Final Evaluation of the UVETA Project

The Project
The project is a cooperation between the Regional Commissioner in Tanga Region, Tanzania and Fylkesmannen i Vestfold, in Norway. It is called the UVETA project and has been supported with close to NOK 7 million from 2003 to November 2006 by the Norwegian Embassy. The project is a local initiative based on the idea of sharing knowledge and experiences between the Tanga Region and Vestfold fylke.
The agreed areas of cooperation are: capacity building, education, informal sector development and preventive health. Implementation is done through the so-called "lighthouses", which are supposed to function as 'demonstration sites' for good practices. For example a model school can function as a lighthouse. As part of the activities of the project the following has taken place: eight 'lighthouses' have been established, several cultural exchanges between Tanga City, Lushoto Districts and Vestfold have taken place, and extensive capacity building has been provided to the staff of the Tanga Regional Secretariat, Tanga City Council and Lushoto District Council.

Interesting Findings
The review team found that on the positive side:

• There have been synergies between objectives and activities of the UVETA project and the local government objectives.
• Bottom up planning process have been carried out.
• For the education part of the project an improvement in the teaching and learning environment has taken place and increased passing rates in two of the schools have been seen.
  
  However, on the negative side:
• The 'lighthouses' in both councils have not been able to demonstrate any effective replication of the 'lighthouse' model.
• Failure of the Regional Secretariat in effectively involving the relevant sector heads in the coordination of UVETA activities meant that the projects did not benefit from relevant expert advice, and might be a sign that they were not as well integrated in the routine operations as the agreement suggested.
• The 'lighthouses' have continued to rely on external funds. Contributions from the community have been observed to be minimal, affecting the sustainability of the project.
• The capacity building provided has not enabled officers in the Tanga Regional Secretariat, Tanga City Council and Lushoto District Council to supervise the activities of the lighthouses. Subsequently there are considerable problems in the lighthouses concerning planning of activities, record keeping and reporting.
• A disproportionate amount of the project funds have been spent on staff allowances and vehicle fuel.

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