Ongoing - Cluster Evaluation of AfDB transport projects (2012-2019)

Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) is carrying out a cluster evaluation of eight African Development Bank (AfDB) transport projects approved during the period 2012-2019, with a total value of USD 803,3 million. Transport infrastructure development is one of the main priorities of the Bank. As a catalyst for its High 5s, it is at the core of the Bank’s strategy. Over the 2012-2019 period, the Bank approved 177 transport projects amounting to approximately USD 11.8 billion and representing 22% of funding for all sectors.

This evaluation will serve both accountability and learning purposes, with the overall objective to inform future policy, strategic, and operational directions for the Bank’s assistance in the transport sector by:

1. Identifying emerging trends in the sector;
2. Assessing how the Bank has responded to these trends;
3. Taking stock of the results of the Bank’s assistance; and
4. Drawing lessons and recommendations for future work.

This evaluation is timely as it can inform the preparation of the new Bank transport strategy (2020-2029). It complements an impact evaluation by IDEV of the Bank’s Ghana Fufulso-Sawla Road Project. The evaluation will:

1. Assess to what extent operations in the transport sector are strategically aligned with the Bank’s TYS and High 5s, and the needs, policies and priorities of regional member countries;
2. Assess to what extent recent operations incorporate innovative approaches and lessons learned from previous evaluations;
3. Assess whether interventions are achieving intended results for the direct beneficiaries;
4. Assess the extent to which the results achieved are sustainable; and
5. Identify lessons and draw recommendations to inform the Bank’s future transport sector policy and/or strategy.

The evaluation will be primarily summative but will also include a formative and forward-looking dimension. The eight projects were selected on the basis of region, language, country category, and project maturity. The methodological approach focuses on both the micro-level (using mainly qualitative methods including document analysis, interviews, focus groups and site visits) and the macro and sector level (portfolio review, interviews with stakeholders). This approach allows the evaluation to adopt a wide and balanced perspective in assessing the contribution, and to the extent that it is possible, the cause-effect relationships that link the Bank’s transport projects to the achieved development outcomes.

The evaluation is expected to be completed by the beginning of the second quarter of 2021.

Task Manager: Clement Banse, Principal Evaluation Officer, IDEV

All financial numbers provided are converted from the AfDB’s unit of account at the exchange rate of October 2020.