Evaluation of USAID/Morocco civil society advocacy project (SANAD) : final report

SANAD"s objective is to develop Moroccan civil society organizations (CSO) capacity to promote democratic reform and advocate on behalf of citizens, particularly the young and the poor, at the national and local levels. This three-year project started on May 25, 2009 and has been extended to November 2012. This evaluation, conducted by the Regional Partnership on Culture and Development (RPCD) from May to July 2012, is based on a review of relevant documents and extensive field work consisting of interviews and focus groups with 73 beneficiary CSOs, ten public institutions, and numerous key stakeholders. The two main purposes served by the evaluation are to provide USAID with a summary of how the project is meeting its objectives and to inform the design of the new country development cooperation strategy (CDCS) and new civil society activities. Overall, the evaluators found that many of the project"s qualitative and quantitative objectives were achieved and that there is evidence of positive outcomes for CSOs. One key deliverable met by the project was the provision of services to 450 CSOs. However, not all the projects objectives were achieved, and there are lessons to be learned for future program design. Such lessons include points related to the trade-off between breadth and depth of impact and the importance of tailoring interventions to meet the needs of individual beneficiaries. (Excerpt, modified)