External Evaluation of the EU Water Initiative Country Dialogue Process in Africa

By SIWI December 2008,

The Country Dialogue (CD) is a process that was initiated by the Africa Working Group (AWG) of the European Water Initiative targeting the need for strengthening water governance to achieve the MDGsbased on inclusiveness, promoting investment, and strengthening donor coordination. After its creation in 2003, based on proposal from the Danish government, the CD process was launched in a number of African countries.Shortly after the CD had been initiated concerns were expressed by African Governments and donor representatives about how the CD was implemented and its effectiveness.

The AWG discussed at several occasions the concerns raised by different actors in order to improve the process. An internal evaluation of the CD, completed in 2007, proposed that a new strategy to implement the CD would be explored. The recommendation was accepted and it was decided to undertake a second external evaluation which also should include recommendations for how to improve the CD process.

The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) was selected to undertake the external evaluation. The evaluation consists of a series of interviews with stakeholders involved in the process, a country survey that was undertaken in six selected African countries where the process was at different stages, and analysis.