In late 2019 and mid-2020, IDI designed and commissioned two evaluations of its bilateral support. The first was a broad evaluation of several initiatives focused on the period 2017-2020. This evaluation is broken down into four components covering GCP Tier 2, PAP-APP and support to SAI South Sudan, concluding with a sysnthesis of finds and lessons learnt. The second evaluation focused specificly on peer support to SAI Somalia. All five documents are available for download here.

In addition, the response from IDI Management to the evaluations' findings and recommendations can be found at the bottom of the page.

Evaluation of IDI's Bilateral Support 2017-2020 Evaluation
Component 1: Evaluation of Implementation of the GCP Tier 2 Strategy 

Compoent 1 examines the nine SAIs selected for the Global Call for Proposals (GCP) Tier 2. These SAIs are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Guinea-Conakry, Togo and Niger (French-speaking, CREFIAF members), and Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and The Gambia (English speaking, AFROSAI-E members).

IDI, AFROSAI-E and CREFIAF have established a partnership to support the SAIs included in the GCP Tier 2.

The evaluation concludes that GCP Tier 2 was a relevant and effective response to kick-start capacity development support in SAIs in challenging environments, considered at risk of getting left behind. It could be replicated with two adjustments: (1) The process should aim at selecting 1-2 SAIs in each region and (2) the likelihood of SAI reform should be included among the criteria.

Additional recommendations from the evaluation include:

• Emphasising that SAIs leadership in the reform process is a very important concept that should be underlined in the dialogue with all stakeholders.
• Communication should be improved in a future GCP Tier 2 by the involvement of regional and sub-regional bodies from the beginning of the process.
• In a future GCP Tier 2 the documentation from PAP-APP could be used to give the SAIs a better idea of what the reform process and the support means in practice.
• Support to partners at the regional and sub-regional level should be considered based on needs analysis.

Evaluation of IDI's Bilateral Support 2017-2020 Evaluation
Component 2: Accelerated Peer-Support Partnership Programme (PAP-APP) - Phase 1, 2018-2020

This component examines the first phase of the Accelerated Peer-Support Partnership (PAP-APP) Programme, which ran from 2018 to 2020. The intention during this period was to prepare project proposals built on SAI-led needs assessments and strategic and operating plans.

Based on relevant documents and interviews with representatives of all stakeholders in the February/March 2020 period, the evaluation concludes that PAP-APP is well designed and implemented, that SAIs have responded above expectations, that the partnership with AFROSAI-E and CREFIAF has on the whole worked well, and that most of the planned outcomes and outputs are likely to be achieved by the end of Phase 1. 

Most SAIs in the Programme have improved their strategic planning capacity, and thus, are more sustainable institutions today compared with the situation before the Programme was initiated. The positive results are attributed to the high level of trust in IDI, AFROSAI-E and CREFIAF, as well as the approach of letting the SAIs lead their own needs and development with IDI and partner support and clear synergies with AFROSAI-E and CREFIAF training programmes.

While there have been shortcomings in some respects, these are largely recognised and serve as lessons learnt. Full details and a complete list of recommendations can be found in the report to the right.

Evaluation of IDI's Bilateral Support 2017-2020 Evaluation
Component 3: Support to the National Audit Chamber of South Sudan 

The third component examines IDI's bilateral support to the National Audit Chamber (NAC), the SAI of South Sudan. 

During the project period the NAC has been highly challenged. South Sudan is currently in a deep and longstanding economic, political, security and humanitarian crisis, and the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) has in many cases not met its commitments in the Revitalized Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) of September 2018.  Thus, the NAC faces serious problems considering the difficult and challenging situation it is working in, and basic conditions for playing the role of a SAI are missing. As a result, IDI has classified this project as ‘lifeline support’. This has the objective of maintaining the basic competency and skills of the SAI and its staff in the interim period till the situation stabilises and more long-term support can be provided.

Despite the label ‘lifeline support’, the evaluation found that the Project had an ambitious Results framework. The risks were underestimated in the project description, however, so many of the targets have not been fully achieved. That being said, even if many of the deliverables are delayed, the evaluation determined that the results so far are good considering the challenged situation of the NAC.

Full findings and a complete list of recommendations can be found in the report to the right.

Evaluation of IDI's Bilateral Support 2017-2020 Evaluation
Synthesis of findings and lessons for implementation of IDI’s bilateral policy 

Component 4 seeks to synthesize the findings and lessons for implementation of IDI’s bilateral policy. It examines several high-level questions, such as:

• Has IDI’s bilateral policy been applied as intended and implemented efficiently?
• Has IDI’s bilateral policy been effective in contributing to SAIs enhancing their performance and capacity, relative to the resources available?
• Is IDI’s bilateral policy in need of refinement?

The document includes a list of recommendations and a review of the bilateral policy's relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. Full details can be read in the report to the right.

Evaluation of Support to SAI Somalia

This evaluation report covers the project “Peer Support to the OAGS 2018-20” that provided bilateral assistance by IDI in partnership with AFROSAI-E to the Office of the Auditor General of Somalia (OAGS). The OAGS Project was among the first projects under IDI’s Bilateral Policy adopted in March 2017. The objective of the Policy is to ensure that the most challenged SAIs with substantial need for capacity development are assisted and are improving their performance.

During project implementation, this support was broadened to also include the other strategic goals of the OAGS relating to communication, human resource management and IT infrastructure. This ensured a holistic approach to the development of the OAGS.

In summary, the Project’s objectives are mostly met. The IDI-OAGS Project scores reasonably well on each of the six OECD-DAC evaluation criteria. The Project has made a good contribution to the strengthening of the external audit function in Somalia. Its contribution has been recognised particularly with regard to the introduction and training on ISSAI-based financial and compliance audit manuals, the introduction of a strategic and annual planning and control cycle and various human resource management tools. The improvement in the performance of the OAGS is evidenced by its ability to audit the Government’s annual budget execution report in a timely manner for the first time in 2019 and its willingness to report openly on challenging topics involving corruption and malpractice with regard to donor-funds.

Detailed conclusions and recommendations can be found in the document to the right.

IDI Management Response to Evaluations of Bilateral Support 2017-2020

In late 2019 and mid-2020, IDI designed and commissioned two evaluations of its bilateral support. The first was a broad evaluation of several initiatives focused on the period 2017-2020. This evaluation is broken down into four components covering GCP Tier 2, PAP-APP and support to SAI South Sudan, concluding with a sysnthesis of finds and lessons learnt. The second evaluation focused specificly on peer support to SAI Somalia.

Given the similarities of the evaluation objectives and findings, IDI has prepared this consolidated response to both evaluations. The document reviews each recommendation from the evaluations, IDI's response to the recommendations, and proposed action, if any.