Final Evaluation of the "Support to Integrated Rural Development Dynamics in the Northern Rural Territories (DRIN)" Project

Context: The support project for integrated territorial development dynamics in northern Morocco (DRIN) is part of the EU's contribution to strengthening Morocco's public policies regarding decentralization and the promotion of integrated local socio-economic development. The 72-month project (2012-2018) was led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and implemented by the Agency for the Promotion and Development of the North, and was carried out by an operational project unit (COP) supported by technical assistance (AT). Thus, the objective of the DRIN project was to contribute to establishing, at the level of the Al Hoceima province, a dynamic of inclusive territorial development and to strengthening the social capital of the province's rural territories for sustainable improvement of the living conditions of rural populations. In line with Morocco's policies and interventions in the areas of combating poverty and social exclusion, rehabilitation and preservation of natural ecosystems, as well as the progressive eradication of cannabis cultivation, the DRIN project was subject to a financing agreement between the EU and the Moroccan government in December 2012 amounting to €19M. Objectives: It is within this general context that the final evaluation mission took place, covering all activities implemented between 2013 and 2018. The mission was to support the EU Delegation and Moroccan stakeholders through the evaluation, on the one hand, of the implementation of financing agreement no. ENPI/2011/022-776 and, on the other hand, of the level and quality of results achieved by the DRIN program in order to formulate guidance and recommendations to consolidate future EU interventions. In accordance with the ToR, the evaluation mission was primarily structured around: A comprehensive and independent analysis of the performance of the DRIN program, paying particular attention to its results, in comparison with the expected objectives and the reasons underlying these results; Lessons learned, findings and associated recommendations, so as to improve future actions in this area. This evaluation therefore analyzed the DRIN project based on the five DAC evaluation criteria: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact prospects. In addition, the experts integrated two other criteria in accordance with EU guidelines, namely the EU's added value and the coherence of the action itself with the EU strategy.