United Nations Development Programme The Republic of Yemen Local Governance Support Project

Management effectiveness review

1. 
   Quality of monitoring
   

This was the inception phase of the project and the project management was on board only by the mid of the last quarter. Therefore, this stage focused on establishing internal monitoring mechanisms, such as reporting formats, staff performance management and such like. The project conducted weekly staff meetings to direct staff actions and monitor delivery.

The project also undertook a field study mission to Hadhramout to review the experience of DLSDSP in local development. The findings of this mission will feed into the development of the project’s approaches and activities. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for the project, including a monitoring and evaluation plan, will be developed in close coordination with and engagement of MOLA and other stakeholders during the planning retreat to prepare the 2011 AWP.

2. 
   Timely delivery of outputs
   

Due to delays in the recruitment of project technical staff and more importantly, the delays on the part of the government to develop the NP, establish the NPU and to launch the implementation of the NP, majority of the output targets could not be achieved. However, steps were taken to create favorable conditions for achievement of these outputs in the future once the NP is launched. Thus, TOR have been developed and recruitment of technical staff initiated to ensure speedy mobilization of expertise for implementation of the national programme. At the same time, the few events supported by the project at the end of 2010 were delivered according to the schedule agreed with the MOLA.

3. 
   Cost-effective use of inputs
   

The available resources utilized for implementation of project activities can be broadly categorized into the normal budgetary categories such as rental, transportation, translation, equipment. All activities were carried out as per the required standards of the UNDP and were utilized in the most cost effective manner.

Another part of the resources was utilized towards office running costs. Here an attempt was made to systemize ways of procurement and buying for office up keep and running. For example, a system of reporting on car mileage, fuel, maintenance etc. was put in place for drivers. Long term contracts with suppliers of fuel, car maintenance, stationary, cleaners, refreshments, beverages, with different agencies, to facilitate monitoring of transactions and ensure best price as well as discounts. These agencies were identified after inviting quotations and choosing the best agencies based on three major criteria: quality, rate quoted, coverage within the city as well as in the country. For example, one of the reasons for identifying AlJeel Al-Jadeed, for supply of stationary was that, they have branches in all major cities in the country, and also because they offer all required stationary under one roof. In another example, the project signed a contract with the government petrol company, which has more than seven outlets in Sana’a city.

4. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED

Project Risks

Lack of political commitment by the government and emergence of new priorities superseding decentralisation and local governance reform. This is the most significant risk for the project. Although the latest developments, in particular, re-establishment of the NP Drafting Committee, have demonstrated the government’s commitment to continue with decentralisation, it is not clear if this commitment will survive the elections and possible changes in the government. If the NP launch is significantly delayed again, the project will not be able to achieve the outputs directly associated with the National Programme. If this risk materialises, LGSP will hold consultations with the MOLA and other stakeholders to identify the areas in which decentralisation and local governance results can be pursued without the National Programme.

Lack of stakeholders’ engagement in National Programme designing may result in implementation difficulties. The core team responsible for developing the NP consists of members from a few sectors in MOLA. Lack of engagement of different actors, such as respective line ministries, LGAs, donors, CSOs, and women organizations in the process of the NP development is likely to make implementation of the National Programme very difficult. The project identified the following steps to mitigate this risk: (1) inviting different government actors to provide specialist inputs to guide development of the NP, (2) putting in place mechanisms to ensure regular updates on the NP progress by the NP team and LGSP, (3) using the AWP retreat for 2011 as a forum to agree on areas and mechanisms for engagement with other stakeholders.

Delays in mobilisation of experts and subject matter specialists. If this risk materialises, the project may not be in a position to provide adequate technical assistance to the expectations of the main stakeholders. Recruitment of staff, particularly for technical positions, proved to be challenging in the past. To mitigate this risk, the project will establish, in cooperation with the UNDP Country Office, a standing roster for international experts and will diversify the recruitment methods and techniques, including head hunting and the use of local media and government outlets for placing vacancy announcements.

Unclear oversight responsibilities over the project on the part of MOLA (government). During the reporting period it was not entirely clear how the oversight responsibilities were divided between the vice minister and the technical committee. This ambiguity may serve as a source of friction in the future and may place the project in a position when it will have to choose between several structures within the MOLA. As a result, some project activities may be delayed, and the project relations with MOLA as the lead implementation agency may deteriorate. The project will monitor this risk and at the same time will initiate consultations with the MOLA to clarify their internal division of oversight responsibilities.

#	Description	Date Identified	Type	Impact & Probability	Countermeasures / Mngt response	Owner	Submitted, updated by	Last Update	Status
1	Lack of political commitment by the government		Strategic	Delays in project implementation P = 2 I = 4	Consultations with MOLA and other stakeholders to develop an alter-native plan	Project management	CTA	15/12/2010
2	Delays in recruitment of experts and subject matter specialists	15/11/2010	Operational	Delays in project implementation P = 4 I =3	(1) To establish a roster for international experts; (2) to diversify recruitment methods and techniques	Project management	CTA	1/01/2011	reducing
3	Weak engagement of different actors such as respective line ministries, LGAs, donors, CSOs, women organizations, in the process of development of the NP	15/10/2010	Strategic	Weak design and acceptance of national programme Probability =4 Impact = 4	(1) inviting different government actors to provide specialist inputs to guide development of the NP, (2) putting in place mechanisms to ensure regular updates on the NP progress by the NP team and LGSP, (3) using the AWP retreat for 2011 as a forum to agree on areas and mechanisms for engagement with other stakeholders	Project management and MoLA	PM
4	Unclear oversight responsibilities over the project on the part of MOLA (government)	31/12/2010	Operational	Delays in project implementation P = 2 I = 2	(1) monitoring the risk; (2) consultations with the MOLA to clarify their internal division of oversight responsibilities	Project management	PM

Table : Risks log

Project Issues

No issues identified.

Lessons Learned

Engagement of national actors and MOLA to ensure better sustainability and national ownership as well as to facilitate and accept project activities is crucial for the project success. The engagement of MOLA as well as some other actors, such as the National Women Committee, proved to be indispensable for mobilising local resources for project activities. For example, without MOLA’s facilitation of the project’s interactions with local authorities neither the gender mainstreaming workshops nor the study mission to Hadhramout would have been possible. The National Women Committee made a substantive contribution to the success of the gender mainstreaming workshops by consolidating and presenting best local experiences. LGSP will continue to actively engage national actors in all phases of the project, starting with designing and ending with monitoring and evaluation, and will expand the methods and techniques of their engagement.

Project activities are cross-cutting and require engagement of more than one partner. The resources of the General Directorates of Women Affairs at the governorate level and the WNC governorate branches, which normally have just one woman head and a small secretariat, are not adequate for the task of gender mainstreaming in annual planning at the governorate level. Therefore, the project identified the need for involvement of the main actors in local development, namely MOPIC, MOF, MOCS, line ministries. A workshop on gender mainstreaming in the governorates’ annual development plans was conducted with participation of MOPIC and WNC. The recommendations of this workshop identified the need to set up mechanisms such as governorate GCTs to facilitate engagement of all actors in gender mainstreaming.

Creation of an institutional framework is critical for sustainability of the project interventions. Analysis of the DLDSP experiences in the field during the study mission to Hadhramout showed that unless the structures and procedures used for project implementation are institutionalised, the changes will not last. LGSP will avoid disjointed events; all events will be anchored in a certain institutional framework and will be the links of the same chain from the creation of institutional arrangements to introduction of these arrangements to their full application.

#	Type	Date Identified	Successes	Shortcomings	Recommended Solutions	Submitted, updated by
1	Project management Project results	31/12/2010	Engagement of national actors and MOLA improved the sustainability and national ownership as well as facilitated project’s activities
2	Project results	31/12/2010		The capacities of General Directorates of Women Affairs at the governorate level and the WNC governorate branches were found not adequate for the task of gender mainstreaming in annual planning at the governorate level	Project activities are cross-cutting and require engagement of more than one partner. The project will cooperate with all relevant stakeholders for each specific intervention
3	Project results	31/12/2010		Unless the structures and procedures used for project implementation are institutionalised, the changes will not last	LGSP will avoid disjointed events; all events will be anchored in a certain institutional framework and will be the links of the same chain from the creation of institutional arrangements to introduction of these arrangements to their full application

Table : Lessons learned log

5. FINANCIAL STATUS AND UTILISATION

Financial Summary

• 
  The actual disbursement of the project started at the end of May 2010. The project manager and the finance manager joined office at the end of September 2010 and the CTA joined in November 2010. The total expenditure until December 31, 2010 is 152,779 US dollars, and this amount is equivalent 45.4% of the approved budget for the year 2010, which was 336,506 USD.
  

• 
  The variance between budget and actual expenditure is attributed to the fact that the actual activity of the project did not start as planned from may 2010, but from October 2010.
  

• 
  The total budget of the project over the five years, is twelve million eighty-one thousand, five hundred and five US dollars, distributed as shown in table No. (3). An amount of three hundred eighty-six thousand five hundred and six dollars, were received by the project, from UNDP TRAC, UNIFEM and the government of France, as shown in the mentioned table.
  

• 
  Table (4) below will explain the main aspects of the expenditures towards outputs and activities.
  

• 
  During this reporting period, there were no major challenges.
  

Financial Overview

Table : Financial overview for the whole duration of the project

Financial Utilization

Table : Financial utilization by donor and activity for [ex. 2009]

Note: All expenditure figures presented in this report are provisional. As per the cost-sharing agreement, UNDP Head Quarters provides donors with an annual certified financial statement on 30 June of every year.

ANNEXES

Annual Work Plan

Charts, tables and visual aids, with accompanying analytical descriptions (1-2 paragraphs per table/chart).

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