Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: ICR00004643 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT TF017015 AND TF0A3918 ON A SMALL GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF USD3.75 MILLION TO THE NEPAD PLANNING AND COORDINATING AGENCY (NEPAD AGENCY) FOR SUPPORT TO NPCA TERRAFRICA SECRETARIAT (P149269) June 28, 2019 Environment & Natural Resources Global Practice Africa Regional Vice President: Hafez Ghanem Country Director: Paul Noumba Um Senior Global Practice Director: Karin Kemper Practice Manager: Iain Shuker Task Team Leader(s): Philippe Eric Dardel ICR Main Contributor: Michael John de Klerk ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AF Additional Financing AfDB African Development Bank AfriOCAT Africa Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies AFR100 African Forest Land Restoration Initiative AM Aide Memoire AMCEN African Ministerial Conference on the Environment AR Annual Report ARLI Africa Resilient Landscapes Initiative AU African Union AUC African Union Commission BRICKS Building Resilience through Innovation, Communication and Knowledge Services CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development program CILSS Comite Permanent Inter-Etats de Lutte contre la Sécheresse au Sahel COP Conference of Parties CSIF Country Strategic Investment Framework CSO civil society organization CTF Child Trust Fund EC European Commission FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FAQ frequently asked questions GDP Gross Domestic Product GEF Global Environment Facility GGWSSI Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative GM Global Mechanism (of the UNCCD) GRM Grant Reporting and Monitoring HR human resources ICR Implementation Completion and Results Report IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development ILM integrated land management IRI Intermediate Result Indicator ISM Implementation Support Mission ISR Implementation Status and Results report IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature JAWP Joint Annual Work Plan KM knowledge management KP knowledge platform KPI key performance indicator LDN Land Degradation Neutrality M&E monitoring and evaluation NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development NPCA NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (or “NEPAD Agencyâ€?) NRM natural resources management PDO Project Development Objective REC Regional Economic Community RF Results Framework ROAM Restoration Opportunity Assessment Methodology SAG Strategic Advisory Group SIP Strategic Investment Program SLWM sustainable land and water management SSA Sub-Saharan Africa TA technical assistance TAEC TerrAfrica Executive Committee TLF TerrAfrica Leveraging Fund UN United Nations UNCCD UN Convention to Combat Desertification UNEP UN Environment Program UNFCCC UN Framework Convention on Climate Change WB World Bank WOCAT World Observatory of Conservation Approaches and Technologies TABLE OF CONTENTS DATA SHEET ....................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. I. PROJECT CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES ....................................................... 4 II. OUTCOME .................................................................................................................... 10 III. KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECTED IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOME ................................ 21 IV. BANK PERFORMANCE, COMPLIANCE ISSUES, AND RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME .. 22 V. LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................. 25 ANNEX 1. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND KEY OUTPUTS ........................................................... 28 ANNEX 2. PROJECT COST BY COMPONENT ........................................................................... 43 ANNEX 3. RECIPIENT, CO-FINANCIER AND OTHER PARTNER/STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS ...... 44 ANNEX 4. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS .................................................................................. 48 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) DATA SHEET BASIC INFORMATION Product Information Project ID Project Name P149269 AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat Country Financing Instrument Africa Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Revised EA Category Not Required (C) Not Required (C) Organizations Borrower Implementing Agency NEPAD NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency Page 1 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The PDO is to strengthen capacity at NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on knowledge management and actions forscaling up Sustainable Land and Water Management (SLWM). The project objectives have been further specified along the project’s three components: Component 1, Support for Regional Coalition Building: Support NEPAD Agency to reinforce the regional coalition that aligns assistance to countries on SLWM and related issues. Component 2, Support for Mutual Learning Among Member Countries: Support NEPAD Agency's mandate to meet country demand for knowledge and best practice tools to improve land management and climate resilience while maintaining natural capital to reinforce on-going investment operations in countries, as well as national and sector development planning. Component 3, Support for Member Countries' SLWM Investment Planning:Strengthen NEPAD Agency's role in meeting country demand for expertise and tools to develop and implement SLWM work programs and national SLWM investment frameworks. FINANCING FINANCE_TBL Original Amount (US$) Revised Amount (US$) Actual Disbursed (US$) Donor Financing TF-17015 2,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000 TF-A3918 1,750,000 1,720,411 1,720,411 Total 3,750,000 3,720,411 3,720,411 Total Project Cost 3,750,000 3,720,411 3,720,411 KEY DATES Approval Effectiveness Original Closing Actual Closing 29-Apr-2014 17-Jun-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Page 2 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) RESTRUCTURING AND/OR ADDITIONAL FINANCING Date(s) Amount Disbursed (US$M) Key Revisions 10-Apr-2018 3.60 Change in Loan Closing Date(s) Change in Implementation Schedule KEY RATINGS Outcome Bank Performance M&E Quality Moderately Satisfactory Satisfactory Modest RATINGS OF PROJECT PERFORMANCE IN ISRs Actual No. Date ISR Archived DO Rating IP Rating Disbursements (US$M) 01 25-Jul-2016 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 2.00 02 25-Oct-2017 Moderately Satisfactory Satisfactory 2.80 ADM STAFF Role At Approval At ICR Regional Vice President: Makhtar Diop Hafez M. H. Ghanem Country Director: Colin Bruce Paul Noumba Um Senior Global Practice Director: Jamal Saghir Karin Erika Kemper Practice Manager: Magdolna Lovei Iain G. Shuker Task Team Leader(s): Anna Corsi Philippe Eric Dardel ICR Contributing Author: Michael John De Klerk Page 3 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) I. PROJECT CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES A. Context 1. Despite the development of other sectors, agriculture remains the mainstay of most Sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies. Almost all sub-sectors of agriculture depend heavily on the natural resource base – particularly soil, water and climate – for their productivity and sustainability. However, ‘land degradation in its various forms affects two thirds of the land resource to varying degrees’ and, ‘on average, SSA has forgone about 3% of its annual agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to soil and nutrient loss alone’. Accelerating climate change in recent years is causing increasing instability in rainfall and run-off in most countries in the region. Without adaptive measures, it is estimated that ‘rainfed agricultural yields could fall by 50% … in some countries’, while livestock output will be no less negatively affected by growing heat stress and contracting and/or deteriorating rangeland. These developments can be expected to induce increasing political tensions within and across borders, with accompanying costs for economic growth and stability. 2. Sustainable land and water management (SLWM)1 programs hold substantial potential for mitigating the negative impact and cost of such changes. A range of such programs has been initiated by international and national public-sector bodies over the past decade and a half. However, across an area as extensive as SSA, the capacity of such initiatives to achieve meaningful, broad-based results is determined significantly by the degree to which they align and are coordinated. The TerrAfrica partnership was established in 2005 to help in that regard (see boxes 1 and 2). Box 1: TerrAfrica and the TerrAfrica Leveraging Fund (TLF) The TerrAfrica Global Partnership Program for Sustainable Land Management in SSA was established in 2005 by representatives of SSA countries, international, regional and scientific organizations and civil society. Initiated by the African Union’s (AU) New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the World Bank (WB), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Global Mechanism (GM), it was endorsed by African ministerial conferences on the environment and agriculture. As a regional platform, its objective was to enable SSA governments, the international development community and other stakeholders to work together to scale up country-driven investment in SLWM. TerrAfrica partners include SSA governments, NEPAD, regional organizations, UN agencies, GM, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Commission (EC), the Netherlands, Norway, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the WB. The partnership has served about 30 SSA countries. It is directed by the TerrAfrica Executive Committee (TAEC) and its Secretariat is hosted by the NEPAD Agency. 1The term ‘sustainable land management’ (SLM) used in earlier documentation relating to the Support for TerrAfrica Project was later broadened to reflect the need to include water management in sustainability. This report refers throughout to SLWM. Page 4 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) The multi-donor TLF, managed by WB, was set up in 2006 to harmonize the raising and deployment of funds for scaling up SLWM investments at country level. An independent evaluation of TerrAfrica in 2013 found that TerrAfrica had developed a successful model for donor harmonization, Africa-driven multi-disciplinary development and mutual accountability, as well as being instrumental in ensuring cross-sector coherence in national policies, planning and investment programs through Country Strategic Investment Frameworks (CSIF) for SLWM, thereby attracting substantial additional funding for SLWM. TerrAfrica has provided easy access to a broad range of SLWM knowledge products. It has also made important contributions to the broader land degradation and drylands resilience agenda in SSA. 3. Secretarial support for the platform was provided by WB from Washington initially. Building on the outcomes of the 2009 evaluation, the secretariat was transferred later in 2009 to NEPAD’s Secretariat, located near Johannesburg, South Africa, with the objectives of increasing African ownership and integrating SLWM into SSA-wide agricultural and natural resource conservation programs, to achieve long-run SLWM sustainability in the region. A year later, the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), hereinafter referred to as the NEPAD Agency, was formed to replace the NEPAD Secretariat2. In recognition of the need for the Bank to help develop the capacity of the NEPAD Agency to provide competent secretarial support to TerrAfrica, a first grant was made in 2011 by the ‘parent’ TLF to establish a ‘child’ trust fund (CTF) of $1.5 million3 to finance a project (P125815) ‘to strengthen capacity at the NEPAD Agency to support country demand for SLWM’4. The life span of the project was two years5. It was later extended by six months. The overall performance of P125815 was rated ‘moderately satisfactory’. 4. The independent evaluation of TerrAfrica and of the TLF in 2013 still found that the TerrAfrica Secretariat’s capacity to help the program to achieve its objectives was ‘unquestionably still weak … (and that) in-house capacity in terms of human resources and adequate systems and structures … (was) essential for satisfactorily performing its mandate’. 5. As part of its response to the findings of this evaluation, the Support to the TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P149269) was designed and approved by WB in April 2014. It was initially funded to the value of $2 million by TLF Grant TF017015. Project closing date, initially in May 2015, was necessitated by the termination of the 2011- 2015 phase of the TerrAfrica Partnership program and TLF. It was subsequently extended by two years to May 2017, following the extension on the partnership program and the TLF on the strength of the ‘moderately satisfactory’ overall implementation progress rating. 6. During this period, the third five-year Business Plan for TerrAfrica – for 2016-2020 – was approved (December 2015) based on a consultation coordinated by NEPAD. The Plan recognized that ‘despite achievements, the land degradation agenda for Africa required further action at scale … (with) an increased focus 2 United Nations, Office of the Special Advisor on Africa, New Partnership for Africa’s Development, un.org/en/africa/osaa/peace/nepad.shtml 3 WB, TLF Grant for NPCA (Grant no. TF011266), 3 December 2011, p1 4 WB, Project Document for a Proposed Grant from the TLF in the Amount of US$1.5 Million to NPCA for a Child Trust Fund under the TLF, pp10 5 Ibid, p11 Page 5 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) on (the) landscape approaches ’ being increasingly adopted by program partners and others and that to make the realization of such action at scale possible, further support to the Secretariat to consolidate the program’s achievements in member countries and extend them to new members would be needed. 7. Bearing in mind the need to satisfactorily complete the Secretariat’s capacity-building activities in progress, the World Bank made, in September 2016 and with funds for the Secretariat running out, an AF grant of $1.75 million (TF0A3918) available until March 2018. A no-cost extension to June 2018 was later awarded, to ensure completion of activities. Box 2: Chronology of selected TerrAfrica activities 2005 Creation of the TerrAfrica Global Partnership Program for SLM in SSA 2006 Establishment of TLF as a Multi-Donor Trust Fund managed by the World Bank 2009 TerrAfrica Secretariat transferred from WB to NEPAD Agency 2011 2-year $1.5m TLF Grant TF011266 made to NEPAD Agency to enhance its capacity to support country-level SLWM investments 2013 2nd evaluation of TerrAfrica highlights need to build Secretariat capacity further to achieve program objectives 2014 1-year $2m TLF Grant TF017015 made to NEPAD Agency for Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P149269) 2015 Duration of grant extended to 2016 following extension of the TLF (Parent Trust Fund) 2016 1-year $1.75m TLF Grant TF0A3918 made as Additional Financing to the NEPAD Agency to continue Secretariat activities 2018 Final 3 month extension and closure of the grant to NEPAD Agency Closure of the grant Final evaluation of the TerrAfrica Partnership B. Project Development Objectives (PDOs) 8. The overall development objective of the project, as specified in the Grant Agreements, was ‘to strengthen capacity of the NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on knowledge management (KM) and actions for scaling up SLWM’ with, regarding the scaling up element, an emphasis on investment (in SLWM). This objective remained unchanged during the AF phase. For purposes of assessing the degree of achievement, it is helpful to separate this compound objective into its two essential sub-objectives, as is done the P149269 Project Paper6, namely: 6WB, Project Paper for Small RETF Grant (US$2 million) to the NPCA for a Support to the TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P149269), April 2,2014, p11 Page 6 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) • PDO 1: to strengthen capacity of the NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on knowledge management for scaling up SLWM • PDO 2: to strengthen capacity of the NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on actions for scaling up SLWM. These components have been aligned with the three activity lines of the broader TerrAfrica Partnership program, as reflected in its successive business plans, namely Regional Coalition Building, Regional Knowledge Management, and Country Investment Support. Key Expected Outcomes and Outcome Indicators 9. The PDO-level Results Indicators identified to assess the degree of achievement of the PDO were7,8: (PDO 1) Knowledge on SLWM generated and disseminated among partners and stakeholders • PDO Result Indicator 1: Number of new knowledge and advocacy products are disseminated at country level • PDO Result Indicator 2: An SLWM Knowledge Platform at SSA9 level for knowledge support to country investments is up and running with full functionalities available (PDO 2) Countries improve policies, institutions and financing for SLWM • PDO Result Indicator 3: Number of countries supported in their SLWM Country Strategic Investment Frameworks’ (CSIF) development, implementation, or update. 10. To facilitate the assessment of the achievement of these objectives, the high-level PDO Result Indicators were broken down into a number of lower-level Intermediate Result Indicators (IRI) relating to each of the three components of the project. For each IRI, a target was set. Some of these indicators and targets were revised during the course of the project. The changes in the indicators are listed in Table 1 below, while the degree of achievement of the respective IRIs is discussed in detail in Section II. With the PDO Result Indicators being no more than a composite of three sets of IRIs, only the latter and the resultant overall PDO achievement rating are addressed in Section II. Components To achieve the above objectives, the project was structured into three components10: 11. Component 1. Support for Regional Coalition Building (Approved US$ 1.86m). Support NEPAD Agency to reinforce the regional coalition that aligns assistance to countries on SLWM and related issues. Specifically, the Project will finance: (i) the establishment of a results oriented SLWM coordination mechanism; (ii) the integration 7 Ibid 8 While all three are implicit in the PDO Level Results Indicators for the initial project, it is noteworthy that the indicator ‘(number of) countries participating in TerrAfrica’ was dropped to emphasize the importance of the quality of participation (vs. numbers) and related support. 9 The terminology used in the Project Paper (‘continental’, as opposed to ‘SSA’) has been restated here to reflect the geograph ical ambit of the TerrAfrica Global Partnership Program for Sustainable Land Management in SSA more accurately. 10 The budget allocations for the respective components and actual expenditure incurred are to be found in Annex 2. Page 7 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) of SLWM in CAADP processes and investment planning and other key programs and plans; (iii) technical staff and training to strengthen management of the TerrAfrica Secretariat; and (iv) communication activities to reinforce policy advocacy and technical outreach. 12. Component 2. Support for Mutual Learning Among Member Countries (Approved US$ 0.82m). Support NEPAD Agency's mandate to meet country demand for knowledge and best practice tools to improve land management and climate resilience while maintaining natural capital to reinforce on-going investment operations in countries, as well as national and sector development planning. Specifically, the Project will finance: (i) the management and maintenance of the recently developed knowledge platform and the TerrAfrica website; and (ii) the development and first phase of implementation of the TerrAfrica knowledge management strategy (including, inter alia, systematic series of learning events, development/update of core knowledge products). 13. Component 3. Support for Member Countries' SLWM Investment Planning (Approved US$1.16m). Strengthen NEPAD Agency's role in meeting country demand for expertise and tools to develop and implement SLWM work programs and national SLWM investment frameworks. This will be achieved through: (i) carrying out joint fact-finding and planning missions; (ii) technical support for the development, implementation or update of country investment frameworks and related programs; (iii) workshops/roundtables for national donors' dialogue and stakeholders' consultation. Theory of Change 14. No explicit theory of change was articulated in the Project Paper beyond the loose expectation that ‘if NEPAD Agency capacity is strengthened to lead the coalition (of partners and member states), then the regional coalition itself will be stronger and country demand for the services facilitated or brokered by NEPAD Agency will increase’11. However, the implicit theory of change does draw from the project paper, the results framework and the TerrAfrica Business Plans. 15. To achieve the ultimate goal of impactfully addressing land degradation in SSA, NEPAD should, along with partners, promote widespread uptake of SLWM practices and support SSA countries’ efforts to scale up SLWM investment across sectors. At the time the project started, and except for a few countries, country participation in the partnership had slipped down, hence the need to focus on stimulating country engagement again (which is where the NEPAD Agency was assumed to have a relative advantage) and promoting support at country level. 16. Towards this, firstly, knowledge of best practices, successful experiences/innovations, emerging issues (e.g. landscapes approaches) and tools (e.g. Restoration Opportunity Assessment Methodology [ROAM]) should be made available to, and shared with relevant planners, practitioners and other stakeholders/ partners at country level and across the region (hence the knowledge management part of the PDO). This, in turn, calls for: (1) the mobilization, under NEPAD Agency’s leadership, of the TerrAfrica partners and broader coalitions to leverage their respective capacities and networks to contribute to quality knowledge production and sharing on SLWM related 11 Ibid. Page 8 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) issues across the continent (hence the need for a rationalized KM strategy and the Secretariat’s actions that, under Component 1 on Regional Coalition Building, contribute to managing and energizing the partnership, under an updated communication strategy, while staffing the Secretariat’s team accordingly); and (2) the implementation by the Secretariat of the internet based interactive Knowledge Platform, the organization of, or contribution to regional training workshops, conferences and other events, and the production/dissemination of guidelines, training modules, studies and other documents. 17. Secondly, advocacy, analytical and investment planning support to SSA countries will lead to relevant, large scale and effective SLWM related interventions/investments across sectors. This, in turn, calls for: (1) similar leveraging of development partners’ capacity to contribute to maintaining the political profile of the SLWM in the SSA countries, across the continent and across sectors, mobilizing related technical and financial resources, as well as improving partners and multisector coordination (hence the production of advocacy/communication products, the organization of events/side-events at conferences, and regular partnership management activities such as joint planning and TAECs); (2) the Secretariat’s dedicated support to individual countries to stimulate support for the SLWM agenda under TerrAfrica at the country level, and provide them needs-based technical assistance to undertake SLWM assessments, develop an investment framework/plan for SLWM, produce relevant communication/technical products (e.g. videos or guidelines), provide training, and organize related consultation/advocacy workshops. Again, this also requires increased human and financial resources for the Secretariat. Sustainability of the institutional set up would progressively be strengthened by delivering quality services and products in that regard and stimulating increased demand for these by the respective SSA countries. Significant Changes During Implementation 18. In November 2016, with additional financing (AF) of $1.75m, the scale of activities was increased to include new countries coming on board and some IRIs were added or revised to reflect the scale up and new activities (see Table 1). Through this AF, project activities were extended by 18 months to March 31, 2018. Other changes included two level II restructurings: in May 2015, to extend the closing date by two years and, in April 2018, the closing date was extended by about 3 months to June 15, 2018. The PDO and components remained unchanged throughout implementation. Table 1 – New and Revised Intermediate Result Indicators (IRI) Original Indicators New/Revised Indicators Comments Component 1 IRI 2: Timely delivery of JAWP, AR (both New indicator addressed Joint Annual TerrAfrica Work in Quarter 1) and project frequent late delivery with Program (JAWP) and Annual implementation report negative effects on Report (AR) prepared and (biannually) implementation disseminated Page 9 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) IRI 5: SLWM coordination mechanism Change meant to clarify the SLWM coordination mechanism with other key programs fact that a purely formal with other key programs established and used establishment, e.g. a established declaration, would not be enough to achieve the outcome. Component 2 IRI 3: Systematic series of learning Systematic series of learning Additions designed to ensure events organized for country events organized for country coverage of and enhance project and national program project and national program integration with emerging teams teams, including on landscapes, partner programs, e.g. the restoration and Land Degradation African Forest Landscape Neutrality (LDN) Restoration Initiative (AFR100) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’s (UNCCD) LDN approach IRI 4: Core knowledge and Core knowledge and advocacy Again, additions designed to advocacy products developed products on landscapes/ ensure coverage of and restoration developed and enhance integration with effectively disseminated at country partner programs in all level member countries IRI 5: Knowledge events on SLWM Live, interactive events are are offered on the KP offered on the KP, to add to the passive availability of products Component 3 IRI 4: Countries supported in Addressed NEPAD Agency’s development of landscape intention to influence actual investments per se investments in the landscape agenda, which had emerged as a core priority for TerrAfrica. II. OUTCOME Page 10 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) A. Assessment of Achievement of Each Objective/Outcome 19. As this is a regional project, relevance is assessed in respect of the World Bank’s partnerships and strategies at a regional level. While these were discussed briefly in the introduction, it is noted that the project particularly supports the objectives of the TerrAfrica partnership, which responds to challenges of land degradation and climate change in the region. There can be no doubt as to the high degree of relevance of the project for the achievement of the ultimate goal of sustaining the natural resource base to improve the livelihoods of the rural population of SSA. With the capacity of the Secretariat to implement the TerrAfrica program being a critical determinant of the ability of the program to achieve its objective of ‘enabling SSA governments, the international community and other regional and national stakeholders to work together to scale up country-driven investment in SLWM’, all initiatives to strengthen the functionality and effectiveness of the Secretariat, such as those outlined in the Theory of Change, must inherently also be highly relevant for the achievement of the program’s goal and objective. Outcome 1: Strengthen capacity of the NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on knowledge management for scaling up SLWM 20. In terms of efficacy in reaching this first outcome on knowledge management support, the TerrAfrica Secretariat supported, as expected and essentially on a regional/multi-country scale, the development and sharing of analytical documents/guidelines on SLWM relevant topics, the rationalization of the partnership’s knowledge management strategy, the development and implementation of training modules, and the organization of training or knowledge sharing events. The following results were assessed: 21. PDO Indicator 1: An SLWM Knowledge Platform at SSA level for knowledge support to country investments is up and running with full functionalities available (Y/N): Not achieved. The project supported the further development of the SLWM Interactive Knowledge Platform. It was initially developed by the World Bank, transferred to NEPAD as part of the TerrAfrica website in late 2014, tested and, in 2015, launched with a first series of four eCourses and the “Ask the expertâ€? help desk (involving four experts). Initially, it relied on material produced earlier by the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) network, FAO and WB for TerrAfrica. Interviews with three country SLWM coordinators indicated that they had used the KP and found it helpful. Under the AF, a cumulative target of 10 on-line events was set for the end of the project off a baseline of the four achieved earlier12. The Completion Report records that 12 such events had been offered by the end of 201713 (see IRI4). FAQs & lessons from the exercise were packaged for future programming. However, the website of the KM platform (https://www.terrafrica.org/knowledge- management/knowledge-base) is currently not fully functional. Member countries’ need for support is on-going, so it is to be hoped that the platform will be back in action again shortly. Regrettably, it appears that there are no plans yet to do so or to raise the funding required14. 12 WB, World Bank, Project Paper for … Support to the TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P159132), p10 13 NEPAD, TLF Grant (TF0A3918) for NPCA: Completion Report on Use of Grant Funds, 2018, p9 14 To minimize constraints drawn from time-bound project funding, the IKP could be reshaped as an umbrella tool that could host – and Page 11 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) 22. IRI 1 (‘experts are in place for the “ask the expertâ€? window of the KP’): Achieved. A team of experts were in place to support the “ask the expertâ€? window of the KP’. The team of experts – all volunteers – was increased to 9 by the end of 201615 before the KP became inoperative in 2017. 23. IRI 3 (‘a systematic series of learning events is organized for country project and national program teams, including on landscapes restoration and LDN’): Exceeded. From a baseline of 12 such events at the start of the project, the target of delivering an additional 12 such events were exceeded with 8 e-learning events and 11 training workshops/seminars16,17. The use of ILM to combat land degradation was major focus in a number of these events, while the emerging LDN topic was eventually not dealt with specifically18. Feedback from interviews with the SLWM coordinators in Lesotho, Uganda and Ghana indicated that the ROAM (conducted only in Uganda, in the instance of these three countries) and CSIF workshops were found to be very useful. In Uganda, the training was reported to have been used by those who had attended to train middle-level officers, who had in turn trained zone-level community-based officers, thereby cascading the benefits of the workshop down to ground level. 24. Further feedback from International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)19 corroborated this view in respect of the ROAM workshops, but also reported some concerns about the administrative support provided by the Secretariat in respect of venue and attendance arrangements and about the adequacy of the budget for this purpose and for other basic items, such as documentation and per diems. Indeed, IUCN reported having accepted a significantly lower fee than normal to conduct the workshops, which they did because they rated their potential importance so highly. These shortcomings may eventually not be critical and the quantitative target for the indicator has been met, but questions about outcome quality and follow up – though be financially supported under - any other interested initiative in NRM related domains, such as AFR100, which have similar needs. 15 Project Progress Report, 17 February 2017, p2 16 These included 3 e-learning events in 2014 and a further 5 in 2015 with a total of over 1 000 African participants in 2015 alone. Topics covered included: Carbon Monitoring in CDM Afforestation/Reforestation Projects; Sustainable Agricultural Land Management Projects – Soil Carbon Monitoring; Climate-Smart Agriculture through SLWM; and Tools in Estimating Carbon Sequestration and GHG Emissions in Land Use Projects (TerrAfrica, AR 2015, p10). Learning workshops/seminars included the Financing SLWM in Africa workshop in Dakar, 23-26 February 2015; the Landscape Approach and Adaptation to Climate Change workshop in Maseru, 21-25 April 2015; the Communication Seminar for TerrAfrica Anglophone countries, Nairobi (undated, second half 2015)(TerrAfrica AR 2014, pp9, 11; Project Progress Reports 15 April 2015, p2, 31 December 2015, pp2-3); the 5 week-long Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodologies (ROAM) Workshops held in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Niger and Uganda in 2017 and 2018 in partnership with the International Union for the Cons ervation of Nature (IUCN); the Communications Workshop held in Dakar, in May 2016 (2017 TerrAfrica Annual Report, p15); the Regional CSIF Learning Workshop held in Accra in November 2017; and the Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) Training Workshop held in Nairobi in July 2017, attended by 17 member countries. The Secretariat also organized a Regional KM and M&E Workshop to strengthen cooperation with RECs, in Mbabane, 13-16 September 2016, which was supported through the separate UNEP-SIP project (see Project Progress Report 17 February 2017, pp5-6). 17 NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018, p9 18 The LDN and related target setting at country level was then emerging on the global scene as linked to the SDGs, driven by UNCCD and logically expected to inform national commitments, plans and interventions in the domain. IUCN has been providing technical support at country level, including in Africa, to implement the framework. 19 Skype/telephone interview, 21 November 2018 Page 12 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) not about outreach – are left unanswered. Beyond the comments solicited during key stakeholder interviews, it was difficult to gather the evidence needed to make an informed assessment of product quality. 25. IRI 2 (‘KM Strategy is developed’): Achieved. Following a recommendation from the 2013 independent evaluation and guided by a Steering Committee consisting of members from nine partner organizations, a consultant was hired to develop TerrAfrica’s KM strategy in 2016. The strategy was inter alia meant to further leverage partnership members’ and other institutions’ capacity on knowledge support, while positioning TerrAfrica on the most relevant issues, target audiences and knowledge gaps, following a demand driven, needs based approach. Initiating the activity was postponed during the early phase of the project until the new Business Plan was developed20. Then, a draft strategy was submitted in July 2017 and was reported to have been finalized some while later21. But the quality of the draft was considered by WB not to be acceptable and it was not formally presented to TAEC for approval. Equally important, any future phase of TerrAfrica may start without an approved KM strategy. 26. PDO Indicator 2: New knowledge and advocacy products are disseminated at country level. Exceeded. New SLWM knowledge products, were shared on the website. They include ROAM handbooks; Making sense of Research for SLM handbook; 4 learning videos; Lessons learned on SLM; FAQs on SLM; The use of bamboo for land management in Ghana; a Burkina Faso documentary on SLM best practices; a CSIF synopsis; and Guidelines on promoting SLM investment planning at country level. 27. IRI 4 (‘core knowledge and advocacy products on landscapes/restoration are developed and effectively disseminated at country level’) (Exceeded) and IRI 5 (‘knowledge events on SLWM are offered on the KP’)22 (Achieved): The project planned to develop and disseminate a total of 22 knowledge and advocacy products on landscapes/restoration at country level, off a baseline in 2014 of 1123. This target was exceeded through the production, inter alia, of studies and information paper on investment planning, as well as learning videos, learning modules, and studies on selected technical SLWM issues24. While no data is provided on the 20 The new Business Plan was adopted in December 2015. 21 Project Progress Report, 8 May 2018, p5 22 NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018, p10. This indicator was introduced for the AF only, with a target of 6 additional knowledge events: 6 learning modules were delivered, on river banks and bed erosion, land degradation, water harvesting, conservation agriculture, agroforestry and agroecology. 23 Ibid, p9. 24 These included a synopsis of CSIFs; 4 learning videos on frequently asked SLWM questions (FAQs) (answered by the KP experts), lessons and recommendations on SLWM, erosion and best SLWM practices used in Burkina Faso; a study of the use of bamboo for restoration in Ghana, which has contributed to a synthesis report on the use of bamboo in landscape restoration; guidelines on promoting SLWM investment planning at country level; 6 learning modules on river banks and bed erosion, land degradation, water harvesting, conservation agriculture, agroforestry and agroecology; and FAQ on agroforestry and land restoration (Ibid, pp9-10; Project Progress Report, 8 May 2018, pp4-5. Countries visited for these purposes included: Burundi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Mauritania and Malawi (TerrAfrica AR 2014, pp16-17); Kenya, Niger and Madagascar (TerrAfrica AR 2015, p14); Burkina Faso (Project Progress Report, 31 December 2015, p3); and Comores, Malawi (again), DRC, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Benin and Zimbabwe (again), with a mission to Sudan planned (NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018, p10). Three products on M&E tools for evaluating progress in upscaling SLWM were developed by EcoAgriculture Partners with support from the Secretariat: A Landscape Perspective on M&E for SLWM – Trainer’s Manual; Spatial Planning and Monitoring of Landscapes Page 13 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) number of website hits related to these products in any of the annual or progress reports, a useful indication of the effectiveness of dissemination at country level is to be had from the more than 1 000 participants who attended the 8 initial e-course knowledge events offered on the KP in 2014 and 201525, as well as two webinars26. Answers to questions asked in interviews with key stakeholders in Lesotho27, Uganda28 and Ghana29 confirmed the effectiveness of dissemination at country level. In most instances, the interviewees reported being aware of the products listed above and having used many of them. Encouragingly, in Uganda it was also reported that on-the-ground communities often had sufficient internet connectivity to access the KP’s products and, indeed, made practical use of them in some instances (see IRI3). The Secretariat also disseminated these and other TerrAfrica knowledge products at international and regional fora, such as UNFCCC COP22 and the Third Africa Drylands Week and Drought Policy Conference in 2016. 28. These elements show that, during implementation, the project was effective in delivering, or contributing to, a substantial number of knowledge management documents and events including, temporarily, on the interactive knowledge platform. The Secretariat has, at least during project life time, demonstrated its capacity to deliver a series of useful knowledge outputs. Despite not being guided by a strategy, these have mostly dealt with quite relevant and topical SLWM issues, in particular on: landscape approaches at a time when development partners were moving from concept development to advocacy and implementation; ROAM, which is a decision and planning support tool for which guidance has been in high demand by African countries following the emergence of Forest Landscapes Restoration agenda and related restoration commitments made by African countries (under the Bonn Challenge and AFR100); training for the media to leverage their capacity to reach out to different categories of players, including policy decision makers, on the SLWM issues and solutions; and CSIFs as offering a central tool for planning, scaling up and coordinating SLWM investments in the respective countries. All this has directly participated, at the right time, in the overall efforts made by development partners/stakeholders on these issues (e.g., landscapes approaches and ROAM are now commonly implemented in the region). With regards to more technical themes, e.g. on SLWM practices, while related project outputs (e.g. e-learning sessions) have been appreciated by targeted audiences, it appears from this experience that, in an environment now crowded with many specialized knowledge suppliers30, the Secretariat’s relative advantage may be more in promoting these suppliers and facilitating exchanges between countries/stakeholders than producing new ones, unless it can identify critical gaps, e.g. on strategic (vs. technical) issues to inform senior policy decision makers31. Interventions – Maps to Link People with Their Landscapes – A User’s Guide; and Ground-Based Photo Monitoring of Landscape Changes Arising from SLWM (TerrAfrica AR 2014, pp11, 12). 25 See footnote 26. 26 TerrAfrica AR 2015, p10 27 6 November 2018 28 9 November 2018 29 16 November 2018 30 E.g. the World Observatory of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT), the Sahel Inter-State Committee Against Drought (CILSS) and Nile Basin Initiative just to cite a few. 31 See section below on staffing support: the absence during most of the project, of a highly qualified NRM specialist may have hampered that capacity to provide strategic guidance on SLM issues (a lesson for the future) although just filling such a position may not enough. Page 14 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) 29. While knowledge documents are now directly accessible through NEPAD’s own website, further exploitation of the products and the generated knowledge is left to the participating countries and partners. In short, there has been over-reliance not only on time bound project funding but, specifically, on TLF support only, under the unconfirmed assumption that related funding would automatically and immediately be renewed32. Retrospectively, this would now call for either emphasizing much more the time-bound and output focused project approach of the grant (instead of focusing on a long term institutional set up) or, on the contrary, advising NEPAD to adopt a single, long term, program based approach on NRM/SLM, supported through different potential sources and institutional set ups (e.g. project grants and TA). 30. With regards to actual impact, which, due to the nature of the activities, is difficult to objectively assess, it can be assumed that its scale could have been greater if it were not for certain options: hence, except for the late collaboration with IUCN on ROAM as well as the “ask the expertâ€? web tool, leveraging partners’ knowledge management capacity to amplify the Secretariat’s own, necessarily limited, efforts, has remained isolated. The ambition of leveraging partners has eventually proved to be challenging for the Secretariat and may need to be brought down to more realistic grounds in the future. This adds to the legitimate, but less effective choice to implement many activities internally despite limited capacity33 (vs., e.g. outsourcing some to specialized knowledge institutions, e.g. academic networks or centers of excellence) and, except again for the ROAM exercise, reaching out to a given number of final targeted audiences (e.g. TerrAfrica focal points) vs. training trainers or existing networks to multiply numbers (e.g. think tanks, academic, and farmer organizations networks). These remain useful options for the future. The NEPAD Agency’s recent proposal on setting up a continental knowledge network (“AfriOCATâ€?) similar to the global, well established WOCAT, may go in the right direction if well crafted. Outcome 2: Strengthen capacity of the NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on actions for scaling up SLWM In terms of achievement of this second outcome on strengthened capacity to support actions for scaling up SLWM, the following results were assessed: 31. PDO Indicator (‘Countries supported in their SLWM Country Strategic Investment Framework (CSIF) development, implementation, or update’): Achieved. 15 countries received support on their SLWM Country Strategic Investment Framework (CSIF) including Uganda, Madagascar, Ghana, Gambia, Mali, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, DRC, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Malawi, Togo and Lesotho. 32 For instance, the anticipated, necessary closure of the TLF made such an assumption unrealistic (as TerrAfrica donors and the WBG requested the TLF to be closed before considering a possible new program and related funding). 33 As described in the section below on Secretariat staffing, the NRM Specialist position was filled for only one year at the beginning of the project. Page 15 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) 32. IRI 2 (‘experts for the development, implementation or update of country investment planning are deployed’): Exceeded. The project built on earlier efforts made by the TerrAfrica partnership to support the development of SLM related investment frameworks, which had indeed informed investment programming and implementation in several countries (e.g. Ethiopia, Uganda and Ghana). Off a baseline of 8 in 2016, a target of 14 was set by project closure and 17 experts were reported to have been deployed for the development and implementation of CSIFs34. 33. IRI 1 (‘joint fact-finding and planning missions are undertaken’): Exceeded. Following a context of limited country specific support and few active countries participating in the partnership at the beginning of the project, the project initially focused on stimulating renewed interest and demand by countries for support services – and succeeded in that regard. By May 2018, against the target of 10 joint fact-finding and planning missions, 13 had been fielded35. This generated demand by countries for targeted TA support, despite the fact that, the Secretariat not being allowed under the grant agreement to provide sub-grants to the respective countries (only NEPAD executed TA support), reduced interest by some countries. 34. IRI 3 (‘workshops/roundtables for national donors’ dialogue and stakeholders’ consultation are supported’): Exceeded. 11 workshops/roundtables for national donors’ dialogue and stakeholders’ consultation were supported by project closure36, against the target of 5, off a baseline of 2 in 2016. These included the launch of Kenya’s CSIF, support for CSIF validation workshops in 6 countries and support for the launch of SLWM platforms in a further 3 countries. 35. Clearly, the quantitative targets set for these activities were met and the Secretariat is to be commended on this account. However, the question of quality arises, though perhaps less in respect of the quality of services delivered – both Uganda and Lesotho reported positively in this regard37 - than of the quality of follow up outcomes at country level. While finding ‘a low level of government engagement/commitment towards SLWM implementation’38, NEPAD’s 2017 study on CSIFs (including those developed prior to the project) also saw them as ‘leading all other frameworks at a national level related to SLWM’39, creating ‘consciousness and awareness among the politicians, heads of government’ and a broad range of stakeholders, imbuing national ‘stakeholders with a high sense of ownership of the final document’ as well as ‘assisting countries in committing resources to SLWM’40. The 2018 Independent Evaluation of TerrAfrica also concluded on similar terms regarding all CSIFs, whether supported by the project or other TerrAfrica partners: “Another key result is the assistance provided by the TerrAfrica partnership, mostly through the efforts of the Secretariat, towards the 34 Ibid. Countries reported as having been assisted in one or more of these ways included: Kenya, Madagascar and Niger (TerrAfrica AR 2015, p14); Cote d’Ivoire (Project Progress Report, 17 February 2017, p3); Senegal (TerrAfrica AR 2017, p20); and Ghana, Uga nda, DRC, Togo, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Lesotho and The Gambia (NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018, p10). The total of 17 appears to include more than one expert having been deployed to some countries at different times. 35 NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018, p10 36 NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018, p11. The countries listed are: Comores (platform launch), DRC (platform launch and validation), The Gambia (validation), Ghana (validation), Kenya (platform launch), Lesotho (validation), Niger (validation) and Togo (platform launch and validation). 37 See paragraph 31 above. This matter was not discussed in the interview with the representative from Ghana. 38 NEPAD/AU, Final Report: Review of the TerrAfrica Sustainable Investment Frameworks for SLWM, December 2017, p2 39 Ibid, p3 40 Ibid Page 16 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) development of … CSIFs for SLM. At time of writing, 13 countries had completed CSIFs, and another two were under preparation. CSIFs were noted by many evaluation participants among the most useful mechanisms for leveraging SLM-related investments nationally. A 2017 review of CSIFs completed by NEPAD indicated that CSIFs provided a unique opportunity to gather information on the status of SLM-related spending and to generate ownership and cross-sectoral synergies among national stakeholders. In addition, impetus provided by TerrAfrica in many of the countries contributed to creating follow-up mechanisms and institutions, pointing to TerrAfrica’s ability to generate other initiatives beyond its own scope and duration. For example, national SLWM platforms were created in over half of the participating countries (at least 17 according to reports), which included CSOs, sectoral representatives, and donors. It is not clear to what extent the priorities, actions and investments contained in the CSIFs were actually implemented, nor is it clear whether the SLWM platforms were consistently under operation, but there is consensus that these two key aspects of the TerrAfrica partnership have contributed to generating improved capacity to address SLWM in many countriesâ€?41. 36. IRI 4 (‘countries are supported in the development of landscape investments per se’): Not Achieved. During the AF phase, the project included an IRI and target for the Secretariat to support 6 countries in the development of landscape investments by closure42. The Completion Report records that there was no response to the offer by the Secretariat of such support43. Indeed, none of the three sets of country representatives interviewed reported being aware of the offer. 37. To conclude, like for the previous outcome on Knowledge Management, the project has been effective in stimulating renewed country engagement and participation, as well as delivering a substantial number of country support activities focusing on the CSIF tool. And, similarly, while various elements suggest that this is likely to have contributed to broader positive outcomes in terms of raising the SLWM agenda and investment promotion at country level, actual impact is difficult to assess, and sustainability remains a challenge. Other interesting findings include the following: (1) the Secretariat has faced challenges in mobilizing development/TerrAfrica partners to support its own work at country level, and this calls at least for reshaping the partnership’s related ambition and approach; and (2) country support, while indeed relevant and appreciated, has comparatively proved to be more effective and sustainable when managed precisely at the country level (vs. a distant continental platform), e.g. in Ethiopia and Mozambique, which have benefitted from dedicated TA trust funds: future action could usefully aim at promoting and designing such dedicated support. Strengthening capacity of the NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on both PDO outcomes 38. With regards to efficacy in reaching both PDO elements, there were cross-cutting outcomes reflected in Intermediate Result Indicators (IRI) falling under the support to the regional coalition building component. A critical aspect of this, as reflected in IRI 1 (‘senior technical staff are in place at TerrAfrica Secretariat’), was the provision of human resources to the Secretariat in the form of senior technical staff, from a baseline of two staff with full-time responsibility for TerrAfrica, up to six44. Key staff actually in place at an early stage included a 41 Ibid, p37. 42 This was evidently added at the request of NEPAD. 43 NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018, p11 44 As described for the first intermediate level indicator: SLM Coordinator, Senior NRM Specialist, Senior Knowledge Management (KM) Page 17 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Principal SLWM Program Officer (not supported by the project grant), a Senior SLWM Program Officer (as Secretariat Manager), a Communication and Advocacy Officer, a Natural Resources Management (NRM) Officer, and a Program Assistant. The NRM Officer position was occupied until mid-2016 before becoming vacant and was never filled subsequently. In February 2016, the Principal SLWM Program Officer was moved to the newly established AFR100 Secretariat, also hosted by the NEPAD Agency, and wasn’t replaced: from then, his TerrAfrica program management functions were taken by the Senior Programme Officer, SLWM. By late 2016, only two staff members were full-time, namely, the Senior SLWM Program Officer and the Communications and Advocacy Officer, whose time became divided on a 50:50 basis with the AFR100 Secretariat on the establishment of the latter. The time of the KM Specialist/M&E Officer who joined the TerrAfrica Secretariat early in 2016 was also shared on a 50:50 basis with the AFR100 Secretariat. The date of the appointment of the part-time Program Assistant is uncertain. TerrAfrica’s 2016-2020 Business Plan assumed 5 full-time staff members. 39. In other words, the Secretariat’s capacity was indeed significantly increased shortly after project start and this did influence positively the Secretariat’s reengagement towards participating countries and partners. However, the team always remained short of at least two members (including a full time M&E specialist), and saw its number reduced following the redistribution of members between the TerrAfrica Secretariat and that of AFR100 in 2016. Finally, following grant closure and as indicated earlier, TerrAfrica Secretariat team members have been kept within the NEPAD agency, which may contribute to institutional memory and maintaining some of the capacity that was built, but they’ve essentially moved to other programs. 40. For an SSA-wide program that, at least nominally embraces 28 member countries, with assistance being given to a further 3 countries to plan SLWM programs and with 5 others expressing keenness to become involved, this is a very small staff complement for effective delivery. Lack of capacity in the Secretariat and the need to address it adequately has been highlighted by successive independent evaluations45, Grant Reporting and Monitoring Reports and Implementation Status and Results Reports, as urgent. It should be added that the project did highlight, under Component 1, the need to upgrade staff skills as a method of increasing staff capacity. Successive Annual Workplans and Budgets did have allocations for ‘Skills Development SLWM/Technical Assistance (TA) Program Staff’ and the importance of upgrading the skills of staff and recruiting short-term consultants was emphasized in WB Implementation Support Missions (ISM)46, but the allocations do not seem to have been used for that purpose. 41. However, various measures recommended by WB in the ISRs to help expand the capacity of the Secretariat, such as setting up Strategic Action Groups (SAGs) to stimulate collaboration and leverage off the capacity of TerrAfrica partners, as recommended by the TerrAfrica Executive Committee (TAEC), were generally Specialist; Communication and Advocacy Officer, M&E Specialist, and Secretariat Manager. It was agreed later that the KM and M&E positions would be merged, bringing the target figure to five. 45 See Johnstad, M., and Lyasse, O., 2009, Independent Evaluation: TerrAfrica Program Activities funded by the Development Grant Facility from 2006 to 2009; and Scanteam, 2013, Independent Review of TerrAfrica, with emphasis on TerrAfrica Leverage Fund 46 See, e.g., WB, Implementation Status and Results Report, AFCC2/RI – Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat, July 2016, pp2, 3; ibid, June 2017, pp2, 3; WB, Aide Memoire, ISM for AF to the Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P159132), February 14-17, 2017, pp1, 2 Page 18 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) not followed up by the Secretariat (except for the steering committees set up for the development of the communication strategy (2016) and the KM strategy (2017)). 42. IRI 2 (‘timely delivery of JAWPs, ARs and project implementation progress reports’): In all instances the reports and plans were produced, though often not as scheduled. To some degree, the delays in completing ARs may have been caused by the slowness of partners, sometimes including the World Bank itself, in responding to requests for contributions. Perhaps of most concern is that the Secretariat’s inability to generate drafts of the JAWP and AR for annual fourth quarter TAEC meetings significantly reduced the contribution of key partners to TerrAfrica activities for the coming year. 43. IRI 3 (‘TerrAfrica communication strategy is updated’): Following a recommendation of the 2013 independent evaluation aimed at rationalizing the partnership’s multiple communication activities, a new TerrAfrica communication strategy was drafted in 2017. However, the quality was found to be unacceptable by the Secretariat and the World Bank. No attempt was made to redraft it internally, perhaps because of capacity constraints, or to find another contractor, and because it was thought that the activity would not be completed sufficiently in advance of the project’s and TLF’s closures to have a useful impact. 44. Other important communication activities under the project included the maintenance of the TerrAfrica website, which hosts the interactive knowledge platform (KP) as well as the different meetings/events the Secretariat organizes or participates in (see also training for media professionals under KM, below). At the end of 2017, the Secretariat hired a communication consultant to restructure the website and add content, but the value of this was diminished by the website evidently having been largely inoperative for most of 2018 and the project then reaching conclusion (see IRI1). 45. IRI 4 (unchanged for the AF extension47) called for two major TerrAfrica events per year to be planned and held by the Secretariat: Four TAEC annual meetings were hosted from 2014 to 2017, and a stakeholders’ consultation workshop to inform the preparation of the new Business Plan, was organized in Bonn, in March 2015. The project also organized regional workshops (see KM, above). It also organized 3 side events48 and supported events organized by others49. If the target of 8 such events was not met, it appears to have been nearly met, and it can fairly be said that the other events contributed to promoting the partnership’s agenda. 46. IRI 5 (‘a SLWM coordination mechanism with other key programs is established and used’)50: The focus was initially on coordinating with NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP)51, but this was expanded during the AF extension to include, among others, the Africa Resilient Landscapes 47 WB, Support to the TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P159132), 2016, p9 48 For the launch ARLI and AFR100 and to celebrate TerrAfrica’s ten years at the 2015 GLF in Paris, and to introduce the TerrAfrica initiative, Africa Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (AfriOCAT), on the fringe of the UNCCD COP13 in China, 2017. 49 E.g., the Africa Drought Conference organized in Windhoek, August 2016, the Africa Group Preparatory Meeting before the 2017 UNCCD COP, and the International Day of Forests, co-organized with the African Union Commission (AUC) in Nairobi, March 2017. 50 This target draws from (1) the multi-sector nature of SLWM and therefore the need, at the core of TerrAfrica’s agenda, to mainstream SLWM into planning in other sectors, and (2) the recognition by the 2013 independent evaluation of CAADP Pillar 1, which focused on SLWM, as being TerrAfrica’s best asset. 51 Towards “the integration of SLWM in CAADP processes and investment planning and other key programs and plansâ€? (Project Paper) . Page 19 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Initiative (ARLI), AFR100 and UNCCD’s Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI). Through participating in NEPAD’s Natural Resources Governance and Food Security program (set up in 2016), the TerrAfrica secretariat was indeed kept informed of developments in other NEPAD initiatives also members of the program, such as CAADP and AFR100. The Secretariat also participated in some of CAADP’s annual Partnership Platform meetings, e.g. in April 2018. However, it is unclear whether this would have involved TerrAfrica’s ‘regular participation in their processes and investment planning’, as required by the project indicator. It does not appear that there was any significant integration of TerrAfrica’s business plans and budgets into NEPAD’s plans and budgets for CAADP and AFR100, or that TerrAfrica promoted the integration of its member countries’ SLWM investment frameworks into CAADP’s National Agricultural Investment Plans. Therefore, while interaction certainly took place, an effective coordination mechanism was not really set up. 47. In terms of strengthening partnerships, the TerrAfrica Secretariat team was quite effective early in organizing the consultation process on the new Business Plan as well as in obtaining formal support by AUC and NEPAD institutions for emerging initiatives, namely AFR100, the Africa Landscape Action Plan and the Africa Resilient Landscape Initiative (ARLI)52. With regards to GGWSSI, the team did participate in the 2016 GGWSSI Conference in Dakar, where there were dedicated sessions on studies prepared by the broader TerrAfrica partnership. They were also part of the drafting team for the report on the outcomes, as well as the planning team for the GGWSSI roadmap toward the Marrakech UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (UNFCCC COP22). But the only reported contact with the politically influential African Ministerial Conference of the Environment (AMCEN) relates to March 2015, when NEPAD reported on TerrAfrica to AMCEN. This is regrettable, given the desirability of securing greater visibility and high-level political support for TerrAfrica and SLWM. With the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Secretariat, through the Strategic Investment Program (UNEP-SIP) for Sustainable Land Management helped co-convene a technical meeting of Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and other UN and regional partners to prepare a Status of Land Degradation and Restoration in Africa report. The Secretariat also participated in the Building Resilience through Innovation Communication and Knowledge Services (BRICKS) communications workshop in Sudan in 2017. However, in most cases, whether such interaction involved participation in these partners’ planning and investment processes in any significant way, as specified in IRI 5, is doubtful. No formal technical peer reviewing of countries’ SLWM initiatives – also specified in IRI 5 – is recorded as having taken place, but no doubt some degree of informal reviewing will have occurred at multi-country or region-wide events where SLWM was the focus, such as the Learning Workshop on CSIFs, held in Accra, 23-25 November 2017. Overall Outcome Rating 48. The project was effective in delivering, or contributing to, a substantial number of knowledge management documents and events including, temporarily, on the interactive knowledge platform. The Secretariat has demonstrated its capacity to deliver a series of useful knowledge outputs which have mostly dealt with quite relevant and topical SLWM issues. The project provided through the TerrAfrica partnership and the Secretariat, the development of 17 CSIFs for SLM, with 13 completed and another two under preparation. CSIFs were noted by many evaluation participants among the most useful mechanisms for leveraging SLM- 52 Promoted respectively by the World Resource Institute, Eco Agriculture Partners and the World Bank. Page 20 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) related investments nationally. National SLWM platforms were also created in over half of the participating countries (at least 17), which included CSOs, sectoral representatives, and donors. The project has been effective in stimulating renewed country engagement and participation, as well as delivering a substantial number of country support activities focusing on the CSIF tool and has contributed to generating improved capacity to address SLWM in many countries. However, due to sustainability concerns related to the knowledge management systems and the lack of evidence to support impact in terms of uptake of SLWM investments, the overall outcome is rated Moderately Satisfactory. B. Other Outcomes and Impacts 49. An important finding from the three country stakeholder interviews was that natural resource conservation/restoration consciousness had become part of the fabric of many rural communities and featured prominently in their plans for – and conduct of – agriculture and other aspects of the rural economy and society. Conservation/restoration activities, such as contour banking, are frequently driven by communities independently or ahead of government’s interventions. It was reassuring to find that the internet-based information disseminated by the TerrAfrica Secretariat is a significant contributor to communities’ SLWM and to continually updating and informing planning and implementation. III. KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECTED IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOME 50. Factors during preparation. The evaluations of the TerrAfrica program in 2009 (see para 3) and 2013 (see para 4 and Box 1) played a valuable role by highlighting the roles played by the Secretariat and its importance for the realization of the program’s objectives, by emphasizing the need to strengthen its capacity and by identifying areas of action and support from WB needed to achieve this. These all informed the design of the project. 51. Factors during implementation. Funding phases and periods: The project was approved on April 29, 2014 and was signed off and became effective on June 17, 2014. The very short initial implementation period of only one year was necessitated by the termination date of the WB-executed parent trust fund (TLF) on 31 May 2015, but with the understanding that, once an extension of the life of the TLF had been arranged, the project would in turn be extended. As the period of operation of the TLF was indeed extended in 2015, so was the duration of the project, by two years, from May 2015 to May 2017. Following the decision by the WB and NEPAD in late 2015 to mount an AF phase, delays in finalizing the proposal were experienced when the restructuring of NEPAD led to unexpected changes in the project team in February 2016. The proposal for the AF was eventually approved in November 2016 with an 18-month timeframe linked to the new closing date of the parent TLF on 31 May 2018. While no party can be held negligent for this ‘stop-start’ extension process, it had the unfortunate effect of imposing constraints on the length of contracts of employment that could be signed, with consequent difficulties for retaining and hiring new staff. Page 21 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) 52. A second group of factors that affected implementation negatively were internal to NEPAD: first, the initial lack of capacity in NEPAD’s finance and procurement systems and management. This led to delays in decision-making with a number of negative knock-on effects for the project. In both instances, this was being addressed by the restructuring of NEPAD’s secretariat in 2016 and had been satisfactorily resolved before the closure of the project. For this reason, they are not discussed further in the analysis or the recommendations. And, second, NEPAD’s overreliance on the project grant, vs. increasingly using its own resources or mobilizing external third-party resources, to fund full-time and possible additional positions within the Secretariat. The reasons for this are not evident, but the consequences for staffing are. 53. Beyond these, a number of other factors that were largely exogenous also played a role in constraining the functionality and effectiveness of the Secretariat. Three call for mention: • First, the proliferation of initiatives with closely related objectives, such as, AFR100, ARLI, the African Landscapes Action Plan (ALAP) – adopted by the AU and NEPAD and financed, inter alia, by the Government of the Netherlands, UNEP, the International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), EcoAgriculture Partners and NEPAD/TerrAfrica itself, following the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Conference in 2014 – the Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance, established in the same year and also supported by NEPAD, and UNCCD’s LDN Target-Setting Program, also launched in 2014, and its much earlier GGWSSI, begun in 2008. Though all valid and laudable in themselves, taken together, these initiatives led to competition – even confusion – and diffusion of focus and funding by key role-players, including NEPAD and TerrAfrica. Some further implications are considered below (see FM and procurement section). • The emergence of so many parallel programs may go some way towards explaining another challenge reported to have been faced by the Secretariat and the partnership, namely, mobilizing the active support of partner organizations for TerrAfrica initiatives. To some extent, this may have been due to the difficulty that the Secretariat experienced in providing drafts of the JAWP and AR for annual fourth quarter TAEC meetings, which significantly reduced the contribution of key partners to planning for the coming year. However, it probably also reflects a further factor: • Whether through TAEC or AMCEN, TerrAfrica seems to have found it difficult to raise its political profile to the point of attracting influential support at ministerial level. Only once, in 2015, did TerrAfrica secure the opportunity to report at this level (see IRI5). The need for communication and visibility stressed in the 2009 evaluation (see para 3) seems to have been an on-going challenge. It would greatly assist TerrAfrica and other initiatives based at or supported by NEPAD Agency if the agency were headed by – or include or be able to call on assistance from – a politically-connected ‘heavy hitter’. IV. BANK PERFORMANCE, COMPLIANCE ISSUES, AND RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME Page 22 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) 54. Quality at entry: Two important determinants of quality at entry are existing staff and systems, and forward planning and funding. Project design support drew directly from the 2013 independent evaluation’s finding of the need to address the serious lack of HR and systems capacity in the NEPAD Agency in order, in particular, for the overall TerrAfrica partnership to continue to build on its positive outcomes to date. To compensate for a baseline of staff and systems in the Secretariat that was significantly below par at the point of commencement of P149269 in 2014, Bank’s guidance emphasized the need to build a relatively larger Secretariat team with key specialist positions, and built directly on other relevant outcomes of the 2013 evaluation (e.g. need for more emphasis on country participation and support - vs. regional activities - and rationalize both the communication and KM plans/strategies). In terms of planning and funding, it is difficult to find fault with the quality of the 2014 Project Paper for P149269 or with the adequacy of funding, although, with hindsight it does seem that the size and caliber of Secretariat staff provided for may have been less than optimal and that these deficiencies were compounded by the shortness of the successive periods of funding, even if this was to some extent unavoidable. 55. Quality of supervision: In most other respects, the World Bank (Washington) performed its funding and technical support roles well, having provided funding for the AF phase and having undertaken three Implementation Support Missions (ISM) on schedule and with apparent thoroughness53. That is, annual ISMs were undertaken and reported on in related Aide Memoires (AM) by the Team, following standard formats54. The content and analysis of the both the Implementation Status and Results reports (ISRs) and the mission AMs have been concise, but comprehensive, insightful and sound. The M&E that formed part of ISMs seems to have been effective in assessing performance and detecting areas needing attention. WB’s ISRs and mission AMs were clearly used to inform decision-making and project management, as is apparent from references to these documents in subsequent reports. The World Bank provided a team of its own staff to support TerrAfrica. Over time, this support gradually diminished, as one would expect for a program for which NEPAD was increasingly assuming control. In 2014, there were 6 technical staff in Washington working on the program, excluding those involved in fiduciary and legal support and in senior management, as well as a communication consultant55. This would seem to be a substantial team, bearing in mind the allocation of NEPAD Agency staff to the TerrAfrica Secretariat. By 2017, the size of the World Bank team had dropped to 3. The effective disappearance of one position, in particular, calls for attention, namely that of the World Bank officer located in Pretoria who worked closely with the NEPAD Agency. On the relocation of the officer concerned in 2015, no-one was assigned to fill the same function. This may have affected Bank support, as the closeness of contact diminished and, with it, the immediacy of trouble spotting and shooting. Biannual progress reports and ARs by the Secretariat, audio/video conferences, annual ISMs, team interaction to prepare, and at annual TAEC meetings, as well at other international conferences (e.g. 2016 Dakar conference on the GGWSSI and 2017 Ordos UNCCD COP) were simply not an equal substitute. 53 The data sheet indicates only 2 ISRs due to a technical problem in the portal. 54 For instance, the AMs include sections on NEPAD’s commitment to TerrAfrica and update on institutional developments at NEPAD Agency; Secretariat staffing and capacity; progress towards completion of PDO; implementation progress; progress reporting; M&E of TerrAfrica program; financial management; procurement and key directions for the next phase of the project. 55 Hired in part to support the Secretariat (up to 2015). Page 23 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) 56. The Secretariat’s staff reported favorably on the missions’ assistance to reviewing progress, planning, budgeting, problem identification and problem solving, though, as noted earlier, along with others the Bank was sometimes slow to give input and feedback on AR and JAWP drafts, which diluted the potential of TAEC meetings to contribute to planning. The staff also reported favorably on the performance of the World Bank (Pretoria) in respect of financial and procurement oversight and corroborated that the fulfilment of these functions did not result in any significant delays from the perspective of the Secretariat. The Bank also participated actively in TAEC meetings and in the steering committee for the drafting of the KM strategy and the redrafting of the communications strategy, though neither of these processes produced acceptable products. Bank Performance rating: Moderately Satisfactory 57. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E): • Design: The PDO was clear and the indicators in the Results Framework for monitoring effectiveness were mostly well-aligned, although some indicators were compound and could have been better defined or clarified. • Implementation: With regards to the quality of reporting, it varied from good and insightful in some instances, to perfunctory in others. Concerns identified in respect of the quality of reporting and analysis relate to: inability to provide drafts of the JAWP and AR for annual TAEC meetings ; the focus on meeting quantitative targets – and reporting almost entirely in this vein – at the possible expense of the quality of products and services delivered , though the paucity of information on the latter precludes hard conclusions in this respect; the absence of activity-based financial reporting ; and the detection of the possible loss of impact of CSIFs as a tool for country SLWM investments . • Utilization: The Annual Reports, TAEC Minutes and Project Progress Reports were used to inform decision- making and project management, as is apparent from references to these documents in subsequent reports. Monitoring and Evaluation rating: The overall quality of M&E is rated Modest 58. Compliance: Overall the project’s implementation was consistent with World Bank policies and procedures. No safeguards policies were triggered and as such the project was rated a Category C. 59. Financial Management and Procurement: From the date of transfer of control of the Secretariat to the NEPAD Agency in 2009, WB’s office in Pretoria played only a supervisory and support role to NEPAD’s own financial management and procurement services. Before 2016, when NEPAD restructured its Head Office, increasing the capacity and improving processes of these services, the need for WB’s support was evidently quite substantial, though it is not clear how effective it was in countering internal weaknesses at NEPAD, such as delays in procurement caused by the absence on mission of key decision-makers. Thereafter, it seems to have assumed a more adherence-to-procedure checking nature, which it appears to have done satisfactorily, according to normal WB practice for such projects. Page 24 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) 60. However, some questions about performance and the adequacy of such a low-level role remain. One arises around financial control: the data on expenditure provided by NEPAD’s accounting officer during the preparation of this ICR was not activity-based, which made it impossible to comment on an informed basis on efficiency in value-for-money terms as required by NEPAD’s Financial Management Assessment Report56. Unless other activity-based financial reports are produced, it is not clear how adherence to budget could be assessed on an on-going basis by either NEPAD or the World Bank without expenditure having been tracked by activity, rather than simply as a total. External audit reports provided by the NEPAD Agency 57 do not offer any insight in this regard and no evidence was gathered from the NEPAD Agency as to its own internal M&E activities of its financial management and procurement functions or of the TerrAfrica Secretariat. 61. Risks to development outcome: In general, risks are firstly linked to the failure to draft and gain support for an exit plan and financial provision for sustainability on the closure of the project as such: this a serious concern, especially at a point when WB grant funding for Secretariat is not available (post the closure of the project in June 2018). It is understood that some short-term stop-gap measures by NEPAD were activated in July 2018, but it is uncertain how effective these are, how long they will remain in place and, in particular, whether they will last long enough to see through to the revival or reshaping and re-financing of TerrAfrica, if that is what is decided. 62. In addition, risks regarding NEPAD Agency’s strengthened capacity to support member countries on knowledge management are linked to the absence of approved communications, KM – and to a lesser degree – M&E58 strategies and the dysfunctionality of the KP for most of the past year and failure to find an alternative ‘home’, which will both prevent member countries from drawing on the platform’s resources for support and further lower the profile of TerrAfrica across the sub-continent. 63. With regards to NEPAD Agency’s strengthened capacity to support member countries on actions for scaling up SLWM, risks are linked to the questionability of the use being made of CSIFs by TerrAfrica member countries and partners, including the WB, in planning and undertaking major NRM investments, insufficient visibility at an influential political level, as well as at country and regional level. Related risks are further amplified by sub-optimal levels of staffing and HR capacity, diffusion of focus at NEPAD in respect of NRM- related initiatives supported, as well as inadequate contact and coordination with, and support from key external partners and related initiatives within NEPAD. V. LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS 56 NEPAD, Financial Management Assessment Report, undated, p1, paragraph 8 57 Cape Verde Supreme Audit Institution, New Partnership for Africa’s Development NEPAD Agency- Report to Management for the Year Ended 31 December 2017; African Union Board of External Auditors, Report of the Board of External Auditors on the Financial Statements of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development NEPAD Agency for the Year Ended 31 December 2017 58 Responsibility for the design of an M&E support strategy for TerrAfrica was included in the Results Framework for the 2011 Child Trust Fund project (Project Document, p21), but was later transferred to the UNEP-SIP project (NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF011266 Grant Funds, p5). Page 25 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) 64. It was agreed by country representatives that the current revisioning process for TerrAfrica was important and appropriate, but that it should conclude, and the decisions be implemented as quickly as possible to minimize loss of momentum. The staff of the Secretariat are still being employed by NEPAD, but it is not known how long this can continue and TerrAfrica can remain dormant without lasting damage. An effective option for minimizing such damage is to find a competent, appropriately-oriented body – most likely an environmental NGO with proven website management and maintenance capability – to revive the KP. Indeed, with input from the Secretariat’s KM officer, this could be a good longer-term arrangement. Exploring this with NEPAD should be a priority for WB. 65. Adequate staffing has been an on-going problem at the Secretariat, dating back to the start of the program. This appears to have been less a function of budget constraints and inadequate salaries and benefits than of the short periods for which appointments could be made making them unattractive to many good potential appointees, as well the establishment of, and transfer of staff to a separate secretariat for AFR100. If another phase of TerrAfrica is to be embarked on, these deficiencies will need to be addressed, in the first instance by WB (see para 66), but also through more rational use of staff and prompt, efficient procurement by NEPAD or its successor. 66. NEPAD’s procurement and human resources (HR) processes do seem to have been an additional impediment to staffing initially, but to have improved substantially by the time of commencement of the AF. But even for a full-time staff of 5 to support TerrAfrica’s active country members effectively, high caliber staff, efficient internal systems and synergies, and adequate decentralization and support at country and partner level will be needed. This will entail drawing not only on TLF, but also on NEPAD’s own and available external sources, offering higher salaries when filling vacancies, ensuring that budget allocated for staff training is fully and effectively spent and securing technical assistance for NEPAD or its successor to further improve systems. 67. If TerrAfrica is to be continued – or if it is replaced by some other NRM program – and the current 5- year planning and budgeting cycles continue, as far as possible WB or other related support projects should be articulated with these cycles. This should eliminate, or at least reduce, the negative effects of the successive short project periods from which the Support to the TerrAfrica Secretariat suffered. Whatever program is chosen to take NEPAD’s NRM activities forward, it should, either on its own or as part of NEPAD’s NR Governance and Food Security cluster, be required to report to a ministerial-level body at the AU and be provided with a regular/annual opportunity to do so at first hand, i.e. not just in writing. 68. Issues of not only sustainability and optimal impact, but also how best to exploit the added value of the continental framework as well as effectively leveraging partners at all levels, need systematic attention. The primary emphasis on the Secretariat’s role in partnership leveraging and joint planning could usefully be toned down to focus more on what the NEPAD Agency (and the respective partners) can best deliver. On knowledge management, a good needs based strategy that is embraced by the partners, focusing on their relative strengths and specifying mechanisms to guide their action on a continuous basis, remains a key starting point. In addition, a continental institution like the NEPAD Agency should, on most issues, emphasize its enabling function in promoting knowledge production and sharing by other knowledge producers and users, rather than directly doing and managing knowledge production, even in the case of the interactive knowledge platform. At country Page 26 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) level, providing TA support to promote improved policy and increased investment, in particular through harmonized investment plans/frameworks, remains relevant but should move away from isolated assistance in producing a particular output to continuous support over, e.g. two or three years, to implement a comprehensive analytical, consultation and planning process leading to actual SLWM programmes at scale. There is also some question in whether it was ever realistically within the capacity of such a small Secretariat to meet the target of substantially supporting to the development and implementation of landscape investments. Finally, the scope of M&E activities by the continental institution/secretariat should go beyond the outcomes and outputs attributable to the project as identified under the results framework, to generate information on how these outputs/ outcomes are further exploited and used by the targeted countries/beneficiaries. 69. To sum up: given the nature of the PDO – ‘to strengthen capacity at the NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on KM and actions for scaling up SLWM’ – the overall outcome rating, ‘moderately satisfactory’, does not automatically imply either ‘goal achieved, no further action needed’ or ‘results good enough to justify continuation’. It would be good to conclude the former, but most of the findings above suggest the latter. That is, that if TerrAfrica is to move into another phase and is to do so on a stronger, more focused footing, further support, both technical and financial, will be needed for the Secretariat to perform its role competently. This should become an integral part of funding and technical support for the TerrAfrica program as a whole. . Page 27 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) ANNEX 1. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND KEY OUTPUTS A. RESULTS INDICATORS A.1 PDO Indicators Objective/Outcome: To strengthen capacity of NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on knowledge management and actions for scaling up Sustainable Land and Water Management Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion SLM Knowledge Platform at Yes/No N Y Y N continental level for knowledge support to country investments 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 30-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 up and running with full functionalities available Comments (achievements against targets): The Knowledge Platform was set up and tested in 2014-2015, and became operational and running until mid 2017. Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Countries supported in their Number 5.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 Page 28 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) SLM Country Investment 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 30-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Framework development, implementation, or update Comments (achievements against targets): Baseline: countries that received related support before project start include: Lesotho, Burkina Faso, Togo, Nigeria, and Malawi. The Secretariat supported the launch of Cote d’Ivoire SLWM platform during the reporting period. The countries that received support under the project include: Uganda, Ghana, Gambia, Mali, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, DRC and, again, Togo and Lesotho. Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion New knowledge and advocacy Number 0.00 5.00 8.00 12.00 products disseminated at country level 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): New SLWM knowledge products, were shared on the website. They include ROAM handbooks; Making sense of Research for SLM handbook; 4 learning videos; Lessons learned on SLM; FAQs on SLM; The use of bamboo for land management in Ghana; a Burkina Faso documentary on SLM best practices; a CSIF synopsis; and Guidelines on promoting SLM investment planning at country level. A.2 Intermediate Results Indicators Component: Support for regional coalition building Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Senior technical staff in place Yes/No N Y Y Y Page 29 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) at TerrAfrica Secretariat 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): SLM Coordinator, Communication & Advocacy Officer, KM and M&E Officer; and Program Assistant. Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Joint Annual TerrAfrica Work Yes/No Y Y Y Y Program and Annual Report prepared and disseminated 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): The last documents include the 2017 Joint annual work plan (available) and the 2017 Joint annual report (finalized and shared on the website). Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion TerrAfrica communication Yes/No Y Y Y N strategy updated 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): Consultancy Firm was hired, however contract was terminated for unsatisfactory deliverables. Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Major TerrAfrica events Number 2.00 8.00 8.00 7.00 planned and held 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Page 30 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Comments (achievements against targets): Four TerrAfrica executive committee (TAEC) meetings held in Lima (Peru), Paris (France), Nairobi (Kenya) and Bonn (Germany) on the margins of UNFCCC COPs (20, 21 and 23) and the UNCCD Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 15). Events/side-events were organized for the launch ARLI and AFR100 and to celebrate TerrAfrica’s ten years, both at the 2015 GLF in Paris, and to introduce the proposed TerrAfrica initiative, Africa Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (AfriOCAT), on the fringe of the UNCCD COP13 in China, 2017. Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion SLM Coordination mechanism Yes/No N Y Y N with other key programs established 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): The NEPAD Natural Resource Governance and Food Security programme/cluster brings together all related projects and programmes in progress update meetings within the NEPAD agency, but an actual coordination mechanism with key programs, e.g. AFR100, CAADP and GGWSSI hasn't been set up. Component: Support for mutual learning among countries Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Experts in place for the “ask Number 0.00 8.00 8.00 9.00 the expertâ€? window of Knowledge Platform 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): Exercise completed in 2017, including FAQs & lessons from the exercise packaged for future programming, before the platform stopped running. Page 31 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Knowledge Management Yes/No N Y Y Y strategy developed 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): Final draft KM Strategy shared with the KM Steering Committee. Has not been shared with the TerrAfrica Executive Committee for approval and implementation. Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Systematic series of learning Number 12.00 24.00 24.00 31.00 events organized for country project and national program 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 28-Jun-2017 15-Jun-2018 teams Comments (achievements against targets): Three e-learning events in 2014 and a further five in 2015, on: Carbon Monitoring in CDM Afforestation/Reforestation Projects; Sustainable Agricultural Land Management Projects – Soil Carbon Monitoring; Climate-Smart Agriculture through SLWM; and Tools in Estimating Carbon Sequestration and GHG Emissions in Land Use Projects. Learning workshops/seminars: The Financing SLWM in Africa workshop in Dakar, February 2015; the Landscape Approach and Adaptation to Climate Change workshop in Maseru, April 2015; the Communication Seminar for TerrAfrica Anglophone countries, Nairobi (second half 2015); the 5 week-long Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodologies (ROAM) Workshops held in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Niger and Ugan da in 2017 and 2018 in partnership with IUCN; the Communications Workshop held in Dakar, in May 2016; the Regional CSIF Learning Workshop held in Accra in November 2017; and the Integrated Landscape Management Training Workshop held in Nairobi in July 2017. Indicator Name Unit of Baseline Original Target Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Page 32 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Measure Target Completion Core knowledge and advocacy Number 11.00 22.00 22.00 24.00 products developed 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 28-Jun-2017 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): These included a synopsis of CSIFs; 4 learning videos on frequently asked questions on SLWM (FAQs), lessons and recommendations on SLWM, erosion and best SLWM practices used in Burkina Faso; a study of the use of bamboo for restoration in Ghana; guidelines on promoting SLWM investment planning at country level; 6 learning modules on river banks and bed erosion, land degradation, water harvesting, conservation agriculture, agroforestry and agroecology; and FAQ on agroforestry and land restoration Three products on M&E tools for evaluating progress in upscaling SLWM were developed by EcoAgriculture Partners with support from the Secretariat. Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Knowledge events on SLWM Number 4.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 offered on the knowledge platform 01-Jan-2017 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): 6 learning modules on river banks and bed erosion, land degradation, water harvesting, conservation agriculture, agroforestry and agroecology. Component: Support for countries' SLWM investment planning Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Joint fact-finding and planning Number 2.00 10.00 10.00 13.00 Page 33 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) missions undertaken 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): Burundi and Cote d'Ivoire in 2015 Madagascar and Burkina Faso in 2016 Comoros, Malawi, DRC, Congo in 2017, and Benin, Zimbabwe and Sudan in 2018. Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Experts for the development, Number 3.00 14.00 14.00 17.00 implementation or update of country investment planning 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 deployed Comments (achievements against targets): Consultants have been hired for Burkina Faso and the Gambia in 2015, Kenya and Burundi in 2016, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Niger,DRC, Togo, South Africa, and Lesotho in 2017 and 2018 (more than one in some countries). Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Workshops/roundtables for Number 0.00 5.00 5.00 11.00 national donors’ dialogue and stakeholders’ consultation 29-Apr-2014 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 supported Comments (achievements against targets): Supported launch of CSIF in Kenya and The Gambia. Supported CSIF validation workshops for DRC, Niger, Ghana and Togo, The Gambia, and Lesotho Supported SLM Platform launch in Cote d'Ivoire, Togo and the Comoros. Indicator Name Unit of Baseline Original Target Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Page 34 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Measure Target Completion Countries supported in Number 0.00 6.00 6.00 0.00 development of Landscape Investments per se 31-Jan-2017 29-Apr-2014 31-Mar-2018 15-Jun-2018 Comments (achievements against targets): New indicator under AF. Most related support has been provided to countries directly by international partners of the TerrAfrica platform, in particular the World Bank. Page 35 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) B. ORGANIZATION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF THE PDO Objective/Outcome 1 To strengthen capacity of the NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on knowledge management (KM) 1. An SLWM Knowledge Platform at SSA level for knowledge support to country investments is up and running with full functionalities Outcome Indicators available 2. New knowledge and advocacy products are disseminated at country level 1. Senior Technical staff are in place at TerrAfrica Secretariat 2. Timely delivery of JAWP and AR (both in Q1) and project implementation report (biannually) 3. TerrAfrica communication strategy updated 4. Major TerrAfrica events planned and held 5. SLWM coordination mechanism with other key programs established and used Intermediate Results Indicators 6. Experts in place for the ‘ask the expert’ window of the KP 7. KM strategy is developed 8. Systematic series of learning events is organized for country project and national teams, including on landscapes, restoration and LDN 9. Core knowledge and advocacy products on landscapes/restoration are developed and effectively disseminated at country level 10. Knowledge events on SLWM are offered on the KP 1. ‘Senior Technical staff are in place at TerrAfrica Secretariat’ with six full-time staff members initially planned and budgeted (SLM Key Outputs by Component Coordinator, Senior NRM Specialist, Senior Knowledge Management (linked to the achievement of the Objective/Outcome 1) (KM) Specialist; Communication and Advocacy Officer, M&E Specialist, and Secretariat Manager). By mid-2015, the team comprised four members. By late 2016, only two staff members were full-time (the Page 36 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Senior SLWM Program Officer and the Communications and Advocacy Officer). Their time became divided on a 50:50 basis with the AFR100 Secretariat on the establishment of the latter. A KM Specialist/M&E Officer joined the TerrAfrica Secretariat early in 2016 on a 50:50 time sharing basis with the AFR100 Secretariat. 2. ‘Timely delivery of JAWP and AR (both in Q1) and project implementation report (biannually)’: In all instances the reports and plans were produced, though often not as scheduled. 3. ‘TerrAfrica communication strategy updated’: A new TerrAfrica communication strategy was drafted in 2017. However, the quality was found to be unacceptable by the Secretariat and the World Bank. No attempt was made to redraft it internally or to find another contractor. 4. ‘Major TerrAfrica events planned and held’: Four TAEC annual meetings were hosted from 2014 to 2017 and a stakeholders’ consultation workshop to inform the preparation of the new Business Plan, was organized in Bonn in March 2015. The project also organized regional workshops and 3 side events. 5. ‘SLWM coordination mechanism with other key programs established and used’: Through participating in NEPAD’s Natural Resources Governance and Food Security program, the TerrAfrica secretariat was kept informed of developments in other NEPAD initiatives also members of the program, such as CAADP and AFR100. However, this didn’t involve TerrAfrica Secretariat’s ‘regular participation in their processes and investment planning’. Page 37 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) In terms of strengthening partnerships, interaction didn’t involve participation in other partners’ planning and investment processes in any significant way. 6. “Experts in place for the ‘ask the expert’ window of the KPâ€?: The interactive KP was tested and, in 2015, launched with a first series of four eCourses and the “ask the expertâ€? help desk (involving four experts). The team of experts was increased to 9 by the end of 2016. However, the KP became inoperative in 2017 and appears likely to remain so. 7. ‘KM strategy is developed’: A draft was submitted by a consultant in July 2017 but the quality of the draft was considered by WB not to be acceptable. It was not formally presented to TAEC for approval. 8. ‘Systematic series of learning events is organized for country project and national teams, including on landscapes, restoration and LDN’: From a baseline of 12 such events at the start of the project, the target of 24 such events were exceeded by the delivery of 11 workshops/seminars and 8 e-learning events: - Financing SLWM in Africa workshop in Dakar, February 2015; - Landscape Approach and Adaptation to Climate Change workshop in Maseru, April 2015; - Communication Seminar for Anglophone countries, Nairobi; - 5 week-long Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodologies (ROAM) Workshops held in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Niger and Uganda in 2017 and 2018 with the Page 38 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN); - Communications Workshop, Dakar, May 2016; - Regional CSIF Learning Workshop, Accra, November 2017; and - Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) Training Workshop held in Nairobi in July 2017, attended by 17 member countries. E-learning events organized in 2014 and 2015 with a total of over 1 000 African participants, covered: - Carbon Monitoring in CDM Afforestation/Reforestation Projects; - Sustainable Agricultural Land Management Projects – Soil Carbon Monitoring; - Climate-Smart Agriculture through SLWM; and - Tools in Estimating Carbon Sequestration and GHG Emissions in Land Use Projects. The Secretariat also organized a Regional KM and M&E Workshop to strengthen cooperation with RECs, in Mbabane, 13-16 September 2016, which was supported through the separate UNEP-SIP project. 9. ‘Core knowledge and advocacy products on landscapes/restoration are developed and effectively disseminated at country level’: The project planned to develop and disseminate a total of 22 knowledge and advocacy products on landscapes/restoration at country level, off a baseline of 11. Project outputs included: - A synopsis of CSIFs; - 4 learning videos on frequently asked SLWM questions (FAQs), lessons and recommendations on SLWM, erosion and best SLWM practices used in Burkina Faso; Page 39 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) - A study of the use of bamboo for restoration in Ghana; - Guidelines on promoting SLWM investment planning at country level; - 6 learning modules on river banks and bed erosion, land degradation, water harvesting, conservation agriculture, agroforestry and agroecology; and - FAQ on agroforestry and land restoration. Three products on M&E tools for evaluating progress in upscaling SLWM were developed by EcoAgriculture Partners with support from the Secretariat: - A Landscape Perspective on M&E for SLWM – Trainer’s Manual; - Spatial Planning and Monitoring of Landscapes Interventions – Maps to Link People with Their Landscapes – A User’s Guide; and - Ground-Based Photo Monitoring of Landscape Changes Arising from SLWM. Objective/Outcome 2 To strengthen capacity of the NEPAD Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on actions for scaling up (investment in) SLWM 1. Countries supported in their SLWM Country Strategic Investment Outcome Indicators Framework (CSIF) development, implementation, or update 1. Joint fact-finding and planning missions are undertaken 2. Experts for the development, implementation or update of country Intermediate Results Indicators investment planning are deployed 3.Workshops/roundtables for national donors’ dialogue and stakeholders’ consultation are supported Page 40 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Countries are supported in the development of landscape investments per se 1. ‘Joint fact-finding and planning missions are undertaken’ 13 such missions were fielded. 2. ‘Experts for the development, implementation or update of country investment planning are deployed’: 17 experts have been deployed for the development and implementation of CSIFs. Countries that having been assisted in one or more ways included: Kenya, Madagascar and Niger (2015); Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal (2017); and Ghana, Uganda, DRC, Togo, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Lesotho and The Gambia (2018). The total of 17 appears to include more than one expert having been deployed to Key Outputs by Component some countries at different times. (linked to the achievement of the Objective/Outcome 2) 3. ‘Workshops/roundtables for national donors’ dialogue and stakeholders’ consultation are supported’ 11 workshops/roundtables for national donors’ dialogue and stakeholders’ consultation were supported by project closure59, against the target of 5, off a baseline of 2 in 2016: - Launch of Kenya’s CSIF, - Support for CSIF validation workshops in 6 countries and - Support for the launch of SLWM platforms in a further 3 countries. 59NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018, p11. The countries listed are: Comores (platform launch), DRC (platform launch and validation), The Gambia (validation), Ghana (validation), Kenya (platform launch), Lesotho (validation), Niger (validation) and Togo (platform launch and validation). Page 41 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) 4. ‘Countries supported in development of landscapes investments per se’: none were supported in that regard. Page 42 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) . ANNEX 2. PROJECT COST BY COMPONENT Components Amount at Approval60 Actual at Project61 Percentage of (US$M) Closing (US$M) Approval (US$M) • Component One (Support for regional 1.861 982 1.722 384 92.50% coalition building) • Component Two (Support for mutual 0.817 040 0.750 811 91,89% learning among countries) • Component Three (Support for countries’ 1.160 978 1.156 080 99.58% SLWM planning) TOTAL 3.750 000 3.629 277 96.78% 60 Total for both P149269 and P159132; Project Progress Report, 17 February 2017, p8; NPCA, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018, p12; it should be noted that the total of these allocations amounts to $3 840 000, not $3 750 000; the consultant is unable to explain the reason for the difference 61 Ibid. Page 43 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) ANNEX 3. RECIPIENT, CO-FINANCIER AND OTHER PARTNER/STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS Client’s Completion Report on the use of the TF0A3918 Grant Funds (Summary)62 1. Please find attached the completion report for the above mentioned grant agreement between the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the Bank) and the Africa Union Commission for the NEPAD Agency (the Recipient) dated 30 November 2016, by which the Bank made a grant of one million seven hundred and fifty thousand United States dollars (US$1,750,000) to the NEPAD Agency in support of the TerrAfrica Secretariat refers. 2. NEPAD has successfully completed most of the activities as agreed under the Letter of Agreement concluded, dated 21 November 2016 between the Bank and the Africa Union on behalf NEPAD Agency. 3. The purpose of the Grant was to Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P149269)/ [Original Project] to scale-up activities to enhance the impact of a well-performing project. The objective of the original project was to strengthen capacity at NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency to support TerrAfrica member countries on knowledge management and actions for scaling up Sustainable Land and Water Management Actions (SLWM). 4. The specific objectives for which the Grant was given (as specified in Article II of the Letter of Agreement) included: Component 1. Support for Regional Coalition Building (US$0.65M). The objective of this component is to support the NEPAD Agency to reinforce the regional coalition that aligns assistance to countries on SLWM and related issues. The component outcome is: the TerrAfrica Secretariat is consolidated at NEPAD Agency and effectively supporting the regional coalition. Component 2. Support for mutual learning among countries (US$0.3M). The objective of this component is to support the NEPAD Agency in its mandate to meet country demand for knowledge and best practice tools to improve land management and climate resilience while maintaining natural capital. The component outcome is: Knowledge Management tools and support services on SLWM fully operational at NEPAD. Component 3. Support for countries’ SLWM investment planning (US$0.80M). The objective of this component is to strengthen the NEPAD Agency’s role in meeting country demand for expertise and tools to develop and implement SLWM work programs and national SLWM investment frameworks. The component outcome is: increased quality of countries’ SLWM investment planning. 5. The Grant was executed over the period December 1, 2016 through to June 15th, 2018. This period included an extension of three and half months from the original closing date of the grant which 62The Client provided a termination report that dealt only with the AF phase, as reflected in this section, despite being invited to complement it. Page 44 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) was 31 March 2018. However, effective implementation period was 14 months as the funds were only received 4 months after signing the grant agreement. 6. A brief summary and assessment of progress in achieving the Grant objective is provided below. 7. Table 1 below details progress made against each of the deliverables described in Article II of the grant agreement. Table 2 provides a summary of expenses by components. All funds received were committed by 15th June 2018. Summary and assessment of progress in achieving the Grant Objective 8. The activities funded in this grant are part of the TerrAfrica Partnership’s Annual Joint Work Program (AWP). The AWP is multi-partner 12 month work program that is designed to pursue the long term strategic objectives of the TerrAfrica Partnership’s Business Plan. 9. The objectives described in the joint work programs and as such the grant are therefore long term objectives, to which the specific deliverables identified in Article II are meant to contribute, but not achieve alone. 10. Success in achieving the grant objective then must be understood within the wider context of pursuing the larger TerrAfrica agenda, work program and Business Plan. Activities supported by the grant 11. Component 1 activities. The grant was meant to finance the following activities: (i) technical staff and training to strengthen the management of the TerrAfrica Secretariat on relevant skills such as technical reporting; knowledge management; project management, and impact monitoring and evaluation; hands on experience/guidance either at the office or when fielding missions for country support (TA), Fielding joint missions with partners for country support (see Component 3). (ii) the management of the TerrAfrica Secretariat, including leading joint annual work programming, annual and ad-hoc reporting including on the broader SLWM investment portfolio (at continental level) as well as monitoring and reporting on this grant, (iii) the establishment of a coordination mechanism with other key programs (ARLI, AFR100, GGWISS…) for harmonized/ coordinated initiatives and planning at both country and continental level (iv) implementation of the updated TerrAfrica communication strategy and technical assistance for specific needs to enhance communication activities of national SLWM platforms; and (v) preparation of NEPAD/TerrAfrica events including the annual TerrAfrica Executive Committee meeting, virtual meetings for TerrAfrica’s strategic advisory groups (SAG) and learning, as well as participation and outreach at selected continental fora. (vi) Assess financing opportunities and mobilize partners for the preparation of the next generation of multi-country investment program targeting GEF7, Green Climate Fund, LDN fund and Impact investors. 12. Component 2 Activities. The grant was meant to finance the following knowledge management activities: (i) the management and maintenance of the interactive Knowledge Platform (on a monthly basis, thematic ask-the-expert sequences, based on identified priority themes namely; landscape level planning and operations, soil carbon, tree crops, and restoration opportunities assessment) and the Page 45 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) TerrAfrica website; (ii) the initial implementation of the TerrAfrica knowledge management strategy and action plan; (iii) the development of new selective strategic knowledge products (e.g. guidelines, comparative case studies/papers) that address gaps or emerging issues including landscapes restoration for use by country project and national planning teams across sectors; (iv) the establishment of Technical Peer Review Committee to review TerrAfrica knowledge products, (v). ibid for countries’ SLWM Investment Frameworks and regional workshop; and (v) systematic series of learning events/study tours organized for country project and national program teams, including on LDN target setting, engaging businesses in SLWM, landscapes management, and development of landscapes investment plans. 13. Component 3 Activities. The grant was meant to finance the following activities: (i) joint fact- finding and planning missions; (ii) technical assistance for the development, implementation or update of Country Investment Frameworks/Plans, including development of investment proposals on ILM / restoration activities; and (iii) workshops/roundtables for national donors’ dialogue and stakeholders consultation to facilitate alignment and harmonization of countries’ SLWM Investment Frameworks with national priorities in different sectors, as well as climate change planning in the rural space. 14. Whilst the project paper identified the kind of activities that would be financed under the different components, some of the activities did not take place for different reasons. As TerrAfrica was at a point of re-evaluating its actions over the past years current status. There was need for any communication strategy and knowledge management strategy to be informed by the report of the revisioning exercise and the evaluation as these had implications on the future of TerrAfrica as a whole. As such, no major activities towards implementation of the KM strategy were undertaken. Implementation of the updated TerrAfrica communication strategy did not take place as the development of the updated communication strategy was terminated due to poor delivery by the consulting firm. Some of the identified training programs for Secretariat staff could not be done due to timing issues which were not in line with the grant execution period. 15. The grant was implemented at a time when the participation of the TerrAfrica core partners was not at its strongest and this had implications on some of the planned activities. For example, the evaluation of TerrAfrica and the re-visioning exercise needed to inform some of the activities such as the mobilisation of partners for preparation of GEF. Whilst activities on LDN target setting had been planned to be implemented jointly with the UNCCD Global Mechanism and the African Union Commission, this could not happen due to changes in the timing of the trainings by the other co-partners which resulted in the activity falling out of the grant implementation period. 16. Within this context significant progress has been made with the successful delivery of most of the agreed outputs as identified in Article II of the grant agreement. Table 1 below gives the achievements against the target indicators and table 2 shows funds utilisation. Conclusion / challenges 17. The budget and work plan for the $1.75M grant was quite ambitious given the constraints in time and personnel resources. The initial 15 month implementation period was quite tight and put enormous pressure on the project staff. The short implementation period also made it difficult to get a seasoned Page 46 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) NRM consultant to support the project staff after the best two identified candidates both declined the officer. However, the additional 3 and months extension made it possible to execute almost all of the planned activities. Page 47 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) ANNEX 4. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS DOCUMENTS CONSULTED African Union Board of Auditors, Report of Board of External Auditors on the Financial Statements of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development NEPAD Agency for the Year Ended 31 December 2017, June 2018 Cape Verde Supreme Audit Institution, New Partnership for Africa’s Development NEPAD Agency- Report to Management for the Year Ended 31 December 2017 Muwaya, S, Presentations on TerrAfrica Support by (Uganda) TerrAfrica Focal Point, November 9 2018 NEPAD Final Revised L-SLWM-SIP 2014-2024 Program: Review Lesotho Country Strategic Investment Framework (CSIF), March 2018 NEPAD, Financial Management Assessment Report, undated NEPAD, Interim Financial Report – TLF2, May-June 2018 NEPAD, NEPAD Agency Final Management Letter: Report to Management for the Year Ended 31 December 2017, May 2018 NEPAD, Trust Fund TF0A3918, Payments Made during Reporting Period 21 November 2016 to 30 June 2018, Other than Payments under Contracts Subject to the (World) Bank’s Prior Review NEPAD/African Union, Final Report: Review of the TerrAfrica Sustainable Investment Frameworks for Sustainable Land Management, December 2017 NEPAD/African Union, Guidelines on Promoting Sustainable land Management Investment Planning at Country Level, December 2017 NEPAD/African Union, Review of the Uganda Strategic Investment Framework for Sustainable Land Management (2010): Review Report, January 2018 NEPAD Agency, TerrAfrica 2016-2020 Business Plan NEPAD Agency, TerrAfrica Annual Report, 2014 NEPAD Agency, TerrAfrica Annual Report, 2015 NEPAD Agency, TerrAfrica Annual Report, 2016 NEPAD Agency, TerrAfrica Annual Report, 2017 NEPAD Agency, Grant from TLF to NEPAD Agency for a CTF under TLF (budget), April 2014-May 2015 Page 48 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) NEPAD Agency, Grant from TLF to NEPAD Agency for a CTF under TLF (budget), July-December 2015 NEPAD Agency, Grant from TLF to NEPAD Agency for a CTF under TLF (budget), September 2016-December 2017 NEPAD Agency, Grant from TLF to NEPAD Agency for a CTF under TLF (budget), October 2016-March 2018 NEPAD Agency Minutes TerrAfrica Executive Committee Meeting December 4-5, 2014 NEPAD Agency Minutes TerrAfrica Executive Committee Meeting December 4, 2015 NEPAD Agency Minutes TerrAfrica Executive Committee Meeting October 15-16, 2016 NEPAD Agency Minutes TerrAfrica Executive Committee Meeting November 3-4, 2017 NEPAD Agency, Procurement Plan for the TLF in Support of the Implementation of the TerrAfrica Secretariat Work Plan 18-month calendar (2016-2018), March 2017 NEPAD Agency, Procurement Plan for the TLF in Support of the Implementation of the TerrAfrica Secretariat Work Plan 18-month calendar (2016-2018), May 2018 NEPAD Agency, (Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat) Project Progress Report, 15 April 2015 NEPAD Agency, (Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat) Project Progress Report, 31 December 2015 NEPAD Agency, (Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat) Project Progress Report, 8 June 2016 NEPAD Agency, (Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat) Project Progress Report, 17 February 2017 NEPAD Agency, (Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat) Project Progress Report, 8 May 2018 NEPAD Agency TerrAfrica 2010-2015 Business Planning Framework, July 2010 NEPAD Agency TerrAfrica Joint Annual Work Program 2014 NEPAD Agency TerrAfrica Joint Annual Work Program 2015 NEPAD Agency TerrAfrica Joint Annual Work Program 2016-17 NEPAD Agency TerrAfrica Joint Annual Work Program 2017-18 NEPAD Agency TerrAfrica Joint Annual Work Program January-June 2018 NEPAD Agency, TerrAfrica Landscape Transformation for Development and Resilience in Africa: Reshaping Page 49 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Partners’ Common Vision and Support Framework to Scale Up Interventions and Investment, Study and Consultation, May 7 2018 NEPAD Agency, TerrAfrica Leveraging Fund Grant for NEPAD Agency Grant no. TF0A3918, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, June 2014 NEPAD Agency, TerrAfrica Leveraging Fund Grant for NEPAD Agency Grant no. TF0A3918, Completion Report on the Use of TF0A3918 Grant Funds, August 2018 NEPAD Agency, TerrAfrica Partnership Knowledge Management Strategy and Action Plan (draft), July 2017 Okapi Environmental Consulting, Independent Evaluation of the TerrAfrica Partnership and the TerrAfrica Leveraging Fund, September 2018 Reed, J et al., What are Integrated Landscape Approaches and how effectively have they been implemented in the tropics: a systematic map protocol, Environmental Evidence 4(2), 2015 (https://www.cifor.org/library/5422/) Scanteam, Independent review of TerrAfrica, with emphasis on TerrAfrica Leverage Fund, October 2013 United Nations, Office of the Special Advisor on Africa, New Partnership for Africa’s Development, un.org/en/africa/osaa/peace/nepad.shtml UNCCD, Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (https://www.unccd.int/actions/achieving-land-degradation- neutrality) WB, Aide Memoire, Implementation Support Mission for the Additional Financing to the Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P159132), February 14-17 2017 WB, Aide Memoire, Implementation Support Mission for the Additional Financing to the Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P159132), May 14-17 2018 WB, AFCC2/RI – Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269), Implementation Status and Results Report, June 2015 WB, AFCC2/RI – Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269), Implementation Status and Results Report, July 2016 WB, AFCC2/RI – Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269), Implementation Status and Results Report, June 2017 WB, Grant Reporting and Monitoring Report (GRM) TF011266, December 2011-February 2014 WB, Grant Reporting and Monitoring Report (GRM) TF017015, July 2013-December 2014 WB Guidance: Implementation Completion Results Report (ICR) for Investment Project Financing (IPF) Page 50 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) Operations, September 2018 WB, Project Document for a Proposed Grant from the TLF in the Amount of US$1.5 million to NEPAD Agency for a Child Trust Fund under the TLF, 6 July 2011 WB, Project Paper for Small RETF Grant (USD2m) to the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) for Support to the TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P149269), April 2 2014 WB, Project Paper for Small RETF Grant (USD2m) to the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) for Support to the TerrAfrica Secretariat Project (P159132), September 20, 2016 WB, Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat Support Project (P149269 and P159132), Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR) Terms of Reference, October 9, 2018 WB, TerrAfrica Leveraging Fund, Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat Project, TF011266, Grant Agreement, 2011 WB, TerrAfrica Leveraging Fund, Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat Project, TF017015, Grant Agreement, 2014 WB, TerrAfrica Leveraging Fund, Support to TerrAfrica Secretariat Project – Additional Financing, TF0A3918, Grant Agreement, November 21, 2016 WB/TerrAfrica/NEPAD, African Resilient Landscapes Concept Note (undated) World Resources Institute, African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), http://www.afr100.org KEY INFORMANTS INTERVIEWED NEPAD/TerrAfrica Secretariat • Cheikh Tidjane N’dongo, KM and M&E Officer • Hamady Diop, Head of Program, Natural Resource Governance, Food Security and Nutrition • Rudo Makunike, Senior Program Officer, SLWM • Teko Nhlapo, Communication and Advocacy Officer Government of Lesotho/UNDP Lesotho • Dr R Ratsele, Director, Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation • Limomane Peshoane, Climate Change Policy Specialist, UNDP • Nthimo Malefetsane, Chief Conservation Officer, Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation Government of Uganda/NGOs Uganda • Stephen Muwaya, UNCCD/FP Page 51 of 53 The World Bank AFCC2/RI -Support to NPCA TerrAfrica Secretariat (P149269) • Sarah Mujabi, Program Officer, Climate Change, UNDP, Uganda • Matthias Magunda, EcoSystems Green Consult, (engaged by TerrAfrica Secretariat to facilitate Uganda CSIF review) • Kennedy Igbokwe, Project Manager and Team Leader, Climate Change Program, FAO, Uganda • Fred Tabalamule, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries • David Oruka, Project Manager, Karamola FS Project, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Government of Ghana • Isaac Acquah, Chief Program Officer, Environmental Protection Agency International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) • Mirjam Kuzee, Manager: Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunities Assessments Page 52 of 53