underBCDC.

2-2 Implementation plan is

・ As of the Terminal Evaluation, 44 pilot projects were selected.

prepared with participation of local

The selection was done through series of consultation meetings

communities.

with local communities assisted by Facilitating Partner (FP).
・Implementation plan was also formulated under Implementation
Committee and Procurement Committee. By involving thecommunity into the formulation process, their opinions andrequests such as timing of construction in view of farming
seasons were reflected in the implementation plan.

3-1-3

Output 3: To develop a system to be able to implement projects for improvement of basic
infrastructure in community level by local residents.
The Team confirmed that the level of achievement of Output 3 was high considering the achievementof indicators and benefit brought to the villages. FP was selected and trained to facilitate community-led
pilot projects through OJT. So far 16 out of 24 identified pilot projects have been successfully conducted.
However, it is also noted that the Project is recommended to make further efforts for the manuals tobe produced by the Project to be fully utilized by the relevant stakeholders even after the Project completed.
Objectively Verifiable Indicators

Achievements

3-1 FPs are selected for・TOR for Facilitating Partner (FP) was prepared and announced

implementation of community-led

to the public for bidding. Future Generations Afghanistan (FGA)

pilot projects.

was selected in August 2010 in accordance with the procurement
guideline of JICA.

3-2 Operation manual is prepared.

・The first version of Operation manual was prepared in
December 2012 in English. The manual has 6 components;
Introduction, Selection of FP, Selection and Planning of Pilot
Project, Bidding, Accounting and Maintenance.
・As of December 2012, the revised version was under process toincorporate rules of BCDC (TOR for chairperson and members,
term of office, election, consensus building process, consultation
mechanism with District offices and donors, etc). It will makemore simple and user friendly guideline. It is planned to be
finalized in January 2013.

3-3 Supervising manual is・The first version of Supervising manual was prepared in

prepared.

December 2011 in English. The revised version was completed in
December 2012.
・Regarding supervising activities of community-led project, theProject conducted trainings to FP, NS and IDLG monitoring staff.

3-4 Community led pilot projects

・As stated above Output 2, as of December 2012, 24 projects forare implemented by FPs an

community-led type were identified and 16 of them have been

Communities.

completed successfully; 14 projects in the first year as Group 1
and 2 projects in the second year as Group 2. At the time of theiii

Terminal Evaluation, the rest of 8 community-led projects for thethird year as Group 3 were on-going.
・In order for FP to facilitate those community-led projects, theProject conducted trainings to FP on accounting, supervision,and consensu building.
3-1-4

Output 4: To develop a system to be able to implement projects for improvement of basic
infrastructure in community level by local contractors.
The Team observed the achievement level of Output 4 was high. 12 contractors were selected andtrained for implementation of pilot project. So far, 16 of 20 identified contact-out projects were successfullycompleted. During the implementation process, the relevant manuals were prepared. However, the same
effort should be made by the Project for the manuals produced by the Project to be disseminated andexplained to relevant stakeholders for effective utilization before the end of the Project.
Objectively Verifiable Indicators

Achievements

4-1 Contractors are selected for・A total of 12 construction companies were selected thoroughimplementation of pilot projects bybidding process to implement contract-out type projects.

contractor.

・About two-thirds of contractors were local companies in thetarget districts. The other one-third of contractors was Kabul
based companies.

4-2 Operation manual is prepared.

・Since the operation process of contract-out type project was
found to be mostly same as community-led project, the Project
developed the integrated Operation manual containing of bothtypes of project.

4-3 Supervision manual is・The first version of supervision manual was combined with the

prepared.

community-led supervision manual (3-3). However, the Project
decided to formulate separate supervision manual forcontract-out project. It is expected to be finalized by January
2013.
・Regarding actual supervision of contract-out projects, theProject conducted OJT to 4 IDLG monitoring staff, contractors
and FP using a draft supervision manual.

4-4 Pilot projects are implemented

・As of December 2012, 20 projects were identified forby contractors under supervisioncontract-out type projects. Out of 20, 16 projects have beenof FPs and communities.

completed successfully and the rest of 4 projects were underconstruction.
・In the course of construction, the Project trained contractors on
engineering and management skills as well as communication
skills with communities by OJT for smooth implementation.

3-1-5

Output 5: To develop an operation & maintenance system of basic infrastructure incommunity level.
The Team observed that Output 5 has been steadily progressed but needs to be strengthened further

to make sure the completed projects to be maintained appropriately utilizing O&M manuals either b thecommunity or by the relevant line departments.

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Objectively Verifiable Indicators

Achievement

5-1 Operation and maintenance・The first version of Operation and Maintenance (O&M) manuals

manuals are prepared.

were prepared in December 2011. The revised version is underprocess.
・Action plans for O&M by the community for road and irrigation
projects are under formulation. It is planned to be discussed withthe community by the end of the Project.

5-2 Operation and maintenance・The O&M committee for each pilot project is under formulation.

committees are organized.
5-3 Operation and maintenance・As for the irrigation projects, the O&M activities has been

activities are implemented.

implemented by the committee formulated by the Project using
existing O&M system. The O&M activities were monitored by the
NS of the Project and the reports were submitted to the Japaneseexperts for further instruction.

3-1-6

Achievement of Project Purpose“An environment conducive to implement projects for improvement of basic infrastructure atcommunity level in target 2 districts is developed in order to improve the living environment of the
returnees and receiving communities.”
The Project Purpose is expected to be achieved by the end of the Project period based on the
progress made of indicators. However, the Project needs to make continuous efforts to reinforce the level ofachievements
One of significant outputs from the Project is a creation of mechanism of consensus building amongcommunities, i.e., BCDC. Another output is a development model to implement contract-out typeinfrastructure project at the community level which have not usually practiced in Afghanistan before.
Both capacity of FGA (FP) and local contractors have been upgraded to implement community
project effectively and efficiently. IDLG/PGON staff who have involved in the project has been upgradedtheir skills to a certain level on collaboration and coordination among relevant provincial governmental
departments for community projects and supervision of construction. However, it was noted that thecapacity building of counterparts was confined in the small number of IDLG/PGON staff. Therefore, it is thechallenge for IDLG/PGON that these capacities to be consolidated into the institutional capacity for the
future assistance for the returnees and receiving communities in Nangarhar province.

Objectively Verifiable Indicators

Achievement(1) Development model is

・The Project established a development model to implement

established.

community infrastructure projects both with community-led typeand contract-out type. While community-led projects such as
NSP have been practiced in Afghanistan, the Project introduceda model for the contract-out type of community infrastructure
projects with involvement of community themselves for the firsttime. An innovative mechanism of BCDC for consensus building
among community was introduced by the Project. It enriched
the development model to enhance quality and transparency ofthe project.

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(2) Capacity of FPs to select and・FP (FGA) gained the following skills and knowledge throughout

implement the projects is improved.

the Project activities;
1) Needs identification, 2) Consensus building amongcommunities, 3) Preparation of implementation plan, 4)
Supervision of community-led type project, 5) How to help
community to make contract with local contractors, 6)
Preparation of necessary documents for payment, and 7) DefectInspection. Although they need more practice and keep
upgrading their skills, they have responded the questionnairethat they gained confidence in the above skills.

(3) Capacity of Contractors to

・As stated in the achievement of Output 4, the capacity of

execute the projects is improved.

contractors has been upgraded to implement projects bothtechnical skills and administrative works. The projects they have
implemented were assured their quality by both the Japaneseside as well as Afghanistan side.

(4) Similar projects for the returnees

・As stated above, 44 pilot projects has been identified. 32 of

and receiving communities arethem have been successfully completed.

formed.

・All pilot projects were identified and implemented inaccordance with the development model with involvement ofcommunity as well as relevant governmental officials.
・Land acquisition and registration of the project was done withcooperation of PGON and IDLG.

3-2 Implementation Process
3-2-1

Positive factors contributing implementation(1) National staff acted very effective mediator for Japanese experts who had limited access to the Projectsites.
(2) Close communication with JICA office enhanced effectiveness of project management.
(3) Cooperation from the target communities facilitated the implementation.
3-2-2

Negative factors inhibiting implementation(1) Security situation in the project site has deteriorated since 2011. The Japanese experts were restricted
to enter Nangarhar province, thus the project management had to be remotely controlled from Kabul sincethen.
3-3 Evaluation Results by Five Criteria(1) Relevance (High)The relevance of the project is highly relevant with following points.
The Project was well aligned with Afghanistan overall development strategy of “Afghanistan National
Development Strategy (ANDS) 2008-2013. Improvement of living conditions of the returnees and receiving
communities were urgent needs for Nangarhar province since the province was one of major receiving
provinces of returnees from neighboring countries. The Project was also in line with the Japan’s Assistancepolicy and strategy to Afghanistan. In addition, the Project was relevant with the strategy of Partnerorganization, UNHCR. The timing of the Project was quite appropriate to realize smooth transition fromhumanitarian assistance to development.

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(2) Effectiveness (High)
Effectiveness of the project is high. The achievement of project purpose is promising. The Teamconfirmed that an innovative mechanism of BCDC for consensus building among communities has beenworking very well. The pilot projects conducted by the Project was highly appreciated by all Afghanistanside (community, government, contractors, and FP) compared to other community level infrastructure
projects in terms of the quality, and transparency of the process.
The Team confirmed that the Project upgraded the capacities of local contractors, FP (FGA),
communities and IDLG/PGON to implement effective community infrastructure. The Team assumes that
their capacities will be reached the level to conducive to implement projects for improvement of basic
infrastructure by the end of the Project. In other words, it can be said that the PGON enhanced thefoundation to operate community infrastructure projects.
It was confirmed that all five Outputs were necessary to achieve the Project Purpose and there wasno problem in causality relationship between Outputs and Project Purpose.
(3) Efficiency (Not High)
Efficiency of the project is not high since some factors that affected efficiency were observed,
although they did not impair the realization of Outputs.
Inputs from Japanese side
Due to the unforeseeable security reasons, the number of Japanese experts staying in Afghanistan
had been restricted. Although the Project has taken measures to achieve outputs such as by fully utilizing
NS, it affected efficiency to a certain level in terms of the timely dispatch of the experts.
Inputs from Afghanistan side
The main counterparts remained unchanged throughout the Project period. The number ofcounterparts from IDLG to involve in the project was limited. If there were more counterparts assigned for
the Project and more involvement in the Project activities from them, the capacity would have been
consolidated more in the institution, not only in the individuals.
(4) Impact (Relatively High)Impact of the Project is evaluated as relatively high.
There is a good prospect that the Overall Goal will be achieved if the PGON takes strong initiative tospread the model for the community level infrastructure projects developed by the Project across theprovince. No negative impact has been observed.
On the other hand, some positive signs of social and economic impacts were observed in the target
villages according to the questionnaires; shorten the time of transportation by construction of roads,
improvement of education environment by classroom expansion, brought a sense of security by
construction of the clinic and drinking water facilities, etc. Other signs for positive impacts were also
identified such as empowerment of the community, development of local human resources (contractors,
national staff, FS) and enhancement of reputation of Japan.
(5) Sustainability (Relatively High, but some concerns remains in institutional and technicalaspects)
As for the conflict affected countries like Afghanistan, sustainability of the project effect is largely
affected by external factors such as security issues. If the security situation of Afghanistan does not get
worse, sustainability of the project effect is evaluated as relatively high. However, some concerns ininstitutional and technical aspects have been observed.

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For the institutional sustainability, the upgraded capacity of the government was confined in thelimited number of staff. It is the challenge for IDLG/PGON that these capacities to be consolidated into theinstitutional capacity for future assistance for the returnees and receiving communities in Nangarhar
province. Regarding technical sustainability, the Project should put much efforts in the rest of the period thatthe manuals to be developed by the Project should be distributed to the relevant organizations anddisseminate the information for wider use.
Financial sustainability is ensured to a certain degree to maintain the completed pilot projects.
However, It should be noted that it is the responsibility of PGON/IDLG to take initiative to mobilize
resources internally and from outside for continuous infrastructure development at the community level.
Political aspects are formidable since improve living environment for the returnees and the receiving
communities continues to be one of the high priority issues as stipulated in ANDS.
3-4 Conclusion
In spite of difficult working environment such as remote project management, the Project produced
tangible outputs. The community infrastructure projects were successfully constructed and appreciated by
all BCDCs involved in the Project.
The achievement of the Project Purpose is likely to be realized by the end of the Project. The project
was highly relevant with Afghanistan policy as well as the development needs of the target province. The
project achieved high effectiveness and impact through the introduction of BCDC mechanism and adevelopment model for community infrastructure projects. Signs of positive impacts have already been
seen. The efficiency was evaluated as not high since the timely allocation of the Japanese experts could
not be realized, although it was because of security deterioration. Sustainability of the project was relatively
high with some concerns in institutional and technical aspects.
3-5 Recommendations
The following recommendations are made from the Terminal Evaluation Team.
（1） Remaining planning activities should be completed within the Project period (completion of pilot
projects, finalization of manuals, and establishment of O&M system for maintenance using completed
manuals).
（2） Special efforts should be made for the developed manuals to be utilized even after the project.
3-6 Lessons Learned（1） The success of the community infrastructure pilot projects was resulted from the intensive monitoringand supervision by the national staff who had been pre-trained, frequently supervised and beenadvised by the Project. This also contributed to the quality of the construction.

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