In May 2021, the Office of the Prime Minister hired Chrisbert Consult to conduct an Evaluation of Water for Production Programme in Karamoja Sub-Region. The project was implemented with the aim of increasing access to water for production as one of the key components of affirmative action plans developed by the government of Uganda to improve the economic well-being of households in Karamoja. Under this intervention, the Office of the Prime Minister [OPM] provided resources for the construction of water valley tanks using government owned equipment deployed in the region by the Ministry of Water and Environment ([MWE] to optimize the available resources. As a result of the programme, 89 valley tanks were constructed by the Ministry of Water and Environment with funding from the Office of the Prime Minister to increase access to water for production in the Karamoja sub-region.

The purpose of our assignment was to undertake an evaluation of the water for production programme with a view of establishing its relevance, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability. The evaluation was expected to establish the extent to which the overall programme goal and specific objectives were achieved, identify the current implementation challenges, and make recommendations on any possible adjustment in the current implementation strategy. The specific objectives of the evaluation were to; Evaluate the performance of valley tanks in the programme areas, assess the relevance, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of the water for the production programme, identify the challenges and opportunities in the implementation of the programme, assess the contribution of the programme to the development of alternative means of livelihood, and provide comprehensive information on lessons learned throughout implementation programme implementation.

The consultant adopted a mixed method approach using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative component included sampling focusing on the project stakeholders comprising both purposive and random sampling. For primary data, four main tools were deployed – individual survey questionnaires, key informants’ interview guide, observation checklist and focus group discussion guides [FGDs].

 We reviewed literature about the project, designed data collection tools, trained research assistants, pretested data collection tools electronically using Kobo collect software, collected the data, cleaned and analyzed both qualitative and quantitative data and came up with a robust evaluation report.  

Geographically, the evaluation covered all districts of the Karamoja sub-region, including; Abim, Amudat, Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido, Moroto, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit, and Napak. A representative sample of the beneficiaries and officials was considered to participate in the evaluation from the various districts. The assignment was done to the satisfaction of the client.