What makes a successful development project? Kristin Olsen IOD PARC

Overview IOD PARC – Independent Assessor Characteristics of good development projects Independent Assessment Process

Organisational Development and Performance Assessment International Development and UK – DFID Programme Partnership Agreement – DFID & UNICEF Quality Assurance – Evaluation of Paris Declaration – Support to NGOs including Oxfam, WaterAid, PLAN International. Experienced Team of Assessors Edinburgh-based IOD PARC – Independent Assessor

Our role: – Receive applications – Carry out independent assessments – Respond to relevant queries (via Scottish Government) – Provide qualified feedback to applicants / IOD PARC – Independent Assessor

Relevant & Needed Scottish & National Governments – e.g. Scotland –Malawi Co-operation Agreement and Scottish Government priority areas – e.g. National Development Strategies for Rwanda, Tanzania & Zambia and Scottish Government priority areas – MDGs Beneficiaries – Clear understanding of the context – Needs analysis A good development project - 1

Well-designed Clear how project intends to deliver development outcomes ‘Intervention logic’ reflected in planned activities, outputs and budget Realistic timeframe Roles of partners & stakeholders Inclusive Sensible risk assessment A good development project - 2

Financially viable Budget and costs are realistic (and information presented clearly) Use of funds is efficient Applicants have capacity to manage the funds A good development project - 3

Strong partnership Relationship between Scottish organisation and their partners – Ownership by local partners – Previous collaboration – Engagement with project planning and development – Roles and responsibilities in implementation – Ongoing capacity building A good development project - 4

Builds on knowledge and expertise – in country and in delivering development results Experience of partners and applicants Expertise of personnel Drawing on best practice – including Scottish expertise Knowledge of (and links with) other development initiatives A good development project - 5

Focus on learning and development results Clear ‘monitoring and evaluation’ system integrated into project design Enables monitoring of progress – outputs and outcomes Enables learning and dissemination Clear roles and responsibilities Gender disaggregation A good development project - 6

Sustainable – Exit Strategy describes: Sustainable outcomes Ownership and responsibility Financial sustainability Consideration of climate change Links to other national and local initiatives A good development project - 7

Scottish Government Guidance and Assessment Criteria Best Practice in International Development Qualitative assessment methodology – UNICEF and Scottish Government 8 core standards Independent Assessment Process

8 core standards: – quality of project fit to priority areas – project design – financial viability – strength of relationship (ownership) – Expertise of personnel and organisations – Integration with other development activities (contribution towards delivering aid effectiveness) – Structure and quality of M&E procedures – Quality of the Exit Strategy Follow the Guidance! Independent Assessment Process