The Vietnam Development Programme, 2012-2015, of Norwegian People’s Aid. Final Evaluation

Background

The NPA programme in Vietnam, with funding from Norad has focused on Natural Resources Management (NRM) and promotion of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) role in policy advocacy.

In the 2012-2015 period, the Program identified priorities on forestland rights, Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights, ethnic minority (EM) rights in general, and promotion of the Extraction Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).

Purpose/objective

1. In this context, the final evaluation is conducted to assess:
2. Results in comparison with the expected results of the NPA-Vietnam Multi-Year Plan
3. Relevance of the Program to the current context in Vietnam
4. Relevance of the Partners to the current context in Vietnam
5. NPA value added to the partners in addition to financial support in comparison to allocated resources.

Methodology

Two main methods have been employed during the final evaluation including desk study and qualitative research.

Key findings

It can be concluded that NPA Development Program 2012-2015 in Vietnam is relevant to the country’s current context, and to the partner organizations.

The Program added values for partners, besides financial support, are an important background for these partners to continue their pursuit of long-term goals in areas including forestland rights, LGBT rights, EM rights in general, and promotion of EITI.

The programmatic approach of NPA has enabled its partners to synthesize resources from different donors, contributing to the significant impacts on the legal environment, the transformation of general public perception of natural resources management and minority rights, and particularly the creation of an important civil society space where NGOs can proactively operate in policy advocacy.

Recommendations

NPA decision in choosing well-established organizations operating in NRM and the enhancement of the formal and informal space for CSOs is considered to be strategic since it would enhance the program probability of success.

In addition, this approach is evaluated to be suitable for NPA as the organization has constraints in providing financial support and technical support to its partners. As a result, NPA could replicate this approach in other countries that the organization is operating provided that there are similarly highly capable local NGOs in the target countries.

While NPA approach in Vietnam is evaluated to be highly relevant, the organization should consider adjustments on the following issues:

First and foremost, NPA should consider conducting a thorough assessment on each topic/issue in the Development Program so that time and resource could be allocated most effectively and efficiently for each partner’ program.

Although NPA partners have showed some levels of commitment towards the end goal of Vietnam joining EITI, they admitted that NPA phase-out is likely to disrupt the continuity of recent activities.

Furthermore, NPA should consider transferring its supporting role to other INGOs that share the same interest in the topic NPA is pursuing.

At the level of operational management, NPA should conduct periodic reviews to update or even adjust its Multiyear Plan based on practical developments. This underlies in the M&E function of constantly updating information to support decision-making process.