USAID/Sudan : DG fixed obligation grants (FOGs) : evaluation report

PDS was contracted by USAID to evaluate the performance and impact of three completed projects, track the performance of two active projects and observe the status of a newly awarded grant. Since June 2011, the USAID-DG office funded under the newly established Fixed Obligation Grants (FOGs) mechanism, six projects in Sudan with a total of $1,297,672. All the projects were/are implemented by four Sudanese civil society organizations (CSOs). The main focus of the projects was to empower the Sudanese CSOs and to enable them to play a role in determining the future of their country and people.The purpose of this evaluation is to better understand, not only how the DG FOGs have performed to-date, but also how effective FOGs are as a programming mechanism for DG activities in Sudan. Areas of focus for this evaluation include, but are not limited to, what USAID and partners are obtaining from the FOGs, what is going well and what is not, and how lessons learned can be applied to future programming. The evaluation came up with two sets of recommendations. The first addresses USAID whereas the second addresses FOG recipients. The first set stresses on the continued use of FOGs as a DG programming mechanism; continued support to democracy advocates in Sudan and providing funding to some of the current projects for at least two years. In particular, to the capacity building efforts of projects that focus mainly on women and youth. USAID DG is also encouraged to consider funding for other GJD areas and in particular key elements of good governance such as legislative functions and processes, local government and decentralization, and anticorruption reforms. FOG's recipients call for more concerted networking between actors, engagement with political parties and media; opting to use of communication channels that appeal to youth and women; and developing benchmarks or other measures to integrate women as important allies in constitution-making. (Excerpt, modified)