External evaluation of the MEDSTAT II programme

1. External evaluation of the MEDSTAT II programme

2. MEDSTAT II in brief MGSC 19-20 March 2009

3. Objectives of MEDSTAT II MGSC 19-20 March 2009

4. Countries covered • Algeria • Egypt • Israel • Jordan • Lebanon • Morocco • Occupied Palestinian territory • Syria • Tunisia MGSC 19-20 March 2009

5. Key elements of the project • A country-tailored implementation process. • A demand-driven approach. • Capacity strengthening (ownership and durability). • Provision of IT equipment and training. • Total amount of funding: ≈ 26 million euro. • Work divided between three Lots which need to cooperate closely. MGSC 19-20 March 2009

6. The 3 Lots • Lot 1 = Horizontal activities: information systems, dissemination, training, logistics for events, and programme management. • Lot 2 = ‘Vertical’ or thematic activities: Agriculture statistics, Energy statistics, Environment statistics, Migration statistics, National Accounts, Social statistics, Trade in goods and services, Transport statistics, and Tourism statistics. • Lot 3 = supply of computer and networking equipment as well as software needed for statistical processing. Associated user training is also provided. MGSC 19-20 March 2009

7. External evaluation • Requested by contracting authority: Europe Aid • Carried out between August and mid-December 2008 • More than 160 interviews were conducted, including over 200 respondents. • Programme Documentation examined MGSC 19-20 March 2009

8. Who was interviewed? • Europe Aid, Eurostat and the Lots • The MED countries MEDSTAT national coordinators • The MED countries sectoral coordinators, both within the national statistical institutes and with their partners in the national statistical systems • Concerned ministries, various statistical training institutes and EC delegations • a number of international organisations active in the region MGSC 19-20 March 2009

9. Programme Results at time of Evaluation Some 280 events, in the following categories, had taken place: • 22 task force meetings, • 112 technical assistance missions, • 77 training courses, • 38 workshops and • 31 study visits. The number of participations amounted to nearly 1,700. Given that a high pace is to be continued until well into 2009, this output reflects intensive use of the available resources. MGSC 19-20 March 2009

10. Evaluation The various technical assistance activities were generally appreciated, though some were better than others. Strong points: • NSI staff as well as data producers from other parts of the NSS often attended together. This reinforced in-country cooperation and the position of NSIs as national coordinators. • The opportunity to work with colleagues from other Medstat countries is a highly useful experience. In the process a community of Medstat statisticians has come into being that is now widely considered indispensable. • Numerous synergies are being exploited, both within the sphere of EU technical assistance and with various external international partners. MGSC 19-20 March 2009

11. Data collection • Three rounds of data collection. Data quality and quantity is improving. From around 125 in 2006, to 451 in 2007, to over 1,500 in the third round of data collection (end 2008). • The process of annually updating and expanding the database is a useful exercise in harmonisation. The discussion between Medstat sector specialist and data suppliers in the Mediterranean countries that arises in case of apparent inconsistencies is enriching for both. • The data is freely accessible on Eurostat’s website, under General Statistics, but • There is a lack of visibility, with many potential users unaware of the existence of the database,or where it can be found (on the Internet in the Eurostat statistical database). MGSC 19-20 March 2009

12. Publications • Two Euro-Med Statistical bulletins (plus another expected before the summer 2009) • Eight Statistics in Focus, more planned for 2009 • One Data in Focus (another planned) • One MEDSTAT publication on Training and Employment • Domestic Tourism Manual • Pilot study on Study on Water and Tourism (to be published soon) • Other manuals and guidelines in progress Most publications are in English, French and Arabic The evaluators found the publications of good quality, but far fewer than foreseen MGSC 19-20 March 2009

13. Road Maps and Planning Tools • Software for planning, programme management and statistical data storage was developed. • These applications have been shared with the partner countries. • The evaluators found that the software functions well for Lot 1, the developers, but these tools become available rather late in the programme. • They are also sceptical about the efforts to transplant these software applications to the partner countries. MGSC 19-20 March 2009

14. IT Equipment and Website • After long delays, the computer equipment and software have now been installed. This has contributed significantly to statistical processing capability in the partner countries. But there are concerns about the quality of some of the items. • Related IT training largely carried out, the rest will be done in before summer 2009 • A Medstat website has been established. The evaluators found it informative but somewhat hidden. MGSC 19-20 March 2009

15. Programme organisation and management structure • The division of activities over three Lots with overlapping responsibilities has been a source of friction and communication problems, reducing overall efficiency. • The partner countries NSIs do not like how responsibilities for the programme are divided between EuropeAid and Eurostat (EuropeAid the manager and Eurostat the technical adviser). They feel that their interest lies in building up a lasting relationship with Eurostat. The chosen management structure does not favour that. MGSC 19-20 March 2009

16. General Evaluation The evaluators found that despite a sub-optimal programme design: • The programme can nevertheless be qualified as a success, thanks to high motivation and hard work by virtually all concerned, both in Europe and in the partner countries. This has overcome many of the obstacles. • The Mediterranean Partner Countries attach a high value to the results of the common efforts. They would, however, like to carry greater responsibilities themselves and have Eurostat in a more prominent role. MGSC 19-20 March 2009

17. The evaluation matrix MGSC 19-20 March 2009

18. Evaluators recommendations 1 The recommendations for a possible successor programme have been formulated as follows: • Find funding for a MEDSTAT III, keeping the programme elements that worked well and dropping what is not essential for a successor regional programme; • Avoid a gap between MEDSTAT II and III. That alone would be detrimental to the progress made thus far; • Situate every day management of such a successor programme at Eurostat; • Avoid any artificial separation between horizontal and thematic activities; MGSC 19-20 March 2009

19. Evaluators recommendations 2 • Increase the use of expertise from the partner countries, and their role in managing events that concern them; • Increase flexibility in technical cooperation events in terms of duration and number of participants; • Focus on continuous improvement of the Euro-Med statistical database, a cornerstone of the programmes - this includes increasing its visibility to decision makers; • In the longer term: explore options to succeed the Medstat series of programmes with a permanent statistical coordination and cooperation facility for the region. MGSC 19-20 March 2009

20. Open for discussion MGSC 19-20 March 2009