Afghanistan. August 2018.
EVALUATION OF THE STRENGTHENING THE RELIGIOUS ACTORS NETWORK.pdf
Program overview
The project aims to mobilize religious actors to facilitate, support and engage in inclusive peacebuilding actions with Armed Opposition Groups and other conflicting parties to contribute to a sustainable reduction in violent conflict in Afghanistan. This project covers the last year, the 5th of 5 project phases.
Evaluation overview
The evaluation is a mandatory requirement for all NCA projects and in accordance with Common Humanitarian Standard (CHS). The aim was to identify success, challenges and outline the corrective actions taken to address any issues, to ensure the continuance of the program.
Key findings and recommendations
Stakeholders, at all levels, argued that the project was relevant and useful in response to international, national, regional, and local needs and priorities. The evaluation finds that the project was implemented efficiently, and that the project responded to the needs of beneficiaries, though it is evidence that the project had some unintended negative impacts on the communities. Despite this, NCA is uniquely placed to make a significant contribution to the ongoing peacebuilding initiatives in Afghanistan.
Despite the significant project gains made in the last year it would be difficult for the project, at this point, to be sustained beyond donor support. The project has established strong linkages with peace partners that are likely to support the continued implementation of the project. The recommendation made in the evaluation is to pause and strategically reassess the key learnings as decisions are made about the future of the project to ensure sustainability and more autonomy moving forward.