Mid-term performance evaluation of the access to information (A2I) project in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan

To conduct the evaluation, the evaluation team (ET) used a mixed methods approach, which included document review, key informant interviews, e-mail and telephone surveys, and focus group discussions. The ET visited 21 media outlets in Kazakhstan and nine outlets in Tajikistan that benefitted from A2I’s support. The ET found that the project has largely met its four objectives, with few gaps in the project; its design and structure are largely appropriate; implementation performance by USAID and Internews was strong; and that implementation of A2I as a regional program had advantages, but also some disadvantages. The ET also found that some indicators used by the project are not useful for understanding progress. The ET recommends that the project continue to support journalists and other media actors to report objective information; work with partner outlets on ways to better share different types of content across different platforms as well as on ways to monetize this sharing for competitiveness; increase its support to media outlets so they meet the challenge of the digital transition; and revise its indicators to more completely tell the story of A2I’s contributions.