6.5  Audience of the Evaluation and Communication Strategy

a) Stakeholders

The results of this evaluation will benefit a multitude of key stakeholders:

Regional Member Countries (RMCs)

The evaluation will provide RMCs with credible, independent, and evidence-based information on how Bank support to various sectors via the PPP modality can be better utilized to contribute to their development objectives, particularly hard and social infrastructure development, private sector development. The evaluation will be instrumental in identifying factors that contribute to the effectiveness of these initiatives and maximize benefits to RMCs.

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

The evaluation will support CSOs (NGOs, communities, etc.) in their advocacy role by providing them with credible, independent, and evidence-based information on development results and impacts achieved through Bank funded projects utilizing the PPP arrangement. In addition, the evaluation will provide cumulative knowledge to CSOs participation and will help identify opportunities for strengthening their role through increased sector participation in key social and economic infrastructure within RMCs and its effect on the poor.

Donors

The evaluation will support donors in their accountability to their constituents by providing them with credible, independent, and evidence-based information on development results achieved through Bank funded projects utilizing the PPP arrangement. In addition, the evaluation will provide cumulative knowledge to the donor community and specialized organs in charge of PPP policy advice and delivery. It will also identify opportunities for strengthening donor cooperation and Bank's coordination through increased private sector participation and CSOs in key infrastructure sectors within RMCs.

The Bank's Board and Management

The Board and Bank management will benefit from an independent, credible assessment of the Bank's achievements to date in contributing to sustainable development outcomes through a PPP modality.

This information can then be used to support policy development and decision-making to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of future initiatives, specifically the intended PPP hubs creation. In particular, the evaluation will provide useful information on:

•  The institutional and contextual factors that contribute to or limit success of PPPs and strategies using PPP modalities;

•  The experiences of other MDBs and donors; and

•  Innovative practices, tools and instruments that can be incorporated into ongoing activities and future Bank's role through the new PPP hubs.

Bank Staff and Development Partners

The evaluation will provide Bank staff and other development partners with key lessons learned for maximizing the contribution of PPP projects to the achievement of sustainable development results. This information can then be used to inform the planning and implementation of Bank policies, strategies, programs, and projects.

Evaluation Community

IDEV will share the lessons it learns from conducting this evaluation with the wider evaluation community. It will document some of the methodological issues and constraints, the extent to which the evaluation was utilized by the different stakeholders, key risks that were involved and how these risks were mitigated. Furthermore, this exercise would promote the role of evaluation as a powerful knowledge tool in advancing development effectiveness in Africa. There is currently a high level of interest among RMCs for evaluation, both in terms of better utilizing evaluation to support evidence-based policy and in terms of harnessing the private sector and PPPs to achieve sustainable development results.

b) Communication Strategy

IDEV will develop and refine a multi-pronged communication strategy throughout the conduct of the evaluation in order to share, disseminate, and consult on interim and final evaluation findings. The follow up and Dissemination will be the responsibility of IDEV. In particular, the independent evaluation department plans to:

•  Present the findings and recommendations of the evaluation at learning events to be arranged at HQ and in RMCs. The events will allow IDEV to share the results of the evaluation and discuss strategies for implementing the recommendations.

•  Develop communication materials (videos, pamphlets, policy briefs and slide shows) that are user- friendly, innovative and tech-savvy. The materials will help ensure that the findings, recommendations, and lessons learned from the evaluation are disseminated and shared with a wide audience in a manner that is informative, engaging, and accessible.

•  Explore opportunities to present the findings of the evaluation at key conferences and events. Given the strong interest in PPPs as a modality of promoting social and economic infrastructure through private sector involvement, IDEV will identify opportunities to incorporate the presentation of the evaluation´s findings into its existing evaluation capacity development activities and events in RMCs.