Publication
Summary of publication
The independent mid-term evaluation was undertaken in 2018 to determine if Australia Awards in Africa is achieving its planned outcomes, to assess the performance of the managing contractor and to ensure alignment with the Foreign Policy White Paper and the Australia Awards Global Awards policy.
A major purpose of the evaluation is to inform DFAT's considerations to either extend the current contract for a further two years (2020-2022) with minimal changes to the Scope of Services or to implement a new five-year phase of the AAA (1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025).
Key findings and recommendations of the evaluation report are that;
- The program is on track to achieve outcomes and that the managing contractor is performing efficiently and effectively in most areas. The Report recommended extending the end date of the contract by two years from 31 March 2020 to 31 March 2022.
- Australia Awards in Africa launched a pilot for postdoctoral fellowships in partnership with the Australia Africa Universities Network (AAUN) in 2017 which will be completed by the end of 2019. The evaluation found that the pilot is delivering benefits for fellows and the participating African Universities. It recommended consideration of postdoctoral fellowships as a component of any future design of Australia Awards in Africa, subject to financial approval.
- Australia Awards in Africa is successfully engaging the private sector in the delivery of short courses but lacks clarity of strategic and functional intent. This is an area for improvement to be addressed in a future phase of the program, subject to financial approval.
DFAT accepts the recommendations of the independent evaluation and has outlined in the attached management response the timing and approach to implementation.