Evaluation du projet D’appui a la gouvernance et au Centre De Ressources Communautaires a Mopti

Background

The Community Resource Centres (CRCs) pilot project was developed by SF together with its local partner Eveil and was implemented in the Mopti region of Mali under the Strategic Plan 2009-2013. The Centres were intended to act as resource hubs for community development in the region by providing capacity building, technical training well as advice for local community-based organisations. An evaluation of the pilot project was carried out in 2013, which included a number of recommendations for improvement.

Purpose/objective

The purpose of this evaluation was to assess to which extent the recommendations put forward in the 2013 evaluation had been implemented. The report focussed on the activities at a centre called Bolongal Faamu, which provided support to community-based organisation in the Youwarou area, specifically in the municipalities of Ndodjiga and Dirma and aimed to identify the added value of the centre.

Specific objectives included

• Take stock of the integration of the recommendations from the previous evaluation in the implementation of the Centre's activities;
• Review and assess the added value of services provided by the Centre in promoting community activities, member associations and other similar structures;
• Assess local authorities’, community-based organisations’ (CRC members and non-members) and relevant organisations’ perception of the CRC initiative;
• Identify strengths and weaknesses of the CRC initiative in the area;
• Identify and analyse existing opportunities for a sustainable funding model.

Methodology

The evaluation was conducted using a mixed-method approach, combining a desk-based review of key documents with semi-structured interviews and a survey. The interviewees included representatives from SF, the local partner Eveil and local authorities. The survey was carried out with a sample that included beneficiaries (community-based organisation, local farmers, moderators etc.), partners and service providers.

Key findings

The report found that the implementation of the recommendations from the 2013 evaluation was carried out to a varying degree among the key stakeholders. The recommendations aimed at the local partner Eveil were all applied, while those concerning the Centre moderators were only partially implemented.  It was a similar case for SFWA where only some of the recommendations from 2013 had been followed up. It should be noted that this coincided with SF’s decision to cease the funding for the CRC initiative.

In terms of the activities of the Bolongal Faamu CRC, the report found that the Centre had provided capacity building, advisory support and assistance to a range of projects run by community-based organisations in the Youwarou district. Through this support, the centre had helped improve the incomes of project beneficiaries. However, the impact of its intervention weakened by the centre’s dependency on the local partner and SF for funding. Community-based organisations that are members of the Centre should help fund the training activities by paying an annual fee. However, so far no payments had been forthcoming. The report also found that following the SF decision to end funding in 2013, there had been a great reduction in the activity level, particularly at the N'dodjiga site.  Still, the evaluation found that there was a market for the services that the Centre provided as economic activities in area resumed following the conflict of 2012. However, the Centre would require further resources and capacity building to continue its operations and develop a sustainable funding strategy.

Recommendations

The report made a number of recommendations for strengthening the project, including: develop a strategy for additional resource mobilisation; more regular follow up from the local partner and SF; establishing links with state services and partnership with local authorities; improve local resource mobilisation and strengthen the capacity of the moderators that provide training.

Comments from the Organisation

The findings of the report, in particular the Centre’s continued heavy reliance on external funds and lack of local resource mobilisation, confirmed SF’s decision to cease the funding for the Community Resource Centres.