German Interventions to Support Decentralisation in Africa
The BMZ has been supporting decentralisation projects in Africa for over 40 years. The objective of this evaluation is to assess the developmental impact of support measures for decentralisation in African partner countries and to inform the further conceptual refinement of the approach.
We understand decentralisation as the transfer of political decision-making powers and administrative responsibilities from the central government level to the local/regional level. The BMZ has been supporting the efforts of partner governments in Africa in this regard for many years. Through its engagement it seeks to improve partner countries' economic development and democratisation. For citizens in the supported countries, decentralisation promises greater political participation and a closer alignment of services with their respective needs.
The evaluation will examine Germany's long-term engagement for decentralisation in Africa. It will analyse the relevance and coherence of the support interventions, as well as their effectiveness and impact over an extended period. Moreover, we will enquire to what extent the BMZ has proven to be a learning institution in the context of "decentralisation“ and has responded to impetus for change from practitioners and researchers over the years.
The evaluation of decentralisation projects in Africa is highly relevant given the BMZ's large, broad and long-standing portfolio in this area. The topic also remains important as an area of intervention for governance within the BMZ 2030 core area of "peaceful and inclusive societies". Given the large evidence gap and the expected learning potential, the evaluation is highly compatible with the other selection criteria and the ongoing thematic focus on "instruments and structures of German development cooperation".
Background
Decentralisation projects have constituted a substantial part of German bilateral development cooperation for more than 40 years. Nonetheless, various factors have caused the understanding of decentralisation to evolve significantly over time. Decentralisation is currently being addressed as part of the BMZ 2030 core area of "peaceful and inclusive societies" while the BMZ Africa Strategy (2023) does not address this topic. The BMZ does not currently have a dedicated decentralisation strategy. There is also a lack of up-to-date, holistic and long-term reviews of Germany's engagement in this area.
The evaluation on decentralisation in Africa aims to close the knowledge gap on the effectiveness and impact of decentralisation interventions in Africa over time and analyse the BMZ's institutional learning in this area.
Objectives
By analysing Germany's engagement for decentralisation in Africa to date, this evaluation aims to assess the relevance, effectiveness and impact of the German approach. The evaluation also aims to support the BMZ's institutional learning processes by analysing them in the specific context of decentralisation. Of particular interest for the evaluation is also the question of different understandings of the seemingly identical term 'decentralisation' over time and by different actors (such as the BMZ and partner governments).
Design and Methods
The evaluation will pursue a theory-based approach. As well as considering one (or more) Theories of Change (ToC) for the German decentralisation interventions, it will also examine factors affecting (development) policy over time. Examples will include how the democratic transformation processes affected the BMZ's understanding of decentralisation, and to what extent the aid effectiveness debates (Paris/Accra/Busan) changed the BMZ’s approaches to decentralisation.
Besides higher-level data collection methods (such as literature and document analyses or expert interviews), case studies will be used to analyse and evaluate the mechanisms of German support in the area of decentralisation in more detail. This will be based on the theoretical assumptions of the ToC(s), and a quantitative portfolio analysis.
Contact
Helge Roxin
Phone: +49 (0)228 336907-937
E-mail: helge.roxin@DEval.org
Dr Stefan Leiderer
Phone: +49 (0)228 336907-940
E-mail: stefan.leiderer@DEval.org