Mid-term performance evaluation of the Somalia partnership for economic growth program : mid-term evaluation report

Program activities focus on two areas: private sector development, including womens" business development, and strengthening specific productive value chains. The PEG Partnership Fund also provides matching grants to promising local micro and small enterprises (MSEs) and to NGOs. PEG"s program objective is to improve stability through inclusive economic growth. It is hoped that the lessons learned from PEG will contribute directly to the legitimacy of the PSD approach (more specifically the Making Markets Work for the Poor, or M4P approach) within the Somali context and its subsequent replication and expansion. The PEG mid-term performance evaluation seeks to answer the following five evaluation questions: (1) has PEG achieved the objectives as prescribed in the program"s PMP and in the 2011 contract and subsequent three modifications; (2) do the program"s results show that inclusive economic growth has been achieved by its activities; (3) was the development hypothesis and accompanying assumptions that shaped the program design valid [and] does it remain valid for the current Somalia and Somaliland context and USAID"s objectives; (4) how have PEG"s operational structures and implementation practices performed in Somalia"s challenging programming environment [and] how have they affected results [and] how can they be improved; and (5) what have been the most important program accomplishments during implementation [and] what are the lessons learned from the program to date that can be applied to the program"s extension [and] how should these lessons be applied? Specific evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations are provided with detailed analysis for each evaluation question. (Excerpt, modified)