A total of five third-party evaluations were conducted in FY2022, consisting of three evaluations of Japan’s ODA to Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Tajikistan, and Turkey, and two evaluations of individual grant aid projects implemented by MOFA, namely, the “Evaluation of Japan’s Grant Aid for Economic and Social Development Programme to Cuba in JFY2016 and JFY2017.” In addition, a third party was also commissioned to conduct a review of Japan’s ODA evaluations from FY2015 to FY2021.

Evaluation from Development Viewpoints

Results of the Three Country Assistance Evaluations

● Relevance of Policies: The ODA policies for all countries were aligned with Japan’s high-level policies and the development policies of the partner countries, as well as global priority issues. ODA projects were also implemented in a way that leveraged Japan’s comparative advantages. Relevance of Policies was rated “highly satisfactory” for Laos and Turkey, and “satisfactory” for Tajikistan.

● Effectiveness of Results: The planned projects in each country were generally verified to be effective despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Effectiveness of Results was rated “highly satisfactory” for Laos and “satisfactory” for Turkey. However, it was rated “partially satisfactory” for Tajikistan as there were projects that did not produce the anticipated effects, partly due to the impact of external conditions, as well as projects whose effects had not been recorded in the report.

● Appropriateness of Processes: The policy formulation processes were executed appropriately for each country. Project implementation was adapted to the circumstances of each country, and efforts to enhance the effectiveness of assistance were observed through the selection and combination of appropriate assistance modalities, and cooperation with other development partners, Japanese companies, NGOs, and other parties. As a result, Appropriateness of Processes was rated as “satisfactory” for both Laos and Tajikistan. On the other hand, delays in the conclusion of technical cooperation agreements in Turkey meant that some projects could not be implemented. This in turn had an effect on ensuring the Relevance of Policies and Effectiveness of Results. Hence, Appropriateness of Processes for Turkey was rated as “partially satisfactory.”

*Rating standards
Highly Satisfactory: All verification items produced highly satisfactory evaluation results.
Satisfactory: Most verification items produced highly satisfactory evaluation results.
Partially Satisfactory: A number of verification items produced highly satisfactory evaluation results, but there were some issues to be resolved.
Unsatisfactory: Most verification items produced unsatisfactory evaluation results.

(Note 1) For country assistance evaluations.

(Note 2) For evaluations of individual grant aid projects implemented by MOFA. Based on the results of the Analysis of Third-Party Evaluation of Bilateral Grant Aid Projects Conducted by MOFA and the Proposal of Evaluation Methods carried out in FY2020, the Development and Diplomatic Viewpoints have been combined since FY2021, and verification items related to “Diplomatic Importance” are included in “Relevance of Plans,” while those related to “Diplomatic Impact” are included in “Effectiveness of Results.”

Results of the Two Evaluations of Individual Grant Aid Projects (waste collection vehicles and equipment to maintain urban green space, etc)

●  Relevance of Plans: The plans were aligned with Havana’s needs in the areas of waste management and disaster countermeasures, which are difficult for the city to address on its own. Moreover, assistance was provided in a timely manner, such as by coinciding with the 120th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Cuba and the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Cuba. Hence, Relevance of Plans was rated “satisfactory” in both evaluations.

●  Effectiveness of Results: Similarly, it was verified that projects were fully utilized, as seen, for example, through the volume of waste collected and the removal of fallen trees resulting from natural disasters. Hence, Effectiveness of Results was rated “satisfactory” in both evaluations.

Evaluation from Diplomatic Viewpoints

In the country assistance evaluations conducted in FY2022, the Diplomatic Importance of the ODA was confirmed. For example, each of the partner countries holds an important geopolitical role in their respective regions, and Japan’s contribution to their economic and social development through ODA in turn promotes the stability and prosperity of those countries and regions. Moreover, a certain degree of Diplomatic Impact was also confirmed in the form of contributions to enhancing Japan’s presence in the international community and the pump priming effect in the economic arena, in addition to deepening understanding of and interest in Japan through human resource development and other efforts, increasing the number of people with a great affinity toward or knowledge of Japan, and maintaining and developing friendly relations.

Recommendations and Lessons Learned

The five ODA evaluations conducted in FY2022 make recommendations based on their respective individual circumstances. Of those recommendations, the following are common to multiple evaluations or applicable to other cases.

Recommendations Common to Multiple Evaluations

● Further Strengthening of Publicity Activities

As repeatedly recommended in past ODA evaluations, these evaluations also pointed to the need to strengthen publicity activities, which contribute to communication and dissemination of information in Laos and Turkey and to the international community, in order to leverage ODA outcomes as Japan’s diplomatic power.

● Continued Utilization of Japan’s Comparative Advantages

In addition to the implementation of ODA projects that utilize Japan’s comparative advantages such as disaster risk reduction cooperation in Turkey and trust built up through previous assistance in Laos, the utilization of effective and efficient ODA through various creative efforts was also highly appraised, such as the combination of grant aid and technical cooperation in Tajikistan, for which ODA budget and assistance modalities are limited. The evaluators recommended continuing with such initiatives.

● Expansion and Promotion of Triangular Cooperation^Note Programs

For Turkey, the evaluators recommended expanding and promoting triangular cooperation programs by strengthening cooperation with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency and Turkish governmental organizations. For Cuba, they recommended drawing lessons from the experiences of neighboring countries where JICA had implemented assistance projects ahead of Cuba, in order to resolve development issues in ways that are more realistic. 

Note Effectively utilizing the resources and knowhow that the donor country and partner country have, and working in cooperation to support third countries.

Recommendations with Possible Applicability to Other Cases

● Strengthening Monitoring Efforts in Grant Aid Projects through International Organizations

In the evaluation of Japan’s ODA to Tajikistan, it was pointed out that outcomes could not be verified due to a lack of submission of reports for Grant Aid Projects through International Organizations, or ambiguous records in these reports. In view of that, the evaluators recommended the timely submission of reports and improving the management system, as well as standardizing the contents of records. This will facilitate project monitoring and make it easier to compare similar projects.

Review of Japan’s ODA Evaluations from FY2015 to FY2021

An analysis was carried out on the ODA evaluations (third-party evaluations) as the main subjects with reference to the major items set out in the Development Cooperation Charter decided by the Cabinet in 2015, and a review was conducted to check for consistency with the Charter, achievement status, and other elements, as well as to come up with recommendations such as future ODA policies and matters that should be considered in the implementation of ODA, and perspectives that should be incorporated into the new Development Cooperation Charter, among others.

●  Recommendations Related to the Development Cooperation Charter: Recommendations included clarification of the strategic aspects of cooperation, strengthening coherence and focus in the structure and content of the Charter, and efforts on the items among the “implementation principles” and “implementation arrangements” that continue to be considered important (in particular, in relation to assistance involving military personnel).

●  Recommendations Related to Development Cooperation Policies and Their Implementation: Recommendations included reinforcing the strategic aspects in the implementation of development cooperation, strengthening implementation arrangements (cooperation with other actors, monitoring and evaluation, publicity), and establishing outcome indicators (clarification of strategies and priorities, means of communicating to the public in an easy-to-understand manner).

●  Recommendations Related to ODA Evaluation Methodology: Recommendations included strengthening the link between ODA evaluations at the policy level and the Development Cooperation Charter, and clearly describing the processes that lead to the evaluation results.