Post-implementation evaluation of the programs More Investment in Sustainable Alternative Development (MIDAS) and Areas for Municipal-Level Alternative Development (ADAM)

Many Colombian organizations worked in partnership to extend the influence of programming, ensure relevance, and work toward sustainability. ADAM and MIDAS offered alternative development options in complex, multi-faceted programming designed to affect social and economic behaviors at local, municipal and national levels. ADAM and MIDAS operated in environments where illicit crops, displacement, violence and environmental effects were always threats. ADAM focused on productive agricultural projects, public works, municipal strengthening and civil society collaboration. These tended to be deep interventions in a given community, with an integrated model, and were implemented in 75 municipalities. MIDAS provided technical assistance and support to micro-, small- and medium-enterprises, productive forestry, conservation, and agribusiness in more than 500 municipalities. Its policy component supported reforms for development at all levels of the country. USAID/Colombia commissioned this external, post-implementation evaluation of aspects of its programs to inform pending program designs. This report will help the Mission better understand what worked, did not work, and what has been sustained, by documenting lessons and case studies from a set of ADAM and MIDAS activities. The evaluation examined a set of activities within two guiding principles: (1) identify best practices and lessons learned that can be taken from ADAM and MIDAS to inform USAID/Colombia's country development cooperation strategy (CDCS) implementation, including new program development and new activity design; and (2) document and describe cases (e.g., success stories) where methodologies, processes, capacities, public-private partnerships and infrastructure set in motion by the projects have been successful and sustainable. The activities under study in the evaluation are examined with respect to these principle activities sets: (1) agricultural activities (ADAM outcome 2) and productive activities (MIDAS outcome 1); (2) community participation (ADAM outcome 3); (3) municipal strengthening (ADAM outcome 6); and (4) alliances (MIDAS outcome 3). Specific evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations are grouped according to key themes, with summarization of these in Annex IV. (Excerpt, modified)