Revision of LFA and establishment of Monitoring and Evaluation Framework in the Pungwe Basin Trans-boundary Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Programme (PP2)

The Pungwe Basin Trans-boundary Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Programme has as its overall objective to strengthen institutions and stakeholders for joint, integrated and sustainable management of water resources in the Pungwe River Basin in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and to stimulate and support environmentally sustainable development investments that contribute to poverty alleviation. The programme is for a five-year period and consists of a number of core components focused on institutional development, stakeholder participation, and information and communications systems, as well as seven critical development projects addressing key environmental, social and economic challenges in the basin. It also includes a facility to identify and assess key development potentials and mobilise investment resources for pro-poor development in the basin (ie., the establishment of small-scale Grants Fund, a Pre-investment Fund, and the Pungwe Initiative). A Programme Support Unit (PSU), consisting of a Programme Manager, an Assistant Programme Manager, Finance and Procurement Officers with supporting personnel, has been established. Together with an Institutional Development Advisor (IDA) they are assisting the main basin IWRM institutions to plan, coordinate, implement, manage and monitor a range of activities together with various basin, national and international partners. Long-, medium and short-term consultants will be engaged to carry out specific tasks under the various programme components. The PSU, together with the IDA, will also play an important role in capacity building of a range of institutions, but with an emphasis on building that of the Regional Water Authority for Mozambique’s central region, ARA-Centro (where it is located) and the equivalent institution on the Zimbabwean side of the basin, namely ZINWA-Save.

A Program of this dimension and complexity should have an implementation framework that will ensure ownership of the outputs by the stakeholders and beneficiaries as well as attaining sustainability in the follow up activities by capacitated stakeholders through training, stakeholder participation and institutional development activities that are envisaged in the Programme. During Programme implementation, adequate monitoring of each specific component under this Programme is crucial to its success. Therefore, and given the broad objectives of this Programme, there is a need to further elaborate the LFA presented in the Programme Document, not only with a view to incorporate cross-cutting issues but also to identify IWRM outcome oriented indicators for each Programme component. Once these indicators have been identified a baseline needs to be set against which future progress monitoring will be done.

Assignment Description:
ORGUT has been contracted to provide the following administrative services to the Programme: i) Administration of management of the staff of the Project Support Unit (PSU), including the Institutional Development Advisor, as well as contract requested short terms assignments; ii) Administration of the PSU office; iii) Administration of procurement and financial services pertaining to programme expenditures incurred in Zimbabwe; and In addition, the Consultant shall be prepared to provide optional additional administrative services in the Implementation Phase of the Programme under a contingency budget within the Contract.

In line with the term of references, ORGUT facilitated a short term consultancy for a Revision of LFA and establishment of Monitoring and Evaluation Framework in the Pungwe Programme (PP2). The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework presented in LFA of the PP2 Programme Document were reinforced with the outcome of an analyse of sustainability, poverty orientation and other cross-cutting issues for each of the Programme Components. Furthermore indicators were identified that will incorporate such cross-cutting issues that allow for outcome-oriented monitoring of the programme and each of its specific components (i.e., projects). These analyses, the mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues into the Programme LFA, and the identification of quantifiable indicators that facilitate outcome monitoring for each individual component of the programme were subject of this consultancy.

Monitoring and evaluation of the programme will be twofold: on the one hand it will allow for effective programme management and on the other it will allow for assessing the impacts of the programme focused on results. The programme management is monitored against the logical framework that was further detailed during the Programme’s Inception phase. This logical framework follows the objectives of PP2 as defined in the PD. This logical framework was linked to the schedule of activities showing the timing and timeframes for all activities and results.

Outcome monitoring will depend on the definition of specific indicators for each of the programme objectives. There is a need to harmonize it with existing information systems (or those under development) at the national (DNA.DWR) or local level (ARA-Centro or ZINWA-save) in order to reduce the burden on data collection and processing. In the case of Mozambique, ARA-Centro and DNA have already a model for annual monitoring reports including defined indicators. This information system is under revision with the definition of a national water resources strategy that includes a monitoring component. The consultancy put specific attention to the outcome indicators, considering the following:

• They should be easy to collect
• Most outcome indicators do not depend only of the results of the programme as they are also related to the objectives of the programme. For example the coverage rates for access to reliable water resources and improved sanitation, which are national indicators monitored in both countries, are relevant indicators for PP2 since they contribute to overall objective of the programme of integrated and sustainable management of water resources in the Pungwe River Basin that contribute to poverty reduction, environmental sustainability and other cross-cutting issues. However, other programmes implemented by other sectors as well as investments from the government are also likely to contribute towards such improved coverage rates. Therefore there is a need to define outcome indicators that can easily measure the impact of the Programme on cross-cutting issues as well as an effective improvement of IWRM in the Pungwe River Basin.
• It is important to collect baseline data that will allow showing changes during and after the implementation of the programme.
• It is better to collect few but reliable data
• Indicators should be agreed amongst stakeholders of the programme. Once such indicators have been agreed upon a baseline will need to be created.

The up-dated LFA matrices should also reflect the outcome of the analyses of sustainability, poverty orientation and other cross-cutting issues mentioned before. The Consultant will specifically:

• For each project, develop and internalise a strategy for sustaining its outputs and activities beyond the Programme period. This will consider institutional, participatory, financial, technical, environmental and social aspects of sustainability.
• For each project, carry out a preliminary analysis as to how it can contribute to poverty reduction through poverty-oriented development, particularly through enhancement of rural livelihoods, and mainstream/internalise the results in the project, including indicators being specified.
• For each project, analyse the importance of cross-cutting issues and how these will be addressed and elaborate a M&E systems, including its indicators as outlined above (also see the next point).

Upon conclusion of the consultancy, the consultant reviewed, amended and further elaborated the LFA matrices for each Programme component. The up-dated LFA reflects the outcome of the analyses of sustainability, poverty orientation and other cross-cutting issues mentioned above, including quantifiable outcome oriented indicators which allowed for the creation of a baseline to facilitate outcome monitoring (such indicators include those linked to the cross-cutting issues identified).