Our projects

A Residue Control Plan is a crucial component in the implementation of Council Directive 96/23/EC. This directive outlines measures for monitoring certain substances and residues in live animals and animal products with the aim of protecting public health and consumer interests. A Residue Control Plan is a tool used by Member States to fulfil their obligations under this directive. The Plan – including commodity data, sampling levels and frequencies, and the substances and substance groups proposed for laboratory control, identified products and residue groups, and standards for analysis and laboratories – provides the necessary details and procedures to ensure the directive's objectives are met in practice, contributing to the protection of public health and consumer interests in the EU.

In order to promote the rural and economic development of the TCc and the alignment of the region’s mechanisms with the EU acquis, there is a need to support local bodies in the area with the implementation of the Residue Control Plan; specifically, by implementing sampling and testing activities in accordance with EU regulations. This includes:

This package has four outputs:

​Landell Mills is engaged by the ADB to monitor the implementation of Output 1 of the Expanding Essential Food Security and Health Services Project (Support for Afghan People) being delivered by FAO and WFP.

The project has the following objectives:

For WFP and FAO components the ATPM will validate province, district and community selection through desk-based review of the specific criteria used by WFP to finalize its selection of provinces and districts for the Expanding Food Security project as well as the calculation of the number and proportion of households to be assisted under their projects. They will also monitor beneficiary selection and baseline data collection (process monitoring) through obtaining the lists of beneficiaries from the EA for any particular community and then by interviewing a sample of these beneficiaries. The process will also be assessed through FGDs and KIIs.

For the WFP component, the ATPM team will conduct real-time monitoring by directly witnessing a sample of food assistance distributions as they are occurring. To conduct post-event monitoring, several weeks after the conduct of food/cash assistance distribution in a particular (sampled) district the ATPM team will conduct visits to a small sample of communities. The purpose of the visit will be to collect information from beneficiaries and representatives of the community regarding both the beneficiary selection event and the most recent food assistance distribution event.

Under outcome monitoring the ATPM team will conduct a second visit to the above-mentioned sampled communities towards the end of the 8-month food assistance support period in order to assess the effects of the support on the beneficiary households and on the community. The visit will involve the conduct of one FGD with a selection of beneficiary heads of households and another FGD with representatives of the whole community. It will also involve the administration of a questionnaire with the heads of some sampled beneficiary households with the objective of obtaining some specific outcome-related data on household food security and household coping strategies.

For FAO post distribution monitoring The ATPM team will conduct one post-distribution monitoring visit for each support package type to a sample of beneficiary households in selected beneficiary communities. Post harvest / outcomes monitoring will involve further community visits and assess crop production increase compared to local seeds and traditional methods, livestock herd maintenance, farmer assessment of costs and benefits of improved technology compared to traditional one, level of farmer expression of interest, ability and intention to continue to use the improved technology in the future, effects of the support package on farm income and/or on HH food consumption and HH rCSI and LCSI scores.

The overall objective of the EABF is to boost EU-Africa trade integration and sustainable investment flows with a focus on sectors covered by the Global Gateway (GG) and flagship initiatives of the EU-Africa Summit.

Specifically, the objectives of the project include:

Target groups are primarily African and EU private sector organisations. Other target groups include: Partner countries’ administrations and agencies; African Union institutions; EU institutions/services and EUDs; implementing partners; EU Member States administration and development agencies; private sector entities such as, entrepreneurs, associations of businesses, chambers of commerce, cooperatives and groups of cooperatives, business incubators and accelerators; representatives of social economy, social partners, civil society organisations; universities, technical and vocational training centers, business schools, and consumer organisations.

Expected Outcomes include:

European Union Budget Support in Tajikistan

The European Union (EU) has been cooperating with Tajikistan in the field of development since 1991, in a variety of sectors such as rule of law and good governance, health and education, water, energy, and rural development. Most recently, this development cooperation has been focused on three priority areas as defined by the latest Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) for 2021-2027: 1) Inclusive Green and Digital Economy, 2) Human development and 3) Natural resources management, efficiency, and resilience. In particular, Specific Objective 4 of the MIP seeks to “improve the relevance and quality of the general secondary education and vocational education and training (VET) for better employability and labour market integration”, with three expected results:

• R4.1) Improved governance, evidence-based policy making and public finance management (PFM) of the education sector;

• R4.2) Improved learning outcomes for female learners and persons with disabilities; and

• R2.3) Improved labour market integration with a focus on youth, women and returnee migrants through innovation and digitalisation.

This request for services specifically targets the TVET and Employment Sector Reform Contract, a budget support programme that addresses these three results, as well as the key challenges for the education and employment sectors identified in the National Development Strategy 2016-2030. It is also in line with the EU Global Gateway, as it seeks to foster the green and digital sectors.

Relevant Employment and Vocational Education and Training Background

As stated by the Tajikistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “investing in the young generation is essential to achieving long-term economic growth, social cohesion and sustainable development”. The Budget Support programme strongly focuses on improving the employability of youth, women, and returnee migrants, and raising employment in critical sectors: agriculture, energy, green and digital industries.

Tajikistan, a landlocked, mostly mountainous country, indeed has a high share of youth in its population, who are increasingly entering the labour market (more than 50% of able-bodied persons are under the age of 25). However, despite its GDP growth averaging 7% when not slowed by the covid-19 pandemic, Tajikistan does not see enough job creation. 27.4% of the population lives below the national poverty line, and the National Development Strategy (NDS) links this poverty to a lack of access to productive employment: 41% of the population is self-employed, and 28% works in State Owned Enterprises (SOE) or for the Government. The activity rate of 59% also hides very strong gender disparities, with the women activity rate barely reaching 45.5% against 73.3% for men (2017). The unemployment rate is estimated for 2020 (ILO) at 7.5%, although many do not register with the employment services, or have seasonal employment in the agriculture sector – so this number is likely higher.

It is worth noting that state expenditure in education has been increasing steadily since 2000, but financial needs continue gradually increasing. Both the National Development Strategy and the National Strategy for Education Development (NSED 2021-2030) point out that the issue is less so in the access to education than its relevance and quality. For TVET, there is a strong need to work more closely with the private sector and match TVET with labour market needs.

Key challenges and weaknesses in TVET as identified in Tajikistan’s National Strategy for Education Development (NSED) include:

• The infrastructure and availability of proper learning and teaching equipment and materials in most initial VET institutions is limited and needs updating;

• There is a shortage of qualified teachers across all levels of education; and the management of the education sector is hindered by a lack of results-based planning, monitoring systems, and weak PFM.

Relevant Public Finance Management Background

PFM is a key pillar in the EU SRPC for VET and Employment, not only as a general condition for EU Budget Support, but also within the education sector in Tajikistan, to better be able to respond to the gradual increase in financial needs for the sector.

PFM in Tajikistan is driven by the NDS, which outlines national priorities in the areas of PFM such as program budgeting, linking the budget process with strategic planning, tax administration, fiscal decentralisation and transparency and accountability; and by the PFM Reform Strategy (PFMRS 2030), with the following priority areas:

1. strengthen the framework of macroeconomic forecasting and revenue projections;

2. improve public investment planning, strengthen internal control and audit;

3. increase revenue mobilisation;

4. implement public procurement reforms;

5. strengthen external scrutiny and parliamentary oversight of the budget.

Progress in the implementation of the PFMRS is slow, and the capacity for data collection and monitoring of this progress is limited. The PEFA (2022) assessment indicates that 10 out of 31 PEFA performance indicators showed improvement compared to the 2017 exercise, and concludes that overall, the PFM environment has improved in the five years between 2017 and 2022. This partly justifies that, whilst Budget Support to Tajikistan was suspended in 2018 due to the lack of achievement / progress with the eligibility criteria, it has now been restarted.

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide a detailed review and assess the progress in the implementation of the TVET and Employment SRPC against the general conditions and the targets of the performance indicators, to enable the EU to use the outcomes of the reviews for decisions on the disbursement of the 2nd and 3rd fixed tranches and the 1st to 3rd variable tranches. The EU takes a final decision on disbursement, taking into account the external verification report.

To conduct one review mission annually during the fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026 for the disbursement of the fixed and variable instalments:

• The first review mission will verify compliance with conditions attached to the release of the 2nd fixed and 1st variable tranches (€4 million and €6 million, respectively), indicatively scheduled for Quarter 2 of 2024.

• The second review mission will verify compliance with conditions attached to the release of the 3rd fixed and 2nd variable tranches (€4 million and €6 million, respectively), indicatively scheduled for Quarter 2 of 2025.

The Technical Assistance under this contract complements the EU's development interventions and benefits other donors, in particular the EU Member States' actions in the sectors where the EU is engaged, including but not limited to agriculture/food security, women's and youths' economic empowerment, human rights, health and education.

The project supports the EU Delegation throughout the critical stages of project cycle management through the support to identification, formulation, monitoring and evaluation of the EU's development programmes and communication and visibility activities. In this process, the respect of the aid effectiveness principles and consultation with external stakeholders (local authorities, civil society including women and youth organisations and other stakeholders from the partner country or region) is key to ensuring that the EU's support in Sudan is focused on national priorities, driven by a dialogue with national stakeholders and in complementary to the international donors programmes in the country. This includes the capitalisation and sharing of knowledge related to the implementation of the project.

The Overall Objective of the project is to contribute to an efficient and effective use of the EU funding and position the EU as one of the preferred partner for the country. The specific objectives (outcomes) of this contract are as follows:

This evaluation was commissioned by the EU’s Directorate-general for International Partnerships (DG INTPA). Its purpose was to provide an independent, evidence-based assessment of the EU’s cooperation with the Republic of South Sudan between July 2011 and December 2023. In doing so, it identified lessons learned and generated a series of recommendations for the primary users of the evaluation who are those involved in programming and decision-making in the EU Delegation in South Sudan, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and relevant units in DG INTPA headquarters.

The evaluation covered all EU agreements, cooperation frameworks, and official commitments - excluding Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Operations' (DG ECHO) humanitarian work, which was considered only through the lens of the humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus. The evaluation did not cover the EEAS' political work but did include the EU's joined-up programming and non-financial cooperation efforts.

The evaluation reviewed all financial instruments managed by DG INTPA, including the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF) between 2017 and 2024, which represented a significant funding component.

Further detail on the evaluation scope is represented below:

Regulatory scope: EU interventions managed by DG INTPA, including spending and non-spending activities adopted or implemented during Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) periods 2008-2013, 2014-2020, and the first half of 2021-2027, Foreign Policy Instrument (FPI)

Thematic Scope: Areas covered in the current Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP), including green and resilient economy; human development (education and health); good governance, peace and rule of law; and MIP cross-cutting issues, such as human rights, gender, environment, conflict sensitivity and displacement.

Geographic scope: Republic of South Sudan

Details on the evaluation:

The evaluation was conducted in four phases: the inception phase, which established alignment on goals and expectations; the desk phase, focused on collecting and analysing existing information guide subsequent fieldwork; the field phase, involving direct engagement with stakeholders and on-the-ground data collection to provide practical insights; and the synthesis phase, which consolidated findings, analysed data and developed conclusions and final recommendations.

Methodology

The evaluation process employed a mix of quantitative and qualitative tools tailored to specific indicators as outlined in a fully reconstructed evaluation matrix. Specific evaluation tools were comprised of:

Evaluation outputs

As per the terms and conditions of the contract, the evaluation produced the followed outputs:

The evaluation team also produced several dissemination products to support with knowledge sharing and promote internal learning. These included:

The Republic of Armenia has been through a period of political changes, COVID-19 restrictions, hostilities, immigration and internal displacement, and economic decline and growth. Despite this situation of flux, the Government of Armenia (GOA) continues to commit to a series of ambitious reforms relating to modernisation, education, democratisation, transitional justice, the constitutional court, and the environment, as part of the Armenia Transformation Strategy 2050, which lays out the Armenian State’s long-term socio-economic, educational and human development objectives for the next 30-year period.

A signatory to the Paris Agreement since 2016, the GOA aims to rectify environmental issues in the country, such as the over-exploitation of natural resources, environmental pollution, illegal logging, and poor management of water resources and waste. The GOA has since confirmed its Nationally Determined Contribution, its approach to climate-related decision-making, and solidified this within its National Adaptation Plan (NAP), which outlines the general objective and vision of Armenia’s NAP process: “to promote the reduction and management of climate risks in Armenia”, and ensure that sectors considered vulnerable to climate – natural ecosystems, water, agriculture, health, human settlements, and tourism – will integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The European Union (EU) supports, or will support, these efforts and the implementation of the NAP. The NDICI-Global Europe sets budget targets for climate and biodiversity-related actions, which have been incorporated within the early draft Annual Action Programme (AAP) 2023 for Armenia. The three key pillars of the AAP include i) investing in green technologies for SMEs; ii) promoting economically sustainable use of natural resources; and iii) building local partnerships for climate-smart local development. Our assignment will support the development of programming under these key priorities, through delivery of technical assistance to the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia (EUD).

The global objective of the assignment is to provide technical assistance (TA) to the programming development of EU-funded actions, with a focus on green growth, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development. In delivering this objective, the team will specifically assist the EU Delegation to Armenia (EUD) and the Government of Armenia (GOA) in the identification and formulation of future programmes, including providing expertise to further stakeholders’ understanding of how to progress

The ATC is an innovative cross-sectoral body for regional cooperation on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Human Resource Development (HRD). ATC comprises representatives of ASEAN Ministries at management level in charge of TVET from ASEAN Member States such as Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour/Manpower/Human resources, Ministry of Economics/Trade/Commerce, regional employers and private sector associations (ASEAN Confederation of Employers (ACE), ASEAN Future Workforce Council (AFWC), the regional trade union organisation (ASEAN Trade Union Council (ATUC)), and the Southeast Asian Education Ministers Organisation Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education and Training (SEAMEO VOCTECH).

In line with its cross-sectoral orientation, the ATC is supported by the divisions for Education, Labour and Enterprise and Stakeholder Engagement of the ASEAN Secretariat (ATC Secretariat). The work of the ATC is guided by the ATC Work Plan 2021-2030 as developed and adopted in October 2021.

Under the ATC Work Plan, ATC members have embarked on a joint process of Organisational Development (OD) involving ASEAN sectoral bodies, representatives of the private sector, and trade unions as much as ASEAN dialogue and development partners. The OD aims at fostering active involvement of all ATC members and stakeholders, their ownership and support to the implementation of the 10-year ATC Work Plan. The ATC OD is supported by the German government’s Regional Cooperation Programme for TVET in ASEAN (RECOTVET), implemented by GIZ. One of the key processes of the ATC’s OD is to develop a Communication Plan for Advocacy.

This evaluation served the dual purpose of accountability and learning and fulfilled the requirement of the UNICEF Evaluation Policy (2018) that all L3 emergencies must be evaluated. This evaluation:

The evaluation has a range of audiences. These can be differentiated as both primary stakeholder audiences for whom the evaluation makes specific recommendations and secondary audiences with an interest in the findings. Primary users will include Ukraine Country Office (CO) and Field Office (FO), UNICEF Regional Office (RO) and Headquarters (HQ), UNICEF Office of Emergency Operations (EMOPS), UNICEF Executive Board. Secondary users include international partners working in Ukraine, national and local government stakeholders and municipalities, NGOs, civil society organisations, beneficiaries of the response, as well as the wider humanitarian community and the general public.

The thematic scope covered all of UNICEF’s key programmatic areas engaged in the response efforts. This includes social protection (largest portion), WASH, education, child protection, social policy, health, nutrition and social behavioural change. It also assesses, from an operational standpoint, the functioning of the decentralized model as well as the modalities of deployment and use of supplies, human, financial resources and partnerships during the implementation of the response. Advocacy and communications were also assessed. The evaluation also covered UNICEF’s role as cluster lead, as relevant, as well as its responsibilities to respond to the needs of affected populations in sectors where it has no cluster leadership responsibilities.

The temporal scope covered all the response activities spanning from December 2021 until the end of the L3 on 6 March 2023. By focusing on the period prior to the conflict in February, the evaluation assessed the level of UNICEF response preparedness efforts. The geographical scope covers the entirety of the response rolled out inside Ukraine only, rather than in its neighbouring countries.