Exit and sustainability of the Swiss development cooperation

1. Exit and sustainability of the Swiss development cooperation Martin Baumann Competence Center 6: Performance Audit and Evaluation Swiss Federal Audit Office IX. EUROSAI Congress, 18.06.2014

2. Settingthescene Ex-post analysis of 14 projects in South Africa and India • Q1: Were the project objectives achieved at the time of Switzerland's exit? • Q2: How was an adequate continuation of the supported projects ensured? • Q3: What is the assessment of the current situation? Preparationphase Implementation phase Post project phase Q Q Q t (years) Project start Project end On-site visit Fusszeile

3. Main challenges • Sustainability: diverse understandings, but increased importance through the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) • Hardly any studies • Who knows what? • Most projects ended 2005 and 2006 • Audit in 2013 Fusszeile

4. New approach Q Q Q • Q1: Were the project objectives achieved at the time of Switzerland's exit? • Q2: How was an adequate continuation of the supported projects ensured? Preparationphase Preparationphase Implementation phase Post project phase t (years) Project start Project end On-site visit Fusszeile

5. On-site visit Fusszeile

6. On-site visit in India Q3: What is the assessment of the current situation? On-site visits in India and South Africa (2 weeks each visit). project airplane car train Fusszeile

7. Meetings, meetings, meetings… Fusszeile

8. Fusszeile

9. Findings • Numerous “project footprints” can still be found years after completion. • Measuring the goal achievement in development cooperation has many limitations and investigating sustainable aspects is complex • The Swiss Development Agency withdrew from projects in a correct manner • Examined projects were needed and innovative, but associated with risks • Project documentation is a key source of information for evaluating lessons learned • Risk assessment is a key to success for the implementation and continuation of projects • Targeted ex-post analyses can create added value Fusszeile

10. Recommendations / Critique • Primarily concern the management of projects • Define internal guidelines for the project completion • Improve the definition of objectives in terms of measurability of progress towards their achievement • Ensureactive and consistent project documentation • Systematically monitor key risk areas within projects • Encourage ex-post analyses for selected key projects • Critical reflections regarding the methodology applied: • No measurement of sustainability, but only an appraisal (“soft facts”) • Almost no comparability between projects (context, goals, developments) • On-site visits demand a lot of organization (interlocutors, travel, translation, limited time) • On-site visits raise expectations of beneficiaries • Cost-benefit: facts gathered vs. resources used Fusszeile

11. Thank you for your attention! Full report available at www.efk.admin.chContact: martin.baumann@efk.admin.ch Fusszeile