Final report for Final Evaluation of RoLAC Programme and Formulation of Programme Phase II - 07 2022

Presentation of the RoLAC programme

The programme’s overall objective is “to enhance good governance in Nigeria by contributing to strengthening of the rule of law and curbing corruption”. It includes four main outcomes focusing on effective and transparent dispensation of criminal justice and improved access to justice for women, children and persons with disabilities at federal and local state levels; enhanced performance and coordination among Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) to address fight against corruption in the criminal justice sector, public procurement and the extractive industries; and empowerment of civil society, public and private sector to engage on criminal justice reforms and fight against corruption.

The British Council managed the programme through a programme implementation unit (PIU) in Abuja and team members in the targeted focal states: Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Edo, Anambra and Adamawa. The programme oversight is ensured by Steering and Technical Committees at federal and state levels and a trilateral structure at federal level composed of the European Union Delegation (EUD), British Council, and the National Authorising Officer (NAO).

Objectives and scope of the evaluation

This final evaluation is an overall independent assessment of the performance of the RoLAC programme from its inception in July 2017 until the 31st of December 2021. The assignment specifically seeks to assess the expected results of RoLAC, how it responded to the needs and capacities of the national partner institutions and contributed to improve the justice sector reform and the fight against corruption, in the FCT and the five focal states. It also aims to identify enabling and hampering factors that positively or negatively affected the programme and intends to draw on key lessons learnt for the formulation of the follow up action.

Evaluation methodology

The assignment started on 25 January 2022 in five phases: inception, desk, field, synthesis and dissemination. The design of the overall approach to the evaluation is evidence-based, focusing on the use of quantitative and qualitative primary and secondary data sources. The assessment was guided by the reconstruction of the Intervention Logic (IL) of the programme at inception, underlying its results-chain framework, and then revisited after analysis of the evaluation findings.

The intervention was assessed based on five evaluation criteria: efficiency, effectiveness, early signs of impact, sustainability, added value, and nine evaluation questions (EQs), presented with associated judgement criteria and indicators in an evaluation matrix to guide analysis of findings. Conflict sensitivity, gender equality and human rights were addressed across the assignment. The evaluation team has applied a mix of data collection and analysis methods based on in-depth research and participatory consultations with programme stakeholders and the Reference Group.

The tasks among the team members were shared according to their role and specialisation. All experts were involved in the data collection process given the large scope of the assignment, while the evaluation experts proceeded with the analysis, synthesis and reporting of the findings.

Limitations and risks

The evaluation team identified several limitations and risks inherent to the implementation of the assignment at inception phase, including risks related to conflict and gender sensitive issues, ethical considerations, and adjusted mitigation measures. Key challenges encountered during the assignment mostly related to the large number of programme stakeholders to interview, vast geographic coverage and documentation to process; difficulty to combine both formulation and evaluation simultaneously, and limited time to synthetise evaluation findings and lessons learned.