Sustainability as an Evaluation Criterion: 4 Years After the Development Project Ends

Abstract

The current research looks at the issue of aid effectiveness, narrowing it down development project’s sustainability. In doing so it evaluates the development project implemented by GTZ four years ago, to find out what brings sustainability with a research question: What happens after project ends? It turns out to be that difficult partnership with the government proves to be the main obstacle as argued by a number of scholars in ensuring the sustainability of the created by development project structures. There is no effective mechanism to work with difficult partner states and DAC principles prefer not to acknowledge despondency of the situation. But even in such a context, working closer to the target group, involving them and inviting them to take responsibility for their own well being shows positive results in the example of farmer cooperatives, micro-credit agencies and vocational schools targeted for employment. Commitment, experience, expertise and knowledge of the development workers combined with absence of bureaucratic barriers to apply acquired during project implementation knowledge was found to play a significant role in explaining success of the project. However, this important dimension is sadly enough overlooked by DAC criteria evaluation and leads to missed opportunities to learn.