Overview
The mid-term programme evaluation seeks to: i) allow UNCDF and funding partners to meet their accountability and learning objectives; ii) support the ongoing attempts by the programme and its funders to capture good practices and lessons learned to date in a sector that is still relatively new and innovative; and iii) guide and inform the next years of CleanStart implementation as well as – if appropriate – the next phase of the programme, with a practical and achievable set of recommendations (and lessons learned) towards the achievement of intended programme results by the expected completion date, as well as in support of possible extension/scaling-up and/or replication of the programme. The evaluation process was structured around a Theory of Change framework and an Evaluation Matrix covering the five OECD/DAC evaluation criteria, as well as the elaboration of a data collection toolkit to support the various components of the evaluation; namely: (i) documentary review; (ii) FSP/ESP performance data collection; (iii) interviews with stakeholders at all levels (global, macro, meso, market and micro); and (iv) focus group discussions (FGDs) and structured interviews with final beneficiaries, Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI) analysis and energy diaries. The evaluation has been conducted by an independent evaluation firm - Microfinanza, partnering with MicroFinanza Rating, engaging a team of six experts from December 2016 to June 2017. The analysis covers the period between January 2012 and December 2016, and includes outcome projections and some judgments on the likelihood of the programme and its implementing partners to achieve intended targets.