Impact evaluation Electrifying Rural Tanzania: A Grid Extension and Reliability Improvement Intervention

Electrifying Rural Tanzania, a rigorous impact evaluation

As assignment under the Framework Contract with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVO, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung and the Georg August Universität, Göttingen (with the Economics Department of the University of Dar es Salaam as local partner) conducted an impact evaluation for the Electrifying Rural Tanzania project, financed through the Dutch Facility for Infrastructure Development ORIO. The aim of the ORIO project was toreplace old existing diesel generators in three rural townships by modern state-of-the-art generators and to extend the local electricity grids to surrounding rural areas.

The rigorous impact evaluation was conducted between 2014 and 2019. For rural households, a quantitative difference-in-differences (Diff-in-diff) approach was used in two survey waves with 58 treatment communities and 42 control communities with a four to five year interval between the surveys. For urban households and enterprises, a before-after quantitative comparison was applied. In total, 1155 households were surveyed in rural areas and 300 households and 595 enterprises in towns. The main conclusions was that the project was overtaken by the speed of the roll-out of the electricity grid, while at the same time rural households made increasingly of solar panels; for urban households the project contributed to stability in electricity supply that is important for entreprises.

El puerto que no debió construirse (The port that should not have been constructed)

Report:

Niek de Jong, Rafael del Cid, Vivian Guzmán and Otto Genee. El puerto que no debió construirse (The port that should not have been constructed). ORET Evaluation 2007-2012 – Case study of Project “Champerico Fishery Port, Guatemala” (ORET transactions GT00017 and GT00018). Rotterdam: Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam. March 2015

https://www.iob-evaluatie.nl/binaries/iob-evaluatie/documenten/publicaties/2015/402_bijlagen/bijlagen/guatemala-port/oret-casestudy-guatemala-port.pdf

ORIO Evaluation

Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the Development Related Infrastructure Facility (ORIO), which is financed by the Netherlands. The main purpose of the evaluation was to assess the achievements of the ORIO programme. Its main objectives were:

  • To determine the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of the ORIO programme;
  • To learn from the assessment of the program’s functioning and effects and the use of resources in order to generate relevant information for the improvement of similar programmes.

Grenada Labour Market Needs Assessment

The key objectives of the Labour Market Needs Assessment were:

  • Conducting a review and analysis of available labour market data that would provide insights into skills demand and supply;
  • Developing a methodology for qualitatively and quantitatively assessing skills needs and potential skill shortages;
  • Designing and conducting a skill needs survey among employers in Grenada; and
  • Identifying (future) skill needs and (potential) skill gaps and implications for education and training.

Implementation period:

June 2013-May 2014

Report:
Niek de Jong and Jaap de Koning. Grenada Labour Market Needs Assessment. Report commissioned by the World Bank and the Government of Grenada in the framework of the Skills for Inclusive Growth project. Rotterdam: SEOR/ERBS, Erasmus University Rotterdam. May 2014

Evaluation of PUM Netherlands Senior Experts 2012-2015

The purpose of the theory-based evaluation of the Evaluation of PUM Netherlands Senior Experts 2012-2015 was to assess the:

  1. (continuous) relevance of the PUM programme, including the poverty focus as well as the relevance for the aid and trade agenda;
  2. improvement of the monitoring and evaluation function of PUM;
  3. adequacy of available management information for monitoring and evaluation purposes, in order to ensure the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the programme;
  4. effectiveness of the PUM-programme during the period 2012-2015; and
  5. efficiency of the management and programme itself.

Implementation period:
November 2015-June 2016

Reports:
Nico van der Windt, Niek de Jong, Alexander Otgaar, Marie Heydenreich, Hans Slegtenhorst, Hidde van der Veer and Jan-Jelle Witte. Evaluation Foundation Netherlands Senior Experts (PUM) 2012-2015. Final Report. The Hague: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. June 2016

Niek de Jong and Carlos García. Evaluation Foundation Netherlands Senior Experts (PUM) 2012-2015. Country study Colombia. The Hague: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. May 2016

Mid-term evaluation of the transition facility

The Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the so-called Transition Facility of the Netherlands Government had three objectives:

  • To account for the policies pursued in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.
  • To draw lessons from practice with the aim to improve current policies.
  • To serve as key information for the policy evaluation of two major components of the Dutch foreign aid programme.

The Transition Facility was established as bridging mechanism between the finalisation of bilateral development aid on the one hand, and a bilateral relation based on trade, mutual investment and other economic activities on the other. It was open to Colombia, Vietnam and South-Africa. The Transition Facility supported activities in the areas of Water, Transport and Logistics, Sustainable Energy and Health.

The review included an analysis of the activities of the facility in its three target countries. The research team visited a selection of projects financed by the Transition Facility in order to evaluate their effects. It also explored the possibilities for future bilateral economic and financial relations in the sectors supported by the Transition Facility.

Report:

Zulaikha Brey, Willem Cornelissen, Niek de Jong, Carlos García, Nguyen Anh Phong and Nico van der Windt. Mid-Term Review of the Transition Facility. Final Report. Report commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) of the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs. Rotterdam: ERBS, Erasmus University Rotterdam. July 2017.

The gaps left behind: An evaluation of the impact of ending aid

The Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ERBS and Ecorys carried out six country studies to ascertain the impact of the ending of Dutch aid: Bolivia, Burkina Faso (English, French), Guatemala, Nicaragua, Tanzania and Zambia. Researchers of ERBS are co-authors of the studies on Bolivia and Guatemala.

Reports:

The gaps left behind. An evaluation of the impact of ending aid. IOB Evaluation No. 415. The Hague: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Development Cooperation, Policy and Operations Evaluation Department. ISBN: 978-90-5328-484-1. July 2016.

Willem Cornelissen and Caspar Lobbrecht. Impact of Ending Aid. Bolivia country study. IOB Evaluation No. 415. The Hague: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Development Cooperation, Policy and Operations Evaluation Department. July 2016.

Niek de Jong and Caspar Lobbrecht. Impact of Ending Aid. Guatemala country study. IOB Evaluation No. 415. The Hague: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Development Cooperation, Policy and Operations Evaluation Department. July 2016.

       

Work in Progress – Evaluation of the ORET Programme: Investing in Public Infrastructure in Developing Countries

This evaluation assessed the extent to which the ORET programme reached its stated objectives and it accounted for ORET’s functioning in the period 2007-2012 and the (financial) resources used. It also aimed at learning lessons for other Dutch public infrastructure investment programs and private sector development policies in developing countries. The main research questionsof this evaluation focused on:

  • its relevance and effectiveness to enhance sustainable economic development in recipient countries and success and failure factors to sustain public infrastructure investments;
  • its function in mobilizing additional finance for socio-economic infrastructure and complementing other Dutch foreign policy instruments;
  • its role to faciliate market access for Dutch companies and promote durable trade and/or investment relations;
  • the efficiency of the programme’s management and supervision by the Ministry.

Because of data limitations and the relatively large number of ORET-transactions, this evaluation assessed the overall development contribution of ORET primarily on the basis of 13 case studies that consisted of 23 completed transactions. The 23 transactions were visited, researched and scored on various dimensions of the regular DAC evaluation criteria (Efficiency, Effectiveness, Impact, Relevance, Sustainability). The sample offered a cross-section of beneficary countries and sectors. Although the conclusions about outcomes and impact were only related to the transactions in the case studies,we felt confident that the conclusions were indicative for the outcomes of all completed transactions and the ORET programme as a whole.

Reports:

Work in Progress. Evaluation of the ORET Programme: Investing in Public Infrastructure in Developing Countries. IOB Evaluation No. 402. The Hague: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Development Cooperation, Policy and Operations Evaluation Department. ISBN: 978-90-5328-447-6. July 2015.

Niek de Jong, Rafael del Cid, Vivian Guzmán and Otto Genee. El puerto que no debió construirse (The port that should not have been constructed). IOB Evaluation No. 402. ORET Evaluation 2007-2012 – Case study of Project “Champerico Fishery Port, Guatemala” (ORET transactions GT00017 and GT00018). Rotterdam: Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam. March 2015.