Project id: Duration: 2007 2009 Component (myff)

Recommendations

There needs to be a mechanism developed that would minimize the outflow of UNDP specialists and maximize engaging professionals when and where required. Timely transfer of project funds has to be ensured. This has to be a dual cooperation between the field finance associates and the CO finance assistants. The field workers have to prepare and submit the payment request in a timely manner, while the CO employees have to make sure that the funds are transferred and have reached the final destination in time. The capacities of the JRCs have been built in remittances based projects and there is a need to work with the other JRCs to enhance their capacities in work with remittance and migrants families.
Finally, innovative technologies like the bucket drip feed irrigation systems that have been introduced in the target areas, proved to be effective and worthy to be replicated. There is often lack of access to irrigation water in rural areas due to power shortages or deteriorated irrigation systems. The bucket drip feed irrigation system allows in an economical way have access to irrigation for the household plots. Therefore, the world experience and other innovations have to be considered within the framework of future projects and where applied where appropriate.
Under CAWMP 28US$ per household under rural infrastructure sub-component is scarcely enough to construct or rehabilitate infrastructure assets, even of small-scale. Thus, if the project will be extended and cover new Jamoats, such issues should be addressed with proposing an amendment in Operational Manual.
The territory of households and farms is not taken into account; the funds are disbursed to the number of households. They take account of population but not of the territory, although the project is directed to improving eco-system, to curtailing of land degradation. This issue also should be addressed in future, if the project will be extended. The establishment of mechanism for retaining of earnings on Farm Productivity sub-component should be developed as soon as possible for control of funds. Partnership should be enhanced among the stakeholders through organization of meetings for avoiding any misunderstandings. Taking into account that CIGs lack capacity on ownership of assets as well as cannot ensure sustainability in future, it is recommended to provide trainings for the specialists of CIGs.
Based on the analysis of activities, including planning and implementation carried out by the project, the following actions recommended:

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  Plan important events before or after harvest season;
  
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  Consider more involvement of hukumat management in district level into project activities in order to create better collaborative links;
  
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  In order to avoid duplication in coverage of target beneficiaries in similar directions, conduct meetings with INGOs operating in area and update information on their project activities on regular basis;
  
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  Prepare an orientation workshop programme for new IPs on preparation of financial and narrative reports in accordance with UNDP rules and regulations;
  
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  Bigger number of seminars/workshops should be organized for remote villages;
  
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  Bigger opportunities for improvement of economic conditions in MWs’ households should be created;
  
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  Some activities should be planned to reduce domestic violence;
  
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  More active involvement of governmental structures is required;
  

One of the major lessons-learnt in project implementation was future sustainability of rehabilitated projects and, or initiative taken, so they become independently active. The community mobilization to participate and contribute in-cash or in-kind in project execution is the biggest challenge on the ground. The sustainability of the sub-projects is a critical aspect of the UNDP strategy, too. To ensure adequate sustainability mechanism the community mobilization is seen very crucial toward achieving the goals and objectives. The strategy that the UNDP area team devises to ensure the sustainability of sub-projects varies from one to another. The major risk to the sustainability of each sub-project identified during the design phase and a strategy is incorporated in the sub-project proposal text to counter that possibility. Within 2007, while the actual projects implementation took place, the following lessons learnt and recommendation were absorbed, which are to be possible considered in the future:

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  meet with key stakeholders, jamoat, JRCs, beneficiaries and legal owner; clearly define the work the UNDP will do and the community contribution either in-kind or in-cash;
  
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  closely work with the JRCs, where exist, so they mobilize the community residents to participate and contribute to the project; the community to be committed themselves, initiate and complete their part by ~20%;
  
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  to go-on community mobilization and civic awareness at least for another 6 months after completion of all rehabilitation works on project sites;
  
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  engage the local NGOs to conduct the health education, sanitary & hygiene campaigns amongst the rural community, building the capacity of system operators, enhancing the role of Dekhkhan farmers (particularly women Farmers, entrepreneurs), and so on;
  
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  create partnership with other UN agencies for providing incentives to population involved in execution of community projects;
  

Baseline surveys should be prepared in all target districts and should be the basis for development planning. The current experience shows that this instrument of information gathering is not very effective as local stakeholders do not possess still enough skills and knowledge to participate in joint information gathering and information analyses. The process of surveying should be better introduced to the local stakeholders and their own experience on information gathering and analyses should be facilitated in order to make the approach more sustainable in the future.

Communities Programme has to strengthen its work towards facilitating a better understanding of DDC’s role and expected results by local stakeholders. Better understanding and clearer roles would help all DDC members to better understand their responsibilities and commitments, and would promote for more effective participation at all stages of the development planning process. The given results could be achieved through conducting more meetings with stakeholders and implementing partners, facilitating better coordination of implementing partners’ activities, conducting regular monitoring of project’s implementation and experiencing joint analyses of midterm results.
The District Development Plans resulting from the comprehensive work of DDCs have to be analyzed. Currently, three DDPs have been developed for Zarafshan Valley districts. The main concern regarding district planning is that plans are weakly interconnected with the budget. It is recommended that developed plans have to be reviewed by experts at the national or international levels. For those districts where the planning process will start in the next years, there is a hope that new project planned to be implemented with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade will facilitate for better planning and budgeting creating best model and methodology of planning at the local level.
The Citizen Report Card as an instrument to promote better service delivery has yet to influence much change. This means that the capacity building activities on CRC and the experience of the mechanism at the local level should be better coordinated, monitored and assessed regularly.
The State Statistics Committee, Goscomstat, was not actively involved in the past in the process of planning at the local level. It is recommended that Goscomstat local offices participate in the capacity building programmes, in information gathering process (baseline surveys, CRC) and monitoring and evaluation. For their active participation there is also a need to provide technical support to their local offices.
Monitoring and evaluation of Local Governance projects should be strengthened through organizing field trips, strengthening joint coordination of Area Offices staff, conducting regular meetings with implementing partners and analysis and review of the results brought in the project documents.

#	Lessons Learned	Recommendations
1	UNDP’s implementing partners lack capacity in writing narrative and financial reports.	Workshop should be held for implementing partners to build their narrative and financial reporting capacities.
2	Only a few subprojects implemented in CAWMP are headed by women.	A gender strategy should be formulated to increase the participation of women in the identification and implementation of subprojects.
3	Land resource management subprojects within CAWMP lack land use certificates, which may affect their ability to sustain subproject activities.	A workshop should be held for CIGs on land rights and discussions should be held with District Hukumats to provide land use certificates to those CIGs implementing land resource management subprojects.
4	Currently, a mechanism to reinvest earnings from farm productivity improvement subprojects within the framework of CAWMP has yet to be developed.	A mechanism should be developed, looking at the possibility to deposit earnings in a bank and generate interest.
5	USD 28 per household allocated by the Operational Manual for the implementation of rural infrastructure subprojects within the framework of CAWMP is insufficient to rehabilitate small-scale infrastructural assets.	The Operational Manual should be amended to address this finding.
6	The research and innovation component of CAWMP is weak.	UNDP’s Gharm AO and JRCs should hold discussions on how to encourage beneficiaries to apply innovative agricultural and land resource management techniques.
7	Domestic violence is an issue in project areas.	Activities focusing on the reduction of domestic violence should be planned.
8	Sustainability of project activities remains a key concern.	Continue community mobilization and awareness-raising activities for an additional 6 months following project completion.
9	The capacities of Jamoat Administrations remain weak, as UNDP often relies on the support of JRCs and other NGOs for project implementation.	Their capacities should be continually built through the provision of training and equipment, and by involving them even more in project implementation. ICT equipment has been provided to Jamoats but this should be supplemented with training in basic computer skills.
10	Establishment of Business Advisory and Information Centres and a pool of agricultural extension agents have proven both necessary and beneficial for the target population.	The provision of business and agricultural information for farmers and rural entrepreneurs should be continued, expanded, and strengthened.
11	The mobilization of migrant remittances for local development has been successful but more so in those jamoats that have an effectively functioning JRC.	Expand remittance-based development to other jamoats that have a JRC presence.
12	The introduction of simple, yet innovative, technologies like the bucket feed drip irrigation system have proven to be very effective and appropriate for Tajikistan’s rural areas, where irrigation infrastructure has deteriorated since the Soviet Union’s collapse and power shortages are frequent.	Innovative technologies such as the bucket feed drip irrigation system should be replicated throughout the country.
13	Citizens Report Card is not fully implemented to achieve positive changes.	Better coordination, regular monitoring and short-term review should be organized by CP in cooperation with implementing partners.
14	District Development Plans are not yet fully elaborated as the sources of funds for planned action are not identified and are not brought in the document.	Best model and methodology for effective planning and budgeting at the local level has to be developed.
15	Goscomstat is not very involved in the process of local planning	Goscomstat local offices have to be involved in the process of capacity building programmes and should play one of the main roles in the process of information gathering, analyses, and information distribution.
16	Baseline surveys are not being fully utilized to assist in planning at the local level.	Baseline surveys have to be introduced to the local stakeholders with its advantages for information gathering and analyses. The survey should be organized and information must be analysed by local stakeholders in order for them to have better experience in information gathering and analyses. This would also help for the experiencing of baseline survey in the future by local stakeholders.
17	DDC role is not well understood at the local level by all stakeholders in each target district.	Capacity building programmes should better explain the role and responsibilities for DDC in all target districts for all stakeholders.

VI. Financial status and utilization