– Human rights and gender

Human rights and gender equality mainstreaming has been done by promoting, and collecting sex-disaggregated data on the gender balance in trainings, and by one GP in training curricula offered by both male and female trainers. The creation of LE FEMME network was supported, while the opportunities presented by the CPU female officers network have not been optimally used for information-sharing. It is therefore recommended to explicitly mainstream human rights and gender equality aspects into all components of FishNET, including by utilizing LE FEMME and

RECOMMENDATIONS

the CCP female officers network for information-sharing in the main UN languages (FishNET project team)

V. LESSONS LEARNED AND BEST PRACTICES

This mid-term Independent Project Evaluation of FishNET identified several good practices and lessons learned, with the former in particular related to design, efficiency and sustainability and the latter in particular with respect to project design, efficiency and partnerships.

Good practices/design – planning and monitoring. Conducting technical assessments to map the situation on the ground was considered highly valuable to support the selection of the right beneficiaries, and to tailor and fine-tune activities to the country-specific context. This contributed to efficiency and effectiveness while reducing risks to sustainability. Additionally, the need to conduct such assessments had been the outcome of the pilot training under the third outcome, which has also been a good practice to test the CCP design. Furthermore, monitoring at the output level had been done by means of standardized evaluation assessments of training activities, including on satisfaction/views on relevance of the activity and acquired knowledge per topic (including on human rights and gender equality). This systematic approach to monitoring is also a good practice of the CCP.

Good practices/design – inputs & outputs. The ‘Rotten Fish’ guide had been developed by the GPWLFC, in close cooperation and with inputs from staff from UNODC’s CEB, by means of a comprehensive methodology. The methodology of developing the guide, including the inputs, process and resulting output, had been viewed as a good practice. Two expert meetings with 15-20 participants representing different regions and backgrounds/expertise per meeting were organized in 2018 to chart out the framework of the publication first, and then to reflect on, discuss and agree on the details of the guide. The meetings’ objectives had been clear, and the relatively small groups of experts had facilitated discussion. The composition of the two expert groups had been viewed as representative of different technical angles and regions. The guide was written in an easily accessible language, and translated into Spanish and French, and therefore tailored to a wider audience. Additionally, the content of the guide, including the methodology to allow for a participatory way to identify risks, needs and solutions to corruption in the fisheries sector to inform the design of activities, was also considered comprehensive, highly valuable and the first of its kind in the field of corruption. It was considered a replicable approach that could be used for other technical fields.

Good practices/design – a comprehensive capacity-building approach. CCP had a comprehensive training approach comprising multiple training activities over a longer period of time. The approach showed long-term involvement with beneficiaries. It started off with a technical assessment, then a class-room training followed by mentoring. Additionally, national -level capacity-building was complemented with regional training to support international cooperation.

Good practices/design – ownership. Ownership has been pivotal in decisions informing the design of FishNET activities, including by changing the emphasis of GPWLFC to awareness-raising activities in order to prepare the ground for requests for technical assistance. Thus, priority was given to effectiveness and sustainability instead of just the timely implementation of activities and achieving outputs.

LESSONS LEARNED AND BEST PRACTICES

Good practices/gender equality consideration. The CCP component has mainstreamed gender beyond efforts to get gender balance in trainings/meetings, and collecting sex-disaggregated data of participants. The GP also introduced a standard training module on gender issues in the specialized fisheries crime training, which was given by male and female trainers (with the male trainer offering a non-stereotypical model), and supported female networks, including LE FEMME, and the CPU female officers network.

Lessons learned/design – wider stakeholder participation & conducting needs assessments.

FishNET had been developed by a relatively small UNODC headquarters-based group, which had not solicited the participation of regional staff in the design process. This could, however, have led to fact-based working assumptions based on the situation on the ground. Additionally, a realistic assessment had not been undertaken with respect to available and needed human resources, and the existing foundation on the ground to allow for beginning the change process, including contacts with relevant stakeholders and a situational analysis. Thus, a more extensive preparatory phase in the first annual work plan could allow for more time for planning and for testing assumptions made in the project document.

Lesson learned/efficiency – the use of UMOJA in case of one project/two GPs. Instead of providing one project implemented under two GPs with one UMOJA account, a more efficient arrangement is to offer two accounts, one for each grant, in UMOJA. This reflects the corresponding responsibilities given to the two sub-teams, and the two separate lines of communication to channel requests for instalments to the donor, especially when the pace of implementation, and therefore budgetary needs, is different for both GPs.

Lessons learned/efficiency – human resources. The project has been used as a vehicle to introduce a new theme into the work of the GPWLFC and CCP. While the creation of a post was only done in 2018, presumably to manage related risks, the use of different consultants has had an effect on efficiency. Recruitment processes can take up numerous months. Furthermore, this project had relied on regionally-available human resources in its design. These regional positions were, to a large extent, however supported by earmarked funds, with the effect that only limited demand for regional support could be placed on concerned staff members. Thus, the UNODC human resources set-up presents opportunities but also limitations, especially with respect to creating a more stable project management facility within a short period, and a more solid basis at the regional level.

Lesson learned/partnerships – clear division responsibilities UNODC and the donor. Although the integration of the FFA budget in the UNODC project budget may have been the best way to move forward at the time of designing the project, the actual financial relationship is between Norad and the Ministry. Furthermore, while donor interest has led to a close relationship with UNODC, including by creating opportunities for partnership building at the international level, the division of responsibilities on design was not fully clarified between the two organizations at the beginning.

This element needs to be taken into regard in case of such a relationship.