German Interventions to Support Decentralisation in Africa
We understand decentralisation to mean 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 examines Germany’s long-term commitment to decentralisation in Africa. It assesses both the relevance and coherence of the support measures and their impact over an extended period. Furthermore, the evaluation examines the extent to which the BMZ has demonstrated itself to be a learning organisation in the context of decentralisation and has conceptually incorporated impulses for change from practice and academia over the years.
The evaluation of decentralisation projects in Africa is of high relevance given the BMZ’s extensive, broad and long-standing portfolio in this area. The topic remains significant as a field of action within governance under the BMZ 2030 core theme ‘Peace and Social Cohesion’. Given the significant evidence gap and the expected learning potential, the evaluation is highly compatible with the other selection criteria and the ongoing thematic focus ‘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; nevertheless, the understanding of decentralisation has changed significantly over time and under various influences. Decentralisation is currently addressed within the framework of the BMZ’s 2030 core theme ‘Peace and Social Cohesion’, but is not elaborated upon in the BMZ Africa Strategy (2023). The BMZ does not currently have a dedicated decentralisation strategy. Furthermore, there is a lack of up-to-date, comprehensive and long-term assessments of Germany’s engagement in this area.
The evaluation on decentralisation in Africa, on the one hand, closes the knowledge gap regarding the impacts of decentralisation measures in Africa over time and, on the other hand, analyses the BMZ’s institutional learning in this field.
Objectives
By assessing the previous engagement with decentralisation in Africa, this evaluation evaluates the relevance of the German approach and its effectiveness. Furthermore, the evaluation contributes to the BMZ’s institutional learning processes by specifically analysing the Ministry’s learning processes in the context of decentralisation. The evaluation addresses the central question of differing understandings of the superficially similar term ‘decentralisation’ over time and among various actors (such as the BMZ and partner governments).
Design and Methods
The evaluation takes a theory-based approach and, in addition to one (or more) theories of change for German decentralisation measures, also considers (development) policy factors over time – such as the influence that democratic transformation processes had on the BMZ’s understanding of decentralisation, or the extent to which the debates on development effectiveness (Paris/Accra/Busan) altered decentralisation concepts within the BMZ.
In addition to overarching research methods (such as literature and document analyses or expert interviews), country case studies – based on ToC impact assumptions and a quantitative portfolio analysis – serve to analyse and evaluate the impact of German support in the field of decentralisation in greater detail.
Team
- Helge Roxin Senior Evaluator - Team Leader
- Haik Gregorian Former Evaluator DEval
- Dr Christoph Dworschak Former Evaluator DEval
- Gabriel Odin Former Evaluator DEval
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
