Central Project Evaluation: Implementation of the Lao PDR Emission Reductions Programme through improved governance and sustainable forest landscape management
The “Implementation of the Lao PDR Emission Reductions Program through improved governance and sustainable forest landscape management” project supports the Lao Government in its readiness for the REDD+ process at national and sub-national levels. The project is funded by the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with co-financing contributions of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Due to its complexity and donor structure, the project is divided into two subprojects: Project 1 GCF FP117 (May 2020 until May 2025) and Project 2 GCF FP200 (March 2023 until March 2027). The project is operating in six provinces of northern Laos: Houaphan, Luang Prabang, Sayaboury, Bokeo, Luang Namtha and Oudomxay.
CEval will conduct a final evaluation for the subproject FP117, and a mid-term review for the subproject FP200, producing one inception report, and two separate evaluation reports. This evaluation is grounded in a theory-based approach and based on the OECD-DAC criteria. The evaluation team will conduct a 3-week on-site evaluation mission in Laos to collect data through interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders. Data analysis will be conducted, based on qualitative content analysis. To assess causalities, a contribution analysis approach will be applied. An efficiency analysis will be carried out, based on the “follow-the-money” approach and GIZ’s efficiency tool.
Central Project Evaluation: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to Protect the Marine Environment and Coral Reefs
The project “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to Protect the Marine Environment and Coral Reefs” (3RproMar) aims to support the ASEAN Member States (AMS) in the improvement of implementation capacities for reducing land-based waste leakage to protect the marine environment. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with a total budget of 16,000,000 EUR and implemented from 17.12.2019 – 30.06.2025 in the four countries Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, setting a geographical focus on the Mekong River system and island states.
CEval has been commissioned to conduct a final evaluation, grounded in a theory-based and participatory approach. The evaluation will be guided by the OECD-DAC criteria and follows the standards of GIZ Central Project Evaluations. For the collection of primary data, the evaluation team will implement a 3-week on-site evaluation mission in two implementing countries (Indonesia and Cambodia), to conduct interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders. The team will deploy qualitative content analysis to analyse primary and secondary data. Causal relationships between outputs, outcomes, and impacts will be assessed by applying contribution analysis. An efficiency analysis will be carried out, based on the “follow-the-money” approach and GIZ’s efficiency tool. The final Evaluation report will provide lessons learned and recommendations for implementing a follow-on project.
Central Project Evaluation: Global Programme Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture
The Global Programme “Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture” is part of the BMZ Special Initiative “Transformation of Agriculture and Food Systems”. It features a total budget of 76,198,455 EUR with an overall term from 01.10.2016 – 31.10.2025. It is implemented in Uganda, Mauritania, Malawi, Madagascar, Zambia, Cambodia and India. The project’s interventions in Uganda and Mauritania are focusing on sustainable fishery management in Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga (Uganda) and along the coastline (Mauritania). Interventions in Malawi, Madagascar and India are focused on sustainable aquaculture. Interventions in Zambia and Cambodia feature components on aquaculture production in ponds and on sustainable fishery management in dams (Zambia) and community fish refuges (Cambodia). The program is following a multi-level approach, working with producers, local organizations (training and research institutes), associations, producer groups and political partners.
In 2024, the project commissioned seven evaluative studies (EVAS) to assess the success of each country package against the OECD-DAC criteria. The Central Project Evaluation will aggregate and assess the results of these studies at the program level. To verify and complement the results of the EVAS, the evaluation team will conduct a remote evaluation mission to carry out online interviews with relevant stakeholders. Qualitative content analysis will be applied for the review of EVAS documents as well as to analyze primary data collected. To assess causal relationships between program interventions and intended objectives, the team will deploy contribution analysis. Additionally, an efficiency analysis will be conducted using the “follow-the-money” approach and GIZ’s efficiency tool.
Mid-term Evaluation: Empowering the Hearing Healthcare Sector in Developing and Emerging Countries
In response to existing gaps between hearing healthcare needs and current capacities, the Austrian medical device company MED-EL launched the Hearing Healthcare Alliance (HHA) in February 2022 – an intervention with co-funding from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). The primary objective of the intervention is to enhance the diagnosis and rehabilitation of individuals with hearing impairments by creating sustainable local structures within the hearing healthcare sector across 13 developing countries, including nine in Sub-Saharan Africa and four in South Asia. The intervention is set to conclude in January 2026, with plans for a subsequent phase to follow. In this context, CEval was commissioned by MED-EL to conduct a mid-term evaluation of one of the intervention’s central components, namely, the “Early diagnosis for people with hearing impairment”. The evaluation focusses on the two project countries Benin and Nepal, aiming to extract key insights from past implementation to strengthen and scale up the evaluated component in later implementation stages.
The evaluation is theory-based in its design and builds on extensive stakeholder participation as well as a mixed-methods approach. Primary data will be collected on site in both focus countries. The evaluation is being conducted along the six OECD/DAC criteria and in line with ADA’s Guidelines for Programme and Project Evaluation.
Evaluation of the EndOCSEA@Europe Project
Funded by: Safe Online
In response to the alarming rise of Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA), the Council of Europe has commissioned the EndOCSEA@Europe project, implemented in two phases, to combat OCSEA across Council of Europe member states. Phase I (2018-2021) focused on mapping legislation, policies, and practices on OCSEA, strengthening laws, enhancing law enforcement capacities, and raising awareness in countries such as Albania, Armenia, and Ukraine. Phase II (2023-2025), focuses on further strengthening actions, particularly in Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Montenegro. The project promotes multi-stakeholder collaboration, legislative reforms, capacity-building, and awareness campaigns, integrating recommendations from Phase I, with synergies sought with other Council of Europe initiatives. Managed by the Children’s Rights Division, it involves key stakeholders, including government authorities, law enforcement, NGOs, and professionals working with children.
The evaluation of the EndOCSEA@Europe project aims to assess its effectiveness, impact, efficiency, and sustainability across both phases, focusing on legislative improvements, cross-border cooperation, capacity-building, and implementation challenges. Using a non-experimental, theory-based, mixed-methods approach with extensive stakeholder participation, the evaluation will examine the project’s Theory of Change, impact, and scalability at political, institutional, community, and individual levels. Data will be gathered through interviews, case studies, and surveys, analyzed using triangulation for validity, and following the OECD-DAC criteria with a focus on age- and gender-sensitive methodologies.
Study on double counting of GIZ standard indicators at country level
Funded by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
In German development cooperation, several projects usually work towards a common goal in a country, a region, and/or a sector, but report their results individually and often without comparing them with each other.
2022 the BMZ has introduced the “BMZ 2030” reform concept and thus decided that GIZ projects should report on 44 so-called standard indicators along defined core topics. This laid the foundation for cross-project reporting of results, which can also be used for political communication. However, due to the multiple collection of data, there is a risk that the aggregation of these indicators at the country level will overestimate the results and impacts achieved. The aim of the study was to develop a method for identifying the frequency and magnitude of these overlaps, to apply this method, and, based on the findings, to draw up recommendations on how double counting can be avoided in the future.
To this end, a quantitative “hot spot” analysis was carried out on the basis of an online survey conducted by GIZ in order to identify the potential risk of overlaps. For the subsequent validation of the actual occurrence of overlaps, empirical data was collected from interviews with portfolio managers and cluster coordinators. Based on this data, the magnitude of overlaps was estimated, and a methodologically robust solution approach was developed.
Evaluation of the “Knauf Training Initiative Phase I and II”
DEG Impulse uses the develoPPP Classic program to support measures by well-established enterprises that wish to operate in developing and emerging countries on a long-term basis and thereby shape their business involvement in a sustainable manner. One of the projects under develoPPP Classic is the “Knauf Training Initiative” (KTI) in its phase I (2018-2023) and phase II (2021-2026). Knauf is one of Europe’s leading manufacturer of gypsum-based construction materials and also specialized in production of isolating materials and cement products.
The main objective of the KTI is the establishment of training centers (TCs) to improve the technical qualification and employability of young people, students and skilled workers in the field of drywall construction and related products. Through the TCs, both practical and theoretical modules imparting comprehensive knowledge regarding the application of drywall construction techniques are provided to installers, architects/civil engineers, academic staff and unemployed people. The KTI is to provide people with the possibility of completing a training, which in turn should lead in the long-term to sustainable career prospects.
CEval GmbH was commissioned by DEG Impulse to evaluate the KTI. The evaluation assessed the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the KTI, identified methodological lessons learned and conclusions resulting from the findings, and provided evidence-based, actionable recommendations for DEG Impulse and Knauf. Furthermore, the evaluation integrated a gender perspective, in order to address the initiative’s effects on gender mainstreaming and women empowerment. Eventually, the evaluation investigated the additionality of the initiative, i.e., the extent to which further and/or more impacts were achieved through the financial support of DEG Impulse.
The evaluation followed a mixed-methods case-study design, collecting primary data through individual and group interviews in Germany and three target countries (i.e., Egypt, Algeria and Mexico), as well as a semi-standardized online survey among TC staff in countries not visited. Secondary data, including monitoring reports, training materials, and TC survey data, were analyzed through a desk study. The evaluation team conducted interviews with TC staff, stakeholders, and beneficiaries, ensuring appropriate representation of diverse target groups.
The data analysis involved qualitative content analysis using the software MaxQDA, as well as a descriptive statistical analysis of quantitative data from the surveys, with disaggregation by gender and country where possible.
#eSkills4Girls Initiative
The #eSkills4Girls initiative aims to close the digital gender divide by promoting the access of women and girls to opportunities to help improve their digital skills. The initiative was launched in 2017 by the BMZ under Germany’s G20 presidency and managed by the GIZ sector programme education (SP Education). Since then, the initiative established partnerships with private and public sector actors and joined EQUALS, the global multi-stakeholder partnership promoting gender equality in the digital age. To improve the digital skills of women and girls, the initiative established the #eSkills4Girls Fund, which provided small grants to 27 existing grassroots initiatives through EQUALS. Additionally, the initiative served as community manager for 9 bilateral projects financed by the BMZ under the #eSkills4Girls banner. Other activities implemented by the initiative aimed at raising the awareness of policymakers, showcasing female role models, and fostering sharing and learning among projects.
CEval GmbH was commissioned by GIZ SP Education to conduct an impact evaluation of the #eSkills4Girls initiative. The goal of the evaluation was to understand how and to which extent the different activities achieved their respective goals. Based on the evaluation questions, the initiative was assessed against the OECD-DAC criterion ‘effectiveness’. To fill in missing information and data after an initial review of existing secondary documents, online-based questionnaires for the sub-grantees of the #eSkills4Girls Fund were disseminated. Furthermore, project reports and monitoring data by bilateral project partners were reviewed. In addition, focus group discussions and interviews with representatives of the sub-grantees and bilateral projects were conducted to complete the qualitative data collection.
Project Evaluation: Promotion of Adult Education Uganda
The Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (DVV International) is supporting the Government of Uganda with the implementation of the Integrated Community Learning for Wealth Creation (ICOLEW) programme. As part of the programme, DVV has initiated the introduction of Community Learning Centres (CLC) together with government partners in six districts covering all major areas of Uganda. CLC provides a range of learning opportunities and services to youth and adults from surrounding communities on topics such as functional literacy/numeracy, other forms of non-formal livelihoods/vocational skills, health and sanitation, as well as business skills.
DVV International commissioned the CEval GmbH to evaluate the success of the CLC approach. The evaluation team assesses to what extent the introduction of CLC is functional and has achieved its objectives. The evaluation is based on the OECD-DAC criteria and is structured by an evaluation matrix developed be the CEval team. During a one-week on-site mission in Uganda, the evaluation team will visit CLCs to collect qualitative data by conducting interviews and focus group discussions. Data will be assessed applying qualitative content analysis. Findings will be presented and discussed in a comprehensive evaluation report.
UNICEF Thailand: Representative Study on Childcare Services
CEval supports PROMAN in conducting a national mixed methods study commissioned by UNICEF Thailand that will examine the supply and demand of under three childcare services in Thailand across the public-private continuum and assess the cost of inaction.
CEval is assigned to develop and implement a sampling strategy that provides the basis for a nationwide, representative study. The sampling strategy enables subsequent qualitative and quantitative data collection. CEval is also responsible for supporting instrument development, including household and provider surveys, hosting the survey instruments, guiding local partners’ data collection, and performing data quality management. Moreover, CEval supports its cooperation partner(s) by conducting appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.
This assignment will forecast the demand for services to make an investment case for developing a national policy strategy for under three childcare services in Thailand.
