Publications
Summary of the publication
The Papua New Guinea (PNG) Partnership grew out of the regional Pacific Partnership, which was established in 2015, first as a ‘sub-partnership’, then in 2017, as a standalone entity. Originally involving only Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) joined the partnership in June 2017. Since 2015, DFAT and MFAT have committed approximately US$38.3 million to the PNG Partnership over the two phases. The total value of PNG Partnership approved for projects is US$18.9 million, based on funds approved for projects, excluding operational overhead costs. The partnership is due to conclude on 30 June 2022.
This report presents the findings of a midterm evaluation conducted from March to June 2021. The objective of the evaluation is ‘to assess the Partnership’s overall progress towards promoting private sector development (PSD) in PNG (particularly on programs focused on agriculture, tourism, power, financial markets, digital technology, public-private partnerships, and gender); the success and/or progress to date of underlying projects (both active and closed), including an assessment of the ongoing relevance of active projects given the impact of COVID-19'.It covers activities undertaken from March 2015 through to December 2020. Since its inception, the PNG Partnership has supported 21 projects.
The midterm evaluation examined the overall management of the PNG Partnership and its portfolio of completed and current projects. A mixed methodology was applied to evaluate the partnership, incorporating quantitative and qualitative measures. This included a desk review of documents, followed by stakeholder and beneficiary consultations. Because the midterm evaluation was conducted during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, stakeholder and beneficiary consultations were organised around limited physical and virtual meetings and, in the case of beneficiaries, limited use of questionnaires administered by intermediaries. Despite these limitations, more than 74 stakeholders were consulted (i.e., 29 IFC staff, 37 project partners and eight representatives from other development agencies). In addition, representatives from DFAT and MFAT were interviewed, and 22 project beneficiaries were surveyed.
The evaluation applied an evaluation matrix based on those developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) Donor Assistance Committee (DAC) in the Principles for Evaluation of Development Assistance. This focused on Relevance (Is the intervention doing the right things?); Effectiveness (Is the intervention achieving its objectives?); Efficiency (How well are resources being used?); Impact (What difference does the intervention make?); and Sustainability (Will the benefits last?).
Full publication
Summary of the management response
DFAT supports incorporating findings from this evaluation into the IFC work plan through to the end of the project. DFAT will continue to work closely with IFC to ensure the implementation of the evaluation’s recommendations.