This report was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by 
EnCompass LLC for the Monitoring and Evaluation Program for Lebanon (MEPL) under Contract No. 7200AA20D00011, 
Task Order 72026821F00005.
Note: Limited redactions have been made to this version of the report in accordance with the principled exceptions to the 
presumption in favor of openness established in OMB Bulletin 12-01, “Guidance on Collection of U.S. Foreign Assistance 
Data.”
ENDLINE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
BUILDING ALLIANCE FOR LOCAL ADVANCEMENT,
DEVELOPMENT, AND INVESTMENT (BALADI)
RENÉ MOAWAD FOUNDATION (RMF)
FINAL REPORT
SEPTEMBER 2022
ENDLINE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
BUILDING ALLIANCE FOR LOCAL ADVANCEMENT,
DEVELOPMENT, AND INVESTMENT (BALADI)
RENÉ MOAWAD FOUNDATION (RMF)
FINAL REPORT
SEPTEMBER 2022
Prepared by EnCompass LLC for the USAID Monitoring and Evaluation Program for Lebanon 
(MEPL) under Prime Contract No. 7200AA20D00011, Task Order 72026821F00005. Significant 
contributions were provided by subcontracting partner, Management Systems International (MSI), a 
Tetra Tech Company.
This document is available to the public through the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) 
repository (dec.usaid.gov). For additional information, please contact: 
EnCompass LL Corporate Office 
1451 Rockville Pike, Suite 600
Rockville, Maryland 20852
USA
Or
EnCompass LLC Lebanon Office
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Zalka, Metn, Lebanon
DISCLAIMER: This report is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States 
Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the responsibility of 
EnCompass LLC and its implementing partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the 
United States Government.
COVER PHOTO: Solar panels installed by BALADI-RMF in the village of Kfaryashit. (Photo by MEPL)
ABSTRACT
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Building Alliance for Local 
Advancement, Development, and Investment (BALADI) Activity, implemented by the René Moawad 
Foundation (RMF), has come to a close after ten years of implementation. 
BALADI-RMF’s work under the Request for Municipal Assistance (RFMA) and Supplemental 
Program Description (SPD) modalities consisted of 80 interventions valued at $12,124,262.06 and 
was implemented in all Lebanese Governorates with the exception of Beirut.
This Endline Performance Evaluation of BALADI-RMF builds on an Interim Performance Evaluation 
conducted in July 2020. It examines the relevance, effectiveness, and adaptability of BALADI-RMF’s
work in order to draw conclusions and make recommendations for future programming.
The findings of this evaluation highlight important contributions made by BALADI-RMF between July 
2020 and September 2022 to respond to the urgent needs of local communities. The evaluation 
concludes that BALADI-RMF has continued to gain relevance in meeting its intended outcomes. 
More so, its relevance has expanded to include building municipal capacities, supporting 
decentralized governance, and formulating the needed administrative practices to sustain projects in 
response to emerging community needs amid declining sate services. Moreover, BALADI-RMF has 
demonstrated effective implementation and management practices manifested in the satisfactory 
delivery of intended projects outputs. BALADI-RMF has also shown an unequivocal ability to adapt 
to difficult environments, as it was capable of navigating projects despite Lebanon’s unprecedented 
and uncertain economic and political circumstances.
BALADI-RMF’s experiences and practices can certainly be considered a reference point for 
recommendations targeting future USAID programming in Lebanon; however, certain adjustments 
are necessary. Most notably, it is recommended that efforts aimed at supporting the capacities, 
decentralization, and management of municipalities to improve service delivery (i) be expanded to 
target clusters or unions of municipalities and (ii) be expanded to include multiple specialized 
implementing partners at once. The evaluation also recommends that such expansion be more
inclusive of women and contribute to the localization of labor and resources. Furthermore, a rapid 
and flexible tendering and approval procedure should be utilized by RMF, as well as follow-up 
activities that scale up good practices, expand partnerships, maintain local engagement, and 
mainstream lessons learned in development and recovery activities.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The evaluation team consisted of Dr. Imad Salamey as team leader and Mr. Ziad Antonios as team 
member and received support from Ms. Stephanie Bassil of MEPL.
The evaluation team would like to thank BALADI-RMF’s current and former staff for their 
cooperation and the valuable information they have provided, which helped us reach key findings and 
draw conclusions and lessons learned. 
The team would also like to thank the staff of BALADI-RMF’s municipal partners who took the time 
to participate in the interviews and were patient when virtual calls were interrupted due to 
connectivity issues.
The team also acknowledges the efforts of USAID/Lebanon’s staff, who reviewed the inception 
report, took part in the interviews, provided valuable feedback, and validated the evaluation’s
preliminary findings. Their contribution has guided much of the analysis and recommendations made 
in this report.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................I
ACRONYMS................................................................................................................................III
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...............................................................................................................IV
EVALUATION PURPOSE AND QUESTIONS .................................................................................9
EVALUATION PURPOSE ..........................................................................................................................................9
EVALUATION APPROACH ......................................................................................................................................9
EVALUATION QUESTIONS ...................................................................................................................................10
BALADI-RMF BACKGROUND .................................................................................................11
BALADI-RMF PROGRAM OVERVIEW AND APPROACH .................................................................................11
THE LEBANESE CONTEXT POST-OCTOBER 2019 ...........................................................................................11
PRIOR EVALUATION OF BALADI-RMF.............................................................................................................13
EVALUATION METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................14
EVALUATION FINDINGS...........................................................................................................15
RELEVANCE............................................................................................................................................................15
EFFECTIVENESS.......................................................................................................................................................18
ADAPTABILITY .......................................................................................................................................................23
LESSONS LEARNED................................................................................................................................................29
EVALUATION CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................30
RELEVANCE............................................................................................................................................................30
EFFECTIVENESS.......................................................................................................................................................31
ADAPTABILITY .......................................................................................................................................................32
EVALUATION RECOMMENDATIONS.........................................................................................33
ANNEXES..................................................................................................................................39
ANNEX 1: SCOPE OF WORK...............................................................................................................................40
ANNEX 2: EVALUATION METHODS AND LIMITATIONS ..................................................................................41
ANNEX 3: CONSENT FORMS FOR KIIS AND FGDS .........................................................................................48
ANNEX 4: TIMELINE OF RMF IMPLEMENTATION IN LIGHT OF CONTEXTUAL CHALLENGES.....................55
ANNEX 5: EVALUATION DESIGN MATRIX ........................................................................................................56
ANNEX 6: SAMPLING............................................................................................................................................59
ANNEX 7: ADAPTATION TO CHANGING PRIORITIES IN SOUTH SPD.........................................................62
ANNEX 8: KII TOOLS FOR BALADI-RMF STAFF.............................................................................................63
ANNEX 9: KII TOOLS FOR RFMA SUB-AWARDEES.........................................................................................65
ANNEX 10: KII QUESTIONS FOR USAID/LEBANON STAFF............................................................................67
ANNEX 11: FGD TOOLS.....................................................................................................................................69
ANNEX 12: OBSERVATION VISIT FORM.............................................................................................................70
ANNEX 13: DOCUMENTARY SOURCES .............................................................................................................71
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FINAL REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2022
ANNEX 14: DISCLOSURE OF ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST .........................................................................72
ANNEX 15: EVALUATION TEAM.........................................................................................................................73
ANNEX 16: CHALLENGES AND ADAPTATION BY SECTOR.............................................................................75
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FINAL REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2022
ACRONYMS
A&E Architecture and Engineering
AOR Agreement Officer’s Representative
BALADI Building Alliance for Local Advancement, Development, and Investment
BALADI CAP BALADI Capacity Development Program
CA Cooperative Agreement
CDCS Country Development Cooperative Strategy
CDR Council for Development and Reconstruction
CPC Community Project Committee
COR Contracting Officer’s Representative
CSO Civil Society Organization
DAIS Data Analysis and Interpretation Session
DEC Development Experience Clearinghouse
DO Development Objective
DUNS Data Universal Numbering System
ERAC Environmental Review and Assessment Checklist
ET Evaluation Team
FGD Focus Group Discussion
IMF Independent Municipal Fund
IP Implementing Partner
IR Intermediate Result
IRB Institutional Review Board
KII Key Informant Interview
LCS Lebanon Council for the South
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
MEPL Monitoring Evaluation Program for Lebanon
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
PII Personally Identifiable Information
PPP Public-Private Partnership
RFMA Request for Municipal Assistance
RMF René Moawad Foundation
SI Social Impact
SMEs Small and Medium Enterprises
SOPs Standard Operating Procedures
SOW Scope of Work
SPD Supplemental Program Description
UEI Unique Entity Identifier
USAID United States Agency for International Development
WSC Water Sanitation and Conservation
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EVALUATION PURPOSE 
This Endline Performance Evaluation of the United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID)’s Building Alliance for Local Advancement, Development, and Investment (BALADI) 
Activity, implemented by René Moawad Foundation (RMF), builds on an Interim Performance 
Evaluation conducted in July 2020 to assess the work performed by BALADI-RMF between 2012 and 
2020.
1 The Endline Performance Evaluation, which was conducted by USAID’s Monitoring and 
Evaluation Program for Lebanon (MEPL), aims at assessing whether or not BALAD-RMF’s activities 
continued to maintain relevance and effectiveness while adapting to Lebanon’s multiple economic 
and political crises since 2020. The evaluation draws conclusions, articulates lessons learned, and 
provides a set of recommendations to help inform future USAID programming in Lebanon.
BALADI-RMF BACKGROUND
The BALADI-RMF Activity (2012-2022) has come to a close after ten years of project work worth 
$28,978,088.
2 It was implemented within a turbulent social, political, and economic environment 
fraught with challenges. Throughout its lifetime, BALADI-RMF went through 16 different contract 
modifications that amended/expanded its scope of work and extended its end date to September 
2022. The Activity, which is one of USAID’s longest-running projects in the country (lasting ten 
years), was able to adapt to and address current challenges thanks to several factors, particularly the 
large in-kind contributions it received from local governments. 
BALADI-RMF’s Request for Municipal Application (RFMA) work modality underwent a major 
transformation in 2018 after the introduction of the Supplemental Program Description (SPD)
modality. Combined, the RFMA and the SPD modalities supported the implementation of 80 
interventions across 116 municipalities throughout Lebanon (except Beirut) with an estimated
municipal Activities budget of $12,124,262.06 and a target of 348,962 beneficiaries.
3
It is worth noting that BALADI-RMF’s activities have continued to respond and adapt to a 
development-humanitarian nexus amidst an unprecedented economic crisis in the country. They also 
involved a wide array of development and crisis responses, including construction, renovation, 
equipment installation, and service provision (to help provide access to basic services, such as 
electricity and water). The SPD modality was introduced to expand BALADI-RMF’s coverage by 
targeting municipalities in critical situations and assisting them in building their public service delivery 
and enhancing their capacities, all while responding to urgent community needs. 
EVALUATION QUESTIONS, DESIGN, METHODS, AND LIMITATIONS
The questions selected for this Endline Performance Evaluation examine the extent to which 
BALADI-RMF’s activities responded to urgent community needs, in line with the Activity’s 
objectives. They look at how BALADI-RMF continued to remain relevant to the needs of 
communities and true to its original aim and intermediate results. The evaluation questions also
assess the extent of effective implementation and explore the means utilized by RMF and its partners 
to achieve BALADI’s intended objectives. They include questions related to factors that have 
contributed to or hindered the achievement of outcomes. The evaluation also asks whether 
BALADI-RMF was capable of adapting its activities to deal with the multiple challenges caused by 
Lebanon’s economic and political crises, since 2020 up to its close-out in September 2022.
1 BALADI-RFM Interim Performance Evaluation, 2020. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00X974.pdf 
2 AID-268-A-12-00004 Modification No. 15.
3 BALADI-RMF’s Fiscal Year 10 - Quarter 3, Progress Report, April 1st, 2022 – June 30th , 2022. P. 3.
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This evaluation utilizes a multi-method approach to reach evidence-based findings, draw conclusions, 
and identify lessons learned (Annex 2) based on primary and secondary data collected from various 
sources. The evaluation team collected primary qualitative data over a period of 15 days through 30
key informant interviews (KIIs), five focus group discussions (FGDs) (37 men, 16 women), and 10 
site visits. A list of the sampled municipalities and their location is available in Annex 6 KII and FGD 
respondents included USAID/Lebanon and RMF staff and BALADI awardees and beneficiaries. The 
sampling approach adopted by the evaluation team ensures a representative selection of projects.
The evaluation team also analyzed secondary data collected from various BALADI-RMF documents, 
including memoranda of understanding (MOUs), quarterly progress reports, the Interim 
Performance Evaluation conducted in 2020, and various project performance documents (Annex 13).
The evaluation’s main limitation was the fact that many of BALADI-RMF’s projects were still under 
construction or awaiting licensing and not yet operational, which constrained some of the findings 
and made others contextual or anticipatory. 
EVALUATION FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
RELEVANCE
Municipalities’ capacities to deliver public services were built: BALADI-RMF provided 
municipalities with vital equipment and facilities, allowing them to deliver services to their 
communities, which in turn facilitated the preservation of local livelihoods. The timing of BALADI￾RMF’s projects was decisive, as they provided municipalities the needed resources to substitute for 
failing government utility services, such as electricity and water. BALADI also helped build 
municipalities’ capacity to manage, operate, and sustain these projects to ensure the reliability and 
continuity of service delivery. The involvement of municipalities in project implementation gave them
valuable experience in project development, especially when working in difficult environments.
A participatory decentralized governance model was introduced and enhanced:
BALADI-RMF’s SPD modality introduced a decentralized decision-making process at the municipal 
level and strengthened communities’ participation in determining local priorities. BALADI-RMF’s
participatory orientation activities served marginalized communities and reduced their reliance on 
the central state in favor of greater decentralization of service provision. Projects are now owned, 
supported, and maintained by local communities.
Innovative public administration practices were adopted, and local development was
sustained: BALADI-RMF supported private, civil society, and local community groups and 
empowered them to engage in partnerships for the administrative development, management, and 
sustainability of the projects. These innovative public administration practices were found to play a 
pivotal role in establishing a complementary partnership that expanded service provision beyond 
municipalities’ capacities and limited human resources.
Participation by women, youth, and vulnerable groups was ensured, but traditional 
perceptions of gender roles prevailed: BALADI-RMF designed projects that accommodate 
persons with disabilities and established project-management committees that are inclusive of 
women and youths. In various municipalities where BALADI-RMF invested resources, the presence
of women remained marginal, and traditional community leaders’ perceptions of gender roles 
prevailed. Due to the constant need to respond to emergency situations, RMF did not invest enough 
effort in this area. They also did not act on previous evaluation recommendations that suggested
recruiting a specialist dedicated to developing gender-analysis plans for all projects. 
Some community members said the localization of resources by contractors was 
insufficient. Although BALADI RMF procured Lebanese contracting companies, in line with the 
cooperative agreement’s procedures, these contractors did not hire local community members, as 
they already had their own workforce. As such, the localization of labor was limited in the 
geographic area of the intervention.
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EFFECTIVENESS
Communities’ most urgent needs were met, and municipalities’ capacities were built: 
Despite the multiple crises, BALADI-RMF continued to implement public-service projects by 
focusing on communities’ most urgent needs. Lebanon’s difficult situation did not affect the Activity’s
purposes, intermediate results (IRs), or major performance indicators. Different factors enabled 
BALADI-RMF to remain aligned with its initial purposes and adapt its response to contextual changes 
and emerging needs, thus achieving its desired results and outcomes. These factors include BALADI￾RMF’s design approach, which contributed to making the desired change at the municipal level, and 
its constant and close coordination with USAID.
An on-the-job training approach, rather than a curriculum-based approach, was used to 
build the capacities of municipal officials: Instead of using a systematic approach based on 
standardized training modules to further build the capacity of municipal staff—through other USAID 
Activities specialized in capacity building, such as BALADI Capacity Building Program (CAP)—
BALADI-RMF relied on on-the-job short term technical assistance. As a result, these staff only 
acquired knowledge relevant to the construction, management, and operation of their respective 
projects. Their skills would have been more comprehensively built had RMF linked more 
municipalities to BALADI CAP. 
Citizens’ trust in municipalities grew: Citizens experienced the positive results of BALADI￾RMF’s projects (such as the decrease in their energy bills) and saw that their municipalities were
fulfilling their promises of providing them with basic services in times of crisis, which made them 
trust them more. Increase in trust as part of building the social capital was more evident under this 
evaluation than in the previous one. 
Positive factors minimized the impact of negative ones: Facilitative factors outweighed the 
inhibiting factors linked to Lebanon’s crises, which led to a successful implementation, adaptation, 
and closure of BALADI-RMF projects. Positive factors like the continuous presence and follow-up of 
the RMF team with municipalities and the proactive guidance they received from USAID contributed 
to the achievement of goals. But while negative factors related to the crises did not inhibit project 
implementation, they did delay it in many instances and made cost-sharing more difficult after 2021. 
Municipalities’ awareness of the importance of public partnerships with local partners in 
community projects was raised: BALADI-RMF collaborated with civil-society organizations
(CSOs) and private-sector companies, especially in projects not related to public service delivery,
and encouraged municipalities to seek support from the community when developing project 
proposals. Engaging the private sector proved to be effective and efficient, as it provided a longer 
sustainability for the projects. Private companies were also a good alternative to municipalities when 
it came to managing and operating the projects.
ADAPTABILITY
Remote work and on-site work facilitations helped overcome transportation difficulties
and COVID lockdowns: Following the lockdowns in March 2020, BALADI-RMF’s management 
team resorted to remote work using online communication platforms, which allowed them to 
maintain links with contractors, municipalities, and field officers. Special arrangements were made to 
fuel essential car-pooled transportation, and contractors were instructed to establish on-site 
construction facilities to avoid transportation interruptions.
Flexible budget revisions and the use of different billing rates helped respond to 
fluctuating exchange rates: BALADI-RMF’s budgeting included a “cushion fund” line-item to 
cover unanticipated costs. It was possible to reallocate this fund, as the municipal cost-share was no 
longer available. To keep pace with the fast-changing exchange rate and increasing banking 
constraints, BALADI-RMF dispatched cash flow while adopting multiple billing approaches, such as 
cash order and invoicing using different currency values to the dollar. These multiple approaches to 
funding, alongside maintaining accurate book-keeping, were instrumental to completing the work 
despite the raging crisis. 
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Project designs were adjusted when priorities changed: The BALADI-RMF team was able to 
accommodate awardee requests for contractual changes in light of shifting priorities, for example, to 
reallocate funds between projects and revise deliverables whenever required. 
EVALUATION RECOMMENDATIONS
EXPAND MUNICIPAL CAPACITIES TO SUBSTITUTE FOR FAILING STATE SERVICES
Recommendation 1.1: RMF is encouraged to do partnerships with clusters of municipalities
instead of individual municipalities, as clustering can help build the capacities of less-capable 
municipalities. In addition, working with clusters of municipalities helps mitigate the risk of municipal 
dissolution and counters the bias of excluding less-capable applicants. 
USAID/Lebanon can build on BALADI-RMF’s experience to strengthen the development and 
emergency nexus in response to growing instability and declining state services. Considering the 
rising needs of communities in various areas of service provision, an effective and efficient 
implementation will require expanding the Activity scope to engage multiple sector-specialized 
implementing partners (IPs).
Recommendation I.2: RMF should build on its reputation of neutrality and the credibility it has at 
the local level to enlarge partnerships and attract support for follow-up and project-development 
activities, particularly in the South and the Bekaa. Mainstreaming BALADI-RMF’s participatory 
decision-making approach to other award-selection procedures can further enhance public support 
in the prioritization of local agendas. 
USAID/Lebanon is encouraged to explore a variety of partnership modalities that can strengthen 
private-sector and local-ownership roles in municipal administration. This is particularly needed since 
most municipalities lack the resources and the know-how to deliver services that are no longer 
provided by state institutions or the private sector. New partnership modalities, like the ones 
adopted by BALADI-RMF, can optimize municipal in-kind resources and help to deliver urgent 
services to local communities. BALDI-RMF's SPD-Arsal, for instance, demonstrates an important 
modality in public-private partnership (PPP), where the municipality provides property and facilities 
while USAID funds equipment and private-sector processes and markets local agricultural products.
Neither partner would have been able to achieve such a local-development initiative on their own.
ENSURE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN AND YOUTH 
Recommendation 1.3: RMF should place more focus on gender and youth inclusion in all phases
of project implementation, across all sectors, and explore ways to avoid submitting to traditional 
gender-biased justifications when responding to crisis situations. For that purpose, it is proposed 
that RMF, as previously recommended by the 2020 interim evaluation, include a gender specialist to 
develop a gender-analysis plan that spans the whole project life-cycle, including in crisis contexts.
LOCALIZE WORKFORCE AND RESOURCES
Recommendation 1.4: RMF future competitive procurement procedures may want to take into 
consideration contractual preferences for the localization of project resources whenever possible, 
including those pertaining to supplies and equipment, while considering the employment of members 
of targeted communities. Such efforts will ensure that awards are locally consumed, to the extent 
possible, and that contractors consider procuring local resources and hiring local community 
members when implementing projects. Giving priority to selecting local contractors may also 
contribute to localization. Such localization can distribute award benefits in a way that supports the 
local market and youth employment, and skill-building.
SYSTEMIZE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT
Recommendation 2.1: To build the capacity of municipal staff engaged in proposed projects, 
USAID is encouraged to offer systematic training in subjects like project design, procurement, 
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management, and implementation, rather than relying on the implementing partner to provide on￾the-job training only. This can be achieved by linking more municipalities to USAID activities 
specialized in capacity building, such as BALADI CAP. On a related note, RMF should ensure and 
verify that operation and maintenance manuals are distributed to all beneficiaries, and that they are 
accessible and provide sufficient guidance for all audiences.
USAID/Lebanon should integrate a capacity-building component and an infrastructure component in 
Activity design to ensure a systematic approach of knowledge transfer and to guarantee the viability 
of the Activity beyond its life cycle.
IMPROVE RAPID RESPONSE IN PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
Recommendation 3.1: RMF is advised to maintain existing practices that lead to effective and 
responsive project execution and to mainstream the lessons learned in crisis management across all 
its future work. USAID can foster and strengthen prospective partnerships and provide guidance on 
the best practices in crisis management and local service provision. It would be very helpful for 
USAID to facilitate learning events or provide learning materials to disseminate these best practices. 
The learning generated can then be used in training and orientation workshops that target 
implementers working in turbulent regions.
It is also suggested that USAID/Lebanon utilize the lessons learned and the best practices in crisis 
mitigation attained through BALADI-RMF to orient other IPs. Special emphasis can be given to 
insights gained from the experiences of forging multi-stakeholder partnerships to achieve 
sustainability in project operation. The latter practice has demonstrated efficiency and effectiveness 
in the mobilization of resources as well as in providing the community with essential services that 
are no longer offered by state institutions or the private sector.
Recommendation 3.2: RMF should consider worst-case scenarios in its contingency planning, 
including the potential complete paralysis of public institutions. They should take possible challenges
into account, including the increasing difficulty to obtain permits and approvals for projects. 
Additional digitalization of the internal approval procedure and ensuring fast response to
architecture and engineering (A&E) review and requests would help in that area.
SUSTAIN PARTNERSHIPS
Recommendation 3.3: RMF should capitalize on its local presence and national network and 
maintain communications with municipalities, informing them about different funding opportunities 
and potential collaborations. RMF may consider the establishment of a hub (called “Hub for 
Municipal Development” for example) where news and opportunities are exchanged, and occasional 
meetings are held to share views and make proposals regarding supporting local development. 
USAID/Lebanon can complement such an initiative by occasionally participating with RMF in mini￾conferences that address municipal development in times of emergency and respond to suggestions 
and local views. This can help build on BALADI-RMF’s experiences and transmittable effects.
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EVALUATION PURPOSE AND QUESTIONS
EVALUATION PURPOSE
This Endline Performance Evaluation of the United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID)’s Building Alliance for Local Advancement, Development, and Investment (BALADI) 
Activity, implemented by René Moawad Foundation (RMF), was conducted by the Monitoring and 
Evaluation Program for Lebanon (MEPL). 
It builds on BALADI RMF’s Interim Performance Evaluation conducted in July 2020 and aims to
inform the Mission about BALADI-RMF’s performance and achievements since that time, its ability to 
adapt to Lebanon’s changing context, its relevance, and the lessons learned it generated to be used 
for future programming. 
The evaluation looks at the extent to which the BALADI RMF Activity achieved its stated outputs, 
outcomes, and objectives. For example, it discusses BALADI RMF’s role in improving local 
governance (of municipalities) and public-service delivery and establishing sustainable local social 
capital despite the several contextual factors that might have affected its implementation and 
adaptability negatively, especially the economic and political crises and the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Endline Performance Evaluation pays special attention to how BALADI-RMF adapted to 
changing circumstances and accomplished the objectives of its Request for Municipal Assistance 
(RFMA) and Supplemental Program Description (SPD) work as of 2020.4 By documenting BALADI￾RMF’s continuous relevance, implementation successes and challenges, and lessons learned over the 
past two years, the evaluation informs future programming for both USAID/Lebanon and RMF. In 
addition, it is intended to contribute to the Mission’s commitment to continuously adapting and 
learning under challenging circumstances. This evaluation also addresses the inclusion of women, 
youth, and marginalized groups as crosscutting elements in BALADI-RMF activities. 
EVALUATION APPROACH
MEPL’s evaluation team (ET) developed the evaluation approach through consultation with 
USAID/Lebanon, which culminated in the design described in this report. During the opening 
coordination meeting, stakeholders provided feedback on the scope and questions of interest and 
discussed with the ET qualitative and quantitative data collection. Following this meeting, the ET 
developed the evaluation’ scope of work (SOW) in collaboration with USAID/Lebanon (Annex 1).
MEPL first produced an Inception Report after reviewing a set of documents relevant to the BALADI 
RMF Activity, including its 2020 Interim Performance Evaluation, quarterly progress reports, 
cooperative agreement (CA) modifications, and other relevant documents. The ET slightly modified 
the main evaluation questions and proposed sub-questions to further guide data collection, analysis, 
and reporting. USAID/Lebanon reviewed and approved the evaluation design before the ET 
commenced actual fieldwork. 
The team piloted all data-collection tools prior to actual data collection. They used a multi-method 
approach to data collection based on key informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions
(FGDs), and site observation visits to a number of stakeholders and beneficiaries. After completing 
data collection, the ET coded and analyzed the data before extracting a set of main findings that they 
then verified through workshops with USAID/Lebanon and RMF stakeholders. The team later 
articulated a set of conclusions and lessons learned.
4 More information on SPD is found in the Background section
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EVALUATION QUESTIONS
This Endline Performance Evaluation has two overarching objectives aimed at assessing the relevance 
and effectiveness of the BALADI RMF Activity. To attain these objectives, the ET committed to 
answering the main questions and sub-questions presented below.
Relevance
1. Main question: To what extent has BALADI RMF continued to be relevant to community 
needs post-July 2020?
Sub-questions:
1.1. To what extent were the awarded municipal projects capable of answering and/or 
addressing the relevant needs of the supported communities?
1.2. Did women, youth, and vulnerable groups actively participate in the identification, 
design, and implementation of local development activities?
Effectiveness
2. Main question: To what extent has BALADI RMF continued to achieve its activity goal and 
objectives, and what factors have contributed to or hindered the achievement of these 
objectives?
Sub-questions:
2.1. What are BALADI RMF’s major outcomes and achievements post-July 2020, and 
to what extent were these outcomes aligned with the stated activity purposes?
2.2. What are the main factors that influenced positively or negatively BALADI RMF’s 
ability to achieve these purposes, and to what extent did they impact achievements?
2.3. To what extent was BALADI RMF capable of increasing collaboration between 
sub-national public entities, CSOs, and the private sector to implement the awarded 
projects and deliver services?
2.4. How successful was BALADI RMF in ensuring gender mainstreaming across its 
interventions?
2.5. Which BALADI RMF activities remain operational beyond the life of the activity?5
Adaptability
3. Main question: To what extent and how well has BALADI RMF adapted in response to 
evolving circumstances?
Sub questions: 
3.1. How has BALADI RMF adapted to the changing context as of July 2020? 
3.2. What are the main factors that influenced positively or negatively BALADI RMF’s 
ability to adapt?
5 During data collection, the majority of the projects implemented after July 2020 were either not completed
yet or completed just 2-3 months earlier. As a result, the ET decided to skip this question since we could not 
determine which projects would remain sustainable and operational beyond the life of BALADI-RMF.
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Successes and Lessons Learned
4. Main question: What are BALADI RMF’s main successes and lessons learned that can be 
transmitted to other ongoing or future USAID/Lebanon interventions?
Sub-questions:
4.1. What were some of the major successes of BALADI RMF?
4.2. What were the lessons learned from BALADI RMF’s experience?
BALADI-RMF BACKGROUND
BALADI-RMF is a USAID Activity with a goal to provide support so that “Targeted local government 
entities are more responsive to community needs and concerns.” BALADI-RMF aims to reach this 
goal through three intermediate results (IRs). IR1 aims to ensure that the “capacities of local 
government entities in public services provision are enhanced.” Similarly, IR2 attempts to reach a 
stage where “participatory decentralized governance model is enhanced.” Finally, IR3 seeks to have 
“innovative public administration practices adopted for sustained local development.” Throughout its 
lifetime, BALADI-RMF “sought to address cross-cutting themes as well, including: gender and 
women empowerment, youth employment and skills building, and environmental protection and 
eco-tourism prioritized by communities.”
6
BALADI-RMF PROGRAM OVERVIEW AND APPROACH
Originally, USAID awarded the René Moawad Foundation two CAs to implement the BALADI 
Activity.
7 The BALADI CA had an aggregate value of $27 million over a period of five years; from 
September 30, 2012 to September 29, 2017. However, BALADI-RMF was later extended until 
September 2022.
Three initial rounds under the RFMA modality (R1, R2, R3) supported approximately 60 projects 
worth $7,900,000 and covered a variety of municipal sectors.8
Following the violent clashes in Arsal in 2017, where the Lebanese army fought off the Al-Qaeda￾affiliated extremist group Jabhat Al-Nusra, USAID decided to extend its support to the Arsal 
Municipality through new interventions worth around $1,200,000. Labeled SPD-Arsal, these 
interventions complemented previous USAID-funded projects in the area implemented through 
BALADI-RMF’s RMFA R2. This brought the number of interventions in Arsal to 5.
Furthermore, after the challenging political environment in the South prevented BALADI-RMF from
establishing coverage through the RFMA modality, SPD-South was established to support a number
of municipalities in responding to community needs. SPD-South implemented 13 interventions and 
follow up activities for projects under implementation worth some $3,000,000.9
THE LEBANESE CONTEXT POST-OCTOBER 2019
POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL TURBULENCES
Since the launch of the BALADI Program in 2012, Lebanon has experienced a turbulent political and 
economic environment. Starting in 2013, political disputes prevented the election of a president, and 
6 BALADI-RMF’s Fiscal Year 10 - Quarter 3, Progress Report, April 1st, 2022 – June 30th , 2022. P. 3.
7 CA No. AID-268-A-12-00004 and CL—CA No. AID-268-A-12-00005
8 BALADI-RMF’s Fiscal Year 10 - Quarter 3, Progress Report, April 1st, 2022 – June 30th , 2022. Tables 2-6.
9 BALADI-RMF’s Fiscal Year 10 - Quarter 3, Progress Report, April 1st, 2022 – June 30th , 2022. Pp. 6-7.
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the office was left vacant for more than two years. There were also recurring cabinet resignations, 
political paralyses, and deadlocks. Between 2013 and 2021, five different cabinets were formed with 
periodical transitional vacuums under caretaker governments lasting 36 months in total.
10
The conflict in Syria, which started in 2011, forced more than 1.5 million Syrians to seek refuge in 
Lebanon. A protracted situation of displacement exerted immense pressures on local resources, 
shifting local priorities from development towards relief. In 2019, the economic situation in the 
country went down a rapid deterioration path. The gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 
about 25% in 2020 and fell another 10-15% in 2021. Lebanon defaulted on its sovereign debt in 
March 2020, and between 2019 and 2021 its currency lost almost 90% of its value. Efforts by the 
government to reduce public debt by printing currency led to hyperinflation, which cost most of the 
Lebanese their bank savings and reduced their salaries and pensions to around 10% of their 2019 
value. Human suffering became widespread in the country, as unemployment rose to 40%. More 
than half of the population now lives below the poverty line, and malnutrition is spreading, especially 
among children and refugees.11
The economic crisis that stormed Lebanon is not just severe but virtually uniquely so in several 
regards. Lebanon imports some 80% of its basic goods, including foodstuffs, but it no longer has 
sufficient hard currency to pay for them. The country’s high dependence on imports is largely a 
result of the Lebanese version of the “Dutch Disease:” Over a period of almost two decades, an 
over-valued currency undermined most productive sectors in favor of a dependent, rentier economy 
reliant upon constant infusions of foreign capital. However, from 2011 onward, even this rentier 
economy stagnated. The Lebanese are left with little to rely on by way of domestic economic 
foundations and have few export opportunities to exploit.
All this happened and continues to happen in a context where gender inequalities are pre-dominant 
and pre-existent. According to the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap report published in 2022, 
Lebanon has one of the highest overall gender gaps in the world, ranking 119 out of 146 countries.12
Speaking of economy and livelihood, the ratio of employed to unemployed is only one in four in 
women, compared to three in four in men. Within the refugee community in Lebanon, women are 
the most food-insecure, and many experience increased vulnerability as the heads of households.
Despite making progress in reducing gender gaps over the past two years, in appointing several 
women ministers in cabinet and increasing female education enrollments, widening economic and 
political gaps continue.13 At the municipal level, only 663 women were elected out of 12,139
councilmembers.14 Only 10 (or 1%) of the 1,029 municipalities were headed by women.15
Lebanon confirmed its first COVID-19 case on February 21, 2020. The emergency measures 
adopted shortly thereafter exacerbated the preexisting economic catastrophe. The lockdown 
imposed in March 2020 brought economic activity to a near-complete halt, with further job 
suspension job and income losses. More businesses failed, and poverty spread, fueled by rising 
unemployment, lower real wages, and the loss of savings due to the collapse of the local currency. 
Bread, medicine, and meat were all in short supply. Moreover, the government was no longer able 
10 Salamey, I. 2021. The Government and Politics of Lebanon. New York: Peter Lang.
11 Lebanon Political Economy Assessment 2021. USAID.
12 Global Gender Gap Report 2022 | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
13 ibid.
14 Women in Municipal Elections 2016 - Key Results.pdf (aceproject.org)
 their to according municipalities Lebanese and) media.ahwal (لماذا رئيس وليس رئيسة بلدية ؟ - أحوال ميديا 15
municipal councils size (may 2016) | Drupal (libandata.org)
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to finance its own electric company thus plunging the country in prolonged blackouts. The 
emigration of skilled youth also accelerated at an unprecedented rate.
16
LOCAL DEVELOPMENT, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AND CSOS
The economic crisis had a direct toll on the private sector as well. The collapse of the banking and 
credit system put many private companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) out of business, 
leading to unemployment in excess of 40% (2020). For SMEs, which represent 90% of businesses and 
employ 50% of the country’s labor force, the economic meltdown resulted in inventory losses and 
diminished personal equity by more than 80%.17
Civil society organizations (CSOs), on the other hand, have attempted to adapt to the new 
circumstances in various ways. Some increased their readiness and capacities to respond to 
emergencies, thus providing critical assistance and support to the victims of the Beirut port 
explosion, while others turned to support the immediate needs of the increasing number of citizens 
thrown into poverty.
As a consequence of the crises and the events described above, local development in Lebanon was 
affected at various levels, most critically with regards to failing anticipations for greater 
administrative decentralization. Political reforms were curtailed by the recurring economic crises and 
political deadlocks. Currency devaluations and fuel and power shortages devastated municipalities 
and interrupted their development priorities. 
Municipal priorities shifted away from supporting local development, including strengthening local 
economic prosperities through ecotourism and recreational activities, towards responding to urgent 
community needs and providing medicines and urgent health equipment during the covid pandemic 
and economic crisis. The collapse of state services, such as electricity, water, and wastewater
treatment, threatened the livelihood of local communities. In parallel, economic devaluations 
rendered municipal incomes negligible. As a result, the state-run Independent Municipal Fund (IMF)’s
annual financial allocations to municipalities were substantially reduced in value. This affected the 
delivery of basic municipal services, such as garbage collection, and threatened municipalities with 
dissolution. 
Uncertainty has continued to overwhelm municipalities with social, political, and economic burdens,
the latest of which was the postponement of the 2022 municipal elections for a year. It remains 
unclear whether the government will be able to fund and monitor these elections. 
PRIOR EVALUATION OF BALADI-RMF
The 2020 Interim Performance Evaluation of BALADI-RMF reached some important conclusions;
first, that BALADI-RMF had achieved important results that had contributed to meeting its objective 
to support the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), and second, that BALADI￾RMF’s interventions had mostly focused on the relevant needs of supported communities. “This was 
manifested in the support extended to municipalities to help them provide basic electricity, water, 
education, and health services to residents and ensure an enabling environment for economic 
activity,” the report says.18 Nevertheless, the report pointed to mixed outcomes in BALADI-RMF’s
intentions to promote improvement in livelihoods and said that women’s involvement in the 
interventions had been limited. 
16 Lebanon Political Economy Assessment 2021. USAID.
17 Ibid.
18 BALADI-RFM Interim Performance Evaluation, 2020. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00X974.pdf 
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The interim evaluation also found little evidence of new partnerships established between 
municipalities, the private sector, and CSOs through BALADI-RMF sponsorship. Several 
recommendations were raised to USAID proposing (i) the development and implementation of a 
long-term local economic development plan as part of municipal capacity-building efforts, (ii) the 
coordination of the implementation of municipal infrastructure and capacity-building activities, (ii) the 
need to focus on renewable electricity in cooperation with RMF, (iv) an increased collaboration 
between municipalities and civil society, and (v) raising the awareness of municipalities regarding 
public-private partnerships (PPPs).
The evaluation also recommended that RMF develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for
Community Project Committees (CPCs) to encourage women’s roles, identifying local entities as 
implementing partners, and include a gender specialist to develop a gender-analysis plan for the 
whole life of the project.19
Now that the BALADI-RMF is coming to a close, it is important to consider questions about (i) the 
extent to which it continued to be relevant to its original objectives despite emerging economic and 
political challenges, (ii) whether it remained effective in executing its activities, and (iii) whether it 
managed to adapt to difficult environments while maintaining gender and youth inclusion and 
observing environment and quality assurance regulations. 
EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
This evaluation utilizes a multi-method approach. The evaluation team conducted document reviews 
and collected data from semi-structured KIIs, FGDs, and site visits in order to compile and analyze 
information and reach relevant findings. The tools utilized are included in Annex 8-12. 
The team collected primary qualitative data over 15 days by conducting 30 KIIs, five FGDs (with 36
men and 22 women), and ten site visits. A list of the sampled organizations and municipalities along 
with their locations is included in Annex 6. Secondary-data review mostly focused on BALADI-RMF’s 
quarterly progress reports, memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and related modifications, and the 
2020 interim evaluation, in addition to an analysis of the lists of beneficiaries and other documents 
(Annex 13). 
The evaluation team applied purposive sampling to select 18 projects based on findings from 
BALADI-RMF’s progress reports, with the objective of covering all sectors in various locations. For 
the KIIs, the team interviewed USAID staff, RMF staff, heads or members of municipalities, and 
project/site managers, either online or in-person. The team also conducted FGDs with community 
members to learn about their experiences and satisfaction with the services provided by BALADI￾RMF. In addition, the team visited ten BALADI-RMF project sites in nine municipalities. 
The team selected FGD participants based on convenience (in terms of distance and transportation)
and mitigated response biases by clearly explaining to the participants that the data collected will 
remain confidential. The team did not identify any recall bias, as none of the participants had issues 
remembering details about the projects or the services provided. Response bias was mitigated 
during interviews through probing questions to confirm the information shared and by cross￾checking the data with success and challenges sections in the progress reports. The team 
transcribed, coded, and summarized all interviews then held two Data Analysis, Integration, and 
Synthesis (DAIS) sessions to identify emerging themes and patterns and develop finding statements. 
19 Ibid, pp. vi-vii.
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The evaluation team was composed of two local consultants (a team leader and a team member) and 
received support in data collection and analysis from MEPL’s Beirut team and a Data Analysis 
Specialist from EnCompass Home Office.
EVALUATION FINDINGS
This Endline Performance Evaluation aims to assess the relevance, effectiveness, and adaptation of 
the BALADI-RMF Activity since July 2020. To achieve this objective, the ET used a set of evaluation 
questions derived from the Inception Report to generate findings and recommendations.
RELEVANCE
Q1 - TO WHAT EXTENT HAS BALADI-RMF CONTINUED TO BE RELEVANT TO COMMUNITY NEEDS POST JULY 
2020?
Finding 1.1: BALADI-RMF substantially increased its contribution to IR.1 (Capacity of 
municipalities in public service provision is being enhanced) and became even more relevant to 
this IR amid declining government utility services, particularly after July 2020. 
BALADI-RMF’s projects demonstrated ability to remain relevant to the fast-changing local 
community needs amid turbulent political and economic conditions. By providing municipalities with 
vital equipment and facilities, BALADI-RMF helped them to continue to provide services to their 
residents and preserve their livelihoods. BALADI-RMF has, thus, stayed relevant to its strategic 
objective of ensuring that “targeted local government entities are more responsive to community 
needs and concerns.”
20
Post-2020, BALADI-RMF’s project outputs contributed to IR.1 where the “capacities of local 
government entities in public services provision are enhanced.”21 This was clearly evident in the role 
assumed by municipalities as providers to substitute for the collapsing central government utility 
services, such as electricity and water. Installing solar power equipment, for example, helped 
municipalities provide local communities with electricity at a lower cost while keeping water pumps 
operational. Such newly introduced power infrastructure enhanced local governments’ ability to 
respond to emerging community needs and sustain livelihoods.
Finding 1.2: BALADI-RMF advanced its contribution to IR.2 (Participatory decentralized 
governance model is enhanced) by empowering municipalities through participatory decision￾making processes and enhanced decentralized service provision.
Capacity building further paved the way for greater self-reliance and built momentum for increased 
decentralization of service provision. BALADI-RMF discussed its SPD modality, which relied on 
conducting a participatory needs assessment to determine local priorities, with local leaders and 
stakeholders through a consultative process prior to decision-making. According to interviews with
municipalities, the interests of the different gender, religious, and socio-economic groups were 
incorporated in the final deliberation. Hence, BALADI-RMF demonstrated direct contribution to 
IR.2, “participatory decentralized governance model is enhanced.”
22 Prior modalities (RMFA R1, R2, 
20 BALADI-RMF Fiscal Year 10 - Quarter 3, Progress Report, April 1st, 2022 – June 30th, 2022, p. 3.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
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R3) had also institutionalized CPCs as a means to strengthen the participatory decision-making 
process.
The needs assessments, as utilized by SPDs, helped municipalities determine urgent priorities, 
especially given that the localities confronted failing central-state institutions and reduced funds, even 
those of the (IMF) and the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR). The bottom-up and 
participatory approach helped determine communities’ critical needs and priorities, such as solar 
power for lighting, heating, and water pumping (Annex7). Agri-food and agri-business were among 
other priorities identified as critical to support rural communities during the crisis. 
Many BALADI-RMF projects implemented prior to the SPD work proved relevant and capable of
meeting urgent local demands, such as initiatives related to health facilities run by local organizations
(in Alley and Akkar) and supported by the Lebanese diaspora abroad. Overall, these participatory 
projects serving marginalized communities reduced the latter’s reliance on the central state in favor 
of greater decentralization of service provision.
Finding 1.3: BALADI-RMF improved its contribution to IR.3 (Innovative public administration 
practices adopted for sustained local development) through reliance on the private sector and 
CSOs for the administration of newly established projects serving local communities.
In SPD-Arsal, municipal collaboration with the private sector (a firm called Najjar) was crucial for 
sustaining the activity of the agri-food facility. Sustainability of the project was primarily driven by the 
ability of the private sector to explore market opportunities beyond the local space and to manage 
the collection and processing of fruits while procuring the supply from local farmers. 
In SPD-South, Tibnin’s agricultural cooperative was involved in operating and utilizing the BALADI￾installed olive-mill facility and built strong partnerships with municipalities in this regard. Enthusiasm 
was driven by the benefits the project brings forth, namely producing quality olive oil ready for 
commercial sale on a wide national and international scale. The cooperative also benefited from the 
by-products of this process, such as the bio-fertilizing liquid and the olive press cake used for 
heating. In Machha, under RFMA R2, municipal collaboration with a local CSO, led to the 
establishment of a management structure to operate a local bakery, thus achieving the mutual 
interests of both the municipality and the CSO. The former made use of the CSO’s expertise to 
develop a proposal and an operation plan, while the latter made use of the land provided by the 
municipality. While the partnership intends to generate revenue for both entities by simultaneously 
supporting local communities in Tibnin and Akkar, the Mechha project remains obstructed because it 
does not have the government’s approval to operate. In all these projects, there is a potential to 
create local jobs, enhance local capacities, and form innovative PPPs and public-civil society 
partnerships in administrative practices. As such, these projects are contributing to IR.3 by 
supporting “innovative public administration practices adopted for sustained local development.”
23
These innovative public administration practices were found to play a pivotal role in establishing a 
complementary partnership that allowed the private sector, cooperatives, and non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs) to become equal stakeholders in the management and sustainability of the 
projects. Local municipal leaders considered the administrative role as a means to expand services 
beyond the capacities and administrative resources of their municipalities. These approaches became 
of critical relevance post-2020, as they mobilized management resources to run complex operations,
such as food-drying and processing facilities, bakeries, and olive mills, hence advancing rural 
development, expanding services, and increasing public trust in local governments.
23 Ibid.
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Finding 1.4: BALADI-RMF made efforts to include women, youth, and vulnerable groups in both 
the needs assessment and the implementation of projects. However, traditional gender roles 
prevailed.
It can be noted that BALADI-RMF helped change perceptions around gender and contributed to 
rethinking gender roles and promoting the inclusion of marginalized groups, as most of its projects’
requirements emphasized participation and accessibility. For instance, all assisted projects required 
facilities to provide access to persons with disabilities. The ET was able to verify this requirement in 
all the facilities it visited.
However, the participation of women, youth, and vulnerable groups in the identification, design, and 
implementation of projects varied from one municipality to another. Generally speaking, and despite 
efforts by RMF to have a participatory and inclusive process in CPCs, most municipalities continued 
to hold conservative perceptions of gender roles. For instance, when asked about the role of women 
in project design, the majority of municipal leaders typically responded by suggesting that solar, 
water-pumping, and infrastructure construction projects were of no interest to women, whom they
described as more suited for such jobs as Agri-food drying and processing. This was the case in the 
vast majority of projects visited by the ET, where municipality members were mostly older males. 
These perceptions were more moderate in municipalities that had both male and female members 
and/or were led by younger people, as is the case in Kfaryashit for example. it should be noted that
none of the municipalities that this evaluation covered had a woman president, and no prominent 
councilwoman participated in the interviews.
Deeply rooted traditional views of gender roles in local development and the absence of women and 
youth in most municipal councils may have influenced overall anticipations. For instance, interviews 
with BALADI-RMF staff suggested that the emergency context was partly responsible for the
reduced interest in gender inclusion, in addition to the fact that projects were already non-gender 
focused. These factors, coupled with a strained budget, may have contributed to RMF not acting on
the 2020 interim evaluation’s recommendation that they “include a gender specialist to develop a 
gender-analysis plan for the whole life of the project.”24
Considerations for gender inclusion were further weakened by the switch from the RMFA modality
to the SPD one, where CPCs were dropped altogether from the new project-design requirements 
along with the condition that women and youth participate in project management. This made 
irrelevant the 2020 interim evaluation’s recommendation that RMF “develop standard operating 
procedures (SOPs) for CPCs to encourage women’s roles.”25 These factors and assumptions 
undermined the project’s gender inclusivity.
“The activity brings together Muslim and Christian communities in our town and makes them as 
one. It adds to their common interests and serves their harmony as we make a model of religious 
coexistence. This community center will be mostly run by women and serve many women-organized 
activities. It will provide youth with the opportunity to get together and celebrate joyful events.”
— Head of a Municipal Council
24 BALADI-RMF Interim Performance Evaluation Report, July-October 2020, p. vii.
25 Ibid.
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“We only had men on the municipality’s board, and we discussed the needs. The role of women is a 
bit weak in our village. The population is mixed; some like to participate, while others don’t.”
— Head of a Municipal Council
“No, we did not get a gender specialist on board because we didn’t have a budget, plus BALADI 
wasn’t a gender-oriented project.”
— RMF Staff
Finding 1.5: There was no evident leveraging of local resources and community labor by 
BALADI-RMF’s sub-contractors.
According to interviewed municipality heads, BALADI-RMF’s contractors used their own specialized 
and trained staff for the installation of equipment and the construction of facilities and relied on their 
existing resources and suppliers to source materials. They did not employ locals or make use of local 
resources. From observation visits most equipment were foreign made. This has somewhat become 
a typical practice by specialized companies, which abide by liability and specialization requirements
and are concerned about the efficient implementation of projects to meet deadlines and remain 
competitive as required by the bidding process.
EFFECTIVENESS
Q2 - TO WHAT EXTENT HAS BALADI RMF CONTINUED TO ACHIEVE ITS ACTIVITY GOAL AND OBJECTIVES, AND 
WHAT FACTORS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO OR HINDERED THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THESE OBJECTIVES? 
SUB Q 2.1 - WHAT ARE BALADI RMF’S MAJOR OUTCOMES AND ACHIEVEMENTS POST JULY 2020, AND TO WHAT 
EXTENT WERE THESE OUTCOMES ALIGNED WITH THE STATED ACTIVITY PURPOSES?
Finding 2.1.1: BALADI-RMF succeeded in responding to communities’ urgent basic needs and 
was able to moderately build the capacities of municipalities in project design and 
implementation.
MEL Data
The analysis of BALADI-RMF’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan and other related
Activity documents revealed a storyline characterized by expanding the program’s reach to cover
new geographical areas not served previously. At the onset of the project in Q1 FY2012, the MEL 
Plan included 21 indicators (12 output and nine outcome) that worked towards achieving the 
Activity’s strategic objective, purposes, and sub-purposes. However, due to the need to adapt to the
crisis situation in Lebanon post 2019, and with the launch of SPD-South, two outcome and one 
output indicators (2.2 and 4.2) were dropped since the design of the SPD did not have CPCs. 
In terms of target achievement, this evaluation covers the period post July 2020, i.e., the Arsal and 
South SPDs. 
The ET can confirm that all cumulative indicator targets pertaining to BALADI-RMF’s IRs were 
achieved. It is worth noting, however, the team cannot say yet whether the targets for each round 
were achieved or not, as 13 projects are yet to be completed (one project under RFMA R2, under
SPD-Arsal, and ten under SPD-South) and their results have not been reported towards BALADI￾RMF’s indicators yet.
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Responding to Urgent Needs through Public Service Delivery
During the crisis, BALADI-RMF continued to respond to municipalities’ urgent needs to provide
basic services to residents, as revealed by the KIIs. The desk review showed that of the 30 activities 
implemented since July 2020, 21 provided public services (Solar Power (12), Energy Efficiency (5), 
Public Education and Community Facility (2), Water Channel (1), and Back-up Generator (1)). Three 
of these projects were under SPD-South, three under SPD-Arsal, 13 under RFMA R3, and two 
under RFMA R2. 
Solar-power and energy-efficiency projects had an instant impact on the communities where they 
were implemented. One municipality head, whose town benefitted from a hybrid solar-power 
project, said, “We were able to cut the electricity bill of the community generator by 20%.” A
beneficiary who received solar heaters revealed, “Through the solar heaters, I was able to cut my
electricity bill by 80%, and now I always have hot water for my family.” Other types of projects 
addressed basic safety issues. The mayor of a village where water channels were constructed said,
“The main success was reducing road accidents caused by watery roads. Also, water also is no
longer flooding stores, people’s homes, and nearby agricultural land.” 
In addition to basic service delivery, BALADI-RMF's projects in the agro-processing sector led to job 
creation and income generation. For example, a village under SPD-South got a modern olive press 
and a facility for briquetting olive residue, which created two full-time and four part-time jobs and 
improved productivity, thus generating further income. During an FGD, a beneficiary said, “With this 
new olive press, I now get 20% more oil for the same quantity of olives that I used to process.”
Three solar water pumping projects in (Senay, Zefta, and Kharayeb) under SPD-South will be picked 
up and implemented by USAID/Lebanon’s Water Sanitation and Conservation (WSC) Project. RMF 
has completed the design phase and tendering phases for these three projects, but due to time 
constraints and delays related to the proposed subcontractors obtaining Unique Entity Identifier 
numbers and undergoing vetting, the needed procurement will not be possible to complete before 
BALADI concludes at the end of September 2022. So, it was decided, in coordination with USAID,
to transfer these three projects to WSC for implementation. In parallel, RMF is looking into 
providing agricultural equipment to other municipalities based on the assessment of their needs.
“Municipalities were overwhelmed, and many could not cope with the emerging needs. The project 
came at the right time.” 
— RMF Staff
Building the Capacities of Municipalities
The 2020 Interim Performance Evaluation pointed out that BALADI-RMF’s main contribution to 
developing municipal capacities had been “the support in the bidding and project implementation 
phases,” as stated by RMF and USAID/Lebanon officials. 
This was further confirmed by the findings of the present evaluation, with KII respondents from 
municipalities where the RFMA modality was applied confirming that throughout the program, they
had learned how to submit proposals and applications and how to apply appropriate procedures in 
project design and implementation. Of course, the level of learning differed from one municipality to 
another based on the existing know-how skills of the municipal officials. 
A municipality president said, “We improved our vision as a rural municipality to have new projects 
for the village and were not only concerned with building a new wall.” An RMF staff member was 
clearer in explaining his experience with municipalities, saying that municipalities “had this stereotype 
of working on fixing roads and walls. This was the culture of municipalities. But when we introduced 
them to community engagement and townhall meetings, they changed and learned how to prepare 
for projects, due diligence, and creating activities.” 
When asked to explain how BALADI had built the capacities of municipality members, this RMF 
staffer said the latter had been engaged in on-the-job training through the different phases of project 
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implementation. Municipal staff, on the other hand, had different opinions regarding this approach: 
while some appreciated it, others were more reluctant to it and said they needed more information 
and training, as there were different levels of education, experience, and assimilation to help 
understand project design and implementation. One municipality staff member said, “We 
[municipalities] looked for people with a background in economics or social science to help us 
develop the proposal.” Another one pointed out that municipal members with previous relevant
experience or who had a college degree were more likely to be selected as focal points for projects.
Building Trust
Participants in eight of the 17 KIIs conducted with municipal officials confirmed that citizens’ trust in 
their municipalities had increased. This is a notable improvement compared to the findings of the 
2020 evaluation where only one out of the 16 municipal officials interviewed mentioned an increase 
in citizens’ trust. 
When asked about the reason behind this increase in trust, the majority of respondents said it was 
because citizens had witnessed first-hand the concrete results of the implemented projects, such as 
the decrease in electricity bills, the increase in production, the improvement of health services, etc. 
They saw that their municipalities had fulfilled their promises. Moreover, according to several 
municipal officials, having the trust of citizens helps municipalities improve their public image and
attract more projects and funding from donors and the Lebanese diaspora abroad. 
One municipality head whose municipality created a recreational hall for public gatherings said that 
“both Muslim and Christian communities in our village trust the municipality more in its objective to 
provide services for everyone.”
SUB Q 2.2 - WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY BALADI RMF’S ABILITY TO 
ACHIEVE THESE PURPOSES, AND WHAT WAS THE EXTENT OF THEIR IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENTS?
Positive Factors
Finding 2.2.1: The main factors that contributed to BALADI-RMF’s achievements were the RMF 
team’s close follow-up with partners on the ground and USAID/Lebanon’s flexibility and support 
in responding to the Activity’s needs.
Twelve out of 17 municipal officials interviewed (71%) pointed to the professionalism, dedication, 
and availability of the RMF staff, whom they considered as key factors that had enabled the successful 
implementation of BALADI-RMF’s projects. These officials, many of whom had worked with the RMF 
staff in the past, noted that since its establishment in 1991, RMF had built credibility within the 
Lebanese community. They said they highly appreciated the weekly, in-person follow-up of RMF’s
staff on the projects being implemented, from start to finish. One said, “RMF were very precise and 
detailed. They followed up on the maintenance that the municipality was supposed to do and 
checked if there were issues. I really liked working with them and would like to do that again.”
USAID/Lebanon’s staff shared the same appreciation for RMF’s staff and praised them for their ability
to adapt BALADI’s activities and operations to meet the emerging needs resulting from the crisis. 
The RMF staff noted that BALADI’s participatory approach when responding to municipalities’ needs 
had been a decisive factor. “Many municipal members were surprised when we asked them ‘What 
kind of support do you really need?’ No one had ever asked them such a question before,” one RMF 
staffer said. Additionally, BALADI-RMF’s field staff were all residents of the targeted communities
and were thus well aware of their communities’ context and enabling environment; a key factor that 
enabled BALADI-RMF’s successful achievement of its objectives. “Our field coordinators are from 
the area. They guide and support us in the collection of information and follow up closely on 
implementation,” an RMF staff member said.
All of the BALADI-RMF staff interviewed expressed their appreciation of the flexibility and support 
of USAID/Lebanon’s staff in responding to their needs, especially during a time of crisis, and said 
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these factors were key for achieving the program’s objectives. An RMF staff member said, “USAID’s 
involvement has been at the core. They are flexible and supportive, and their role was very 
important in setting direction of the BALADI program to address the needs of the community.” 
Another one highlighted her appreciation for BALADI’s Agreement Officer Representatives 
(AORs): “Both of them, the previous and the current one, followed up very closely on the program. 
We have weekly meetings, where we flag urgent matters and discuss priorities. This helps us stay in 
line with USAID Mission’s strategy.”
Another RMF staff appreciated the overall relation with USAID and its impact on the RMF team as a 
whole: “We [RMF] learned a lot and thanks to USAID. We improved support/auditing/compliance,
and thanks to this, we secured more grants. We now know how to work in a consortium. BALADI 
built the capacity of our teams.”
Negative Factors
Finding 2.2.2: Negative factors predominantly related to Lebanon’s multidimensional crisis 
hindered BALADI-RMF’s implementation.
Municipal KII respondents cited a number of negative factors that delayed project implementation 
and obstructed cost-sharing post 2020. These included the COVID-19 lockdowns, the banking crisis, 
the currency devaluation, the price fluctuation, the hyperinflation, the spike in fuel prices, and the 
lack of fuel. “The whole period of lockdowns negatively affected implementation,” said one municipal 
official. Another one explained they had had to pause project implementation due to “the high 
increase in fuel prices.” 
Municipal officials who were involved in solar-power projects that used a hybrid system with a 
community generator said “the high prices of diesel oil required increasing the generator’s bill. As 
such, beneficiaries had to decrease energy spending, which led us to minimize the use of the 
generator, and we could no longer use the system as a hybrid. We had not predicted at the 
beginning that fuel prices would increase.”
Moreover, lack of cost-sharing by municipalities post 2020 delayed project implementation because 
the municipalities’ budget is in Lebanese lira and lost more than 95% of its value. One municipal 
official said, “We have almost zero budget to initiate projects. Our money is still blocked at the 
Independent Municipal Fund, and we barely are able to pay salaries. Luckily, the diaspora is 
supporting us.”
RMF and USAID/Lebanon staff indicated that the requirements for obtaining the Unique Entity 
Identifier (UEI) as of April 2022 had been one of the major factors delaying implementation. One
USAID staff member said, “Our office has been very active in trying to resolve this matter, and it 
was resolved in June 2022. We were advocating to find a solution.”
Another factor that delayed implementation was USAID’s appointment of a new company (CDM￾Smith) to monitor the architecture and engineering (A&E) work. There was a learning curve for both 
organizations, and improvements were made over time as each side became more familiar with the 
other’s requirements. 
To further investigate the delays in project implementation, the ET looked the original duration 
indicated at the onset of the projects (in the data provided by RMF) and compared it to the actual 
status of the projects in August 2022. The team found that 21 out of 29 projects (62%) had 
witnessed delays. The least delayed project took 214 days to be completed, while the most delayed 
one took 1,746 days. The chart below summarizes the number of projects that faced delays:
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SUB Q 2.3. TO WHAT EXTENT HAS BALADI RMF BEEN ABLE TO INCREASE COLLABORATION BETWEEN SUB-NATIONAL 
PUBLIC ENTITIES, CSOS, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO IMPLEMENT THE AWARDED PROJECTS AND DELIVER SERVICES?
Finding 2.3.1: BALADI-RMF increased municipalities’ awareness of the importance of 
cooperating with local partners to operate the implemented projects.
Civil Society Organizations
The evaluation found six long-term collaborations between BALADI-RMF-supported municipalities 
and CSOs, in four of the 17 municipalities sampled:
• In Bchatfine, the municipality partnered with the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI) 
organization to operate an eco-tourism area. The municipality also partnered with the local 
scouts to monitor the games and recreational activities, and with the Women’s Union to 
provide catering services through women microentrepreneurs. 
• In Aley, the municipality partnered with Al Iman Hospital to manage new medical equipment 
provided to the existing Emergency Room Unit. 
• In Mashha, the municipality partnered with a local CSO to manage the community bakery 
(operation, hygiene, staff training, drivers, maintenance, accounting, etc.) 
• In Aintourin, the municipality agreed with a local church’s committee to make the church’s
reception hall available to host BALADI-related events (meetings, conferences, training).
Public-Private Partnerships
While creating partnerships between municipalities and the private sector is an important 
component of BALADI’s Goal, the ET found that the focus in later interventions had shifted to the 
delivery of essential public services without needing to engage private firms. In SPD-South for 
instance, six out of the 15 projects there were based on collaboration with the private sector. These 
were projects related to rural tourism and agri-business. The rest were basic-service delivery 
projects. “Solar heaters and panels do not need a company to operate them,” as one municipal 
official pointed out. Furthermore, the scope of SPD-South did not include CPCs, which are the 
primary vehicle to promote the inclusion of citizens in both the interventions and the partnerships 
with civil society and the private sector. 
The KIIs showed that the municipalities were aware of the importance of having partners in projects 
that they cannot operate on their own. One municipal official said, “We need others to operate 
implemented projects and generate income from them.” Another municipal official insisted on the 
importance of having partners for sustainability purposes: “Municipalities cannot lead without a 
4
3
13
1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Less than 1 year Between 1 and 2 years Between 2 and 3 years More than 3 years
Figure 1: Number of BALADI-RMF projects that faced delays.
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partner and cannot sustain the project without an operator. We see project sustainability through 
these partnerships.”
In sum, the ET did not find any notable increase in collaboration between sub-national public entities
(municipalities), CSOs, and the private sector to implement the awarded BALADI-RMF projects and 
deliver services, as the design of these projects did not allow such collaboration.
ADAPTABILITY
Q3 - TO WHAT EXTENT AND HOW WELL HAS BALADI-RMF ADAPTED IN RESPONSE TO EVOLVING 
CIRCUMSTANCES?
SUB Q 3.1 - HOW HAS BALADI-RMF ADAPTED TO THE CHANGING CONTEXT AS OF JULY 2020?
BALADI-RMF utilized three major adaptation strategies to navigate Lebanon’s difficult and rapidly￾changing environment: 
Finding 3.1.1: BALADI-RMF resorted to remote work and made on-site working facilitations to 
overcome challenges related to transportation and the COVID lockdowns.
To follow-up on implementation and coordinate with contractors, RMF’s management team 
resorted to a remote-work modality using online communications software, including establishing a 
coordination group on WhatsApp. RMF also appointed a gas station as a supplier for its staff to 
refuel their cars when they needed to go on essential trips. For their part, contractors made efficient 
arrangements for their teams, such as setting up on-site working camps to reduce transportation 
costs. 
“In order to manage these challenges, we worked remotely on [Microsoft] Teams when it was 
feasible and did carpooling as much as we could. The contractors even rented some houses for their 
teams in the area.” 
— RMF Staff
Finding 3.1.2: BALADI-RMF adopted a flexible budget revision and used different billing rates in 
response to the fluctuating currency exchange rates.
BALADI-RMF allocated a “cushion fund” within the municipal activities budget line-item to make up 
for the shortage in municipal cost-share. Following the 2020 crisis, municipal funds, including those 
of the IMF, were substantially reduced due to the currency depreciation and shrinking revenues. 
Municipalities were no longer able to maintain their initial cost-share commitments. BALADI-RMF’s
“cushion fund,” which is typically used in construction components of the supported interventions in
anticipation of emerging challenges, proved critical for financial adaptation and the reallocation of 
budget items in response to Lebanon’s economic crisis. With USAID/Lebanon’s approval, RMF used 
the available intervention funds under the award to cover municipalities’ reduced cost-share 
amounts. 
At the same time, BALADI-RMF’s ability to financially dispatch cash while using multiple billing 
approaches, such as cash order and invoicing at different currency values to the dollar, helped the 
Activity keep pace with the multiple official exchange rates (official rate and SAYRAFA rate). These 
multiple approaches to funding, alongside maintaining accurate book-keeping, were instrumental for 
BALADI-RMF to adapt to the post-2020 crisis context.
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“There is a buffer factored into the BALADI funds for municipal interventions, and RMF requested 
to tap into it. That was really intelligent from RMF (…), like for example if they planned an 
intervention of $50,000, they would have $10,000 set aside for unexpected situations (…). If they 
did not need to use it in two years, they could use it to fund something else. This allowed them to 
adapt to the problems. It is a common practice when you have construction projects.” 
— USAID/Lebanon Staff
Finding 3.1.3: BALADI-RMF adjusted projects’ designs in response to emerging priorities.
Changing project designs was among BALADI-RMF’s strategies to cope with and adapt to emerging 
needs and challenges. At different sites, BALADI-RMF accommodated Municipal requests to change 
the design of the projects being implemented due to emerging circumstances jeopardizing their 
sustainability. For instance, in Safad Al Batekh (SPD-South), the original plan was to construct a 
public garden to be used for tourism and recreational activities. However, due to the economic 
crisis, the project was transformed into a community center used to host social and recreational 
activities while generating revenues to cover its operational costs. In SPD-Arsal, a detailed cost 
assessment showed that the planned construction of an additional classroom annex in the vocational 
school exceeded the anticipated cost. As such, BALADI-RMF worked with the municipality and the 
school to amend the scope of the intervention and responded to other, less costly needs, such as
furnishing the school with equipment essential for administrative and laboratory operations. 
“The project was initially granted to develop a restaurant, but we later decided to change it, as we 
saw that most restaurants in the area were closing due to economic hardship.” 
— Head of Municipal Council
SUB Q 3.2 - WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY BALADI-RMF’S 
ADAPTATION? 
Positive Factors
Finding 3.2.1: Urgent community needs emerged that required municipal interventions to 
substitute for failing state service provision.
Various post-July 2020 factors enhanced BALADI-RMF’s ability to adapt to difficult contexts. Prime 
among them were the growing local stakes in the successful and rapid completion of projects. The 
fact that these projects were inspired by local needs and demands prior to and after the 2020 
economic crisis strengthened municipalities’ interest in completing facility construction and 
equipment installation. Empowering municipalities through solar energy systems for water heating, 
home electricity, street lighting, or water pumping gained urgency following the 2020 crisis. Similarly, 
agriculture and agri-business activities grew in relevance, as local farmers began to search for 
efficient local means to market their produce. As centralized state services declined, reliance on 
local alternatives increased, which was a driver for BALADI to provide more support to 
municipalities to act as a substitute for the state in matters related to service delivery.
Finding 3.2.2: BALADI-RMF retained key management staff in key leadership positions and 
preserved acquired knowledge and experience while relying on a technical expert consultant to 
ensure that appropriate acquisitions and adjustments were made.
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BALADI-RMF’s adaptation at the managerial level was remarkable, with most changes in team 
leadership involving rotation in key posts rather than initiating new recruitment. For instance, when 
the BALADI Program Director or other key managers were re-allocated to other projects, their 
replacements were selected from BALADI-RMF’s administration staff. This prevented interruptions 
in implementation by eliminating the need for lengthy recruitment and orientation processes.
Noteworthy is the case of the BALADI Program Director, who was reassigned to manage the
USAID-funded Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods (PSL) project implemented in partnership with 
RMF. Therefore, background knowledge and management experience in BALADI-RMF appears to 
have been preserved among close teammates. In the KIIs, BALADI-RMF’s current and previous staff
kept referring to the work carried out by their teammates or predecessors in project
implementation. The evaluation team observed significant synergy in staff responses across different 
portfolios in terms of identifying project management progress and challenges.
BALADI-RMF’s effective management team contributed further to adaptation by hiring technical 
experts to review project financial and technical feasibilities and specifications, plan equipment 
installations, and make necessary design adjustments whenever needed. This was among the critical 
aspects that supported the successful procurement and implementation processes, while 
accommodating adaptation whenever changes were required.
Finding 3.2.3: BALADI-RMF’s credibility and impartiality in local affairs and positive experiences, 
particularly in SPD-South, facilitated adaptation and work in new locations.
The SPD modality gave BALADI-RMF the ability to adapt to Lebanon’s challenging political 
environment and extend its geographical coverage, namely into Arsal and the South, to provide
urgent support to the local communities there. BALADI-RMF was able to establish partnerships with 
municipalities. As a result, BALADI projects were well received by local municipalities and even
influenced neighboring ones, which showed interest in benefiting from USAID-sponsored programs
as well. Several municipal leaders informed the evaluation team that several neighboring 
municipalities had contacted them to inquire on how to partner with BALADI-RMF and how to
receive USAID funding.
BALADI-RMF’s ability to successfully adapt implementation and coverage is largely due to 
communities’ trust in RMF’s impartiality in local affairs, as well as in its recognition of the various 
cultural and social sensitivities in its areas of operation. Interviewed beneficiaries repeatedly 
expressed their trust in RMF and their enthusiasm about their partnership with the organization. 
The same applies to contractors, many of whom worked with RMF in the past, before BALADI. 
They expressed their trust in RMF’s integrity and appreciation of its flexibility in extending contract 
durations and commitment to making payments on time. 
USAID/Lebanon’s trust in RMF was reflected in the AO and AOR’s flexibility in extending deadlines 
when projects faced delays or required consultations or special approvals. 
“In the closing event, there were people from Koura, Arsal, Baalbeck, and Aley next to me, and it 
was nice to see that RMF was working for all of Lebanon. RMF does not discriminate against or 
differentiate between villages and municipalities. (…) I liked working with them.” 
— Head of Municipal Council
Finding 3.2.4: The SPD modality adopted participatory and ground-truthing approaches to 
determine or reassess changing local priorities.
The shift from the RFMA modality to the SPD modality in municipal project selection proved timely 
in terms of enhancing BALADI-RMF’s adaptability to crisis conditions. Communities’ participation in 
the needs assessment and ground-truthing to determine priorities for SPDs was instrumental in 
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establishing collective interests, thus building the needed momentum to support projects and 
overcome local challenges as they emerged (Annex 7). RMF was able to reassess projects and decide
on new priorities through close consultation with local stakeholders.
Finding 3.2.5: Municipal in-kind contributions substituted for the declined ability to cost-share 
funds.
As a result of the participation of multiple stakeholders in decision-making and in providing support 
to BALAD-RMF’s projects, it was possible for municipalities to mobilize local in-kind resources 
whenever financial cost-sharing fell short of covering the required expenses. As such, in-kind 
contributions, like local labor, land, and machinery, allowed project implementation to continue 
despite cash shortage. This type of support was provided by almost all municipalities whose projects 
were impacted by the economic crisis and declining revenues.
Finding 3.2.6: Partnerships with cooperatives, the private sector, and CSOs compensated for the 
lack of municipal capacities in service delivery.
BALADI-RMF’s ability to make the best of a crisis situation is evident in the different partnerships it 
made in order to assist projects when municipalities lacked the resources required to operate or 
sustain the facilities. This can be observed in SPD-Arsal where Najjar, a private firm, was called in to 
manage and operate food-drying facilities. Similarly, in the town of Tibnin under SPD-South, a 
municipal partnership with a local agricultural cooperative proved essential for the management of 
the commissioned facilities. In Machha, a local CSO assumed the role of managing and operating 
BALADI’s local bakery project and serving the local population, as the municipality there lacked the 
capacity and the know-how to provide essential bread production and distribution services. In 
Bchetfine, the municipalities teamed up with local women to provide different services to the
recreational and tourism facility implemented by RMF. In addition, the municipality partnered with 
the Lebanese Reforestation Initiative (LRI) NGO as well as with the local scouts in order to manage 
activities around these facilities. Hence, in these projects, municipalities were able to fill their own 
capacity gaps and, at the same time, sustain the projects despite economic difficulties. 
Finding 3.2.7: Unified municipal councils provided the required support for project 
adjustments.
Members and leaders of municipal councils stressed the importance of adopting a unified stand that 
seeks to maintaining support to BALADI-RMF throughout implementation. This became even more 
critical as municipalities faced economic hardships, and internal village politics jeopardized consensus 
and support to projects. This particularly applied to SPD-South, where sensitivities associated with 
U.S.-funded programs required municipal consensus. Thus, unified positions provided the flexibility 
needed for adaptation, such as in deciding in-kind contributions and project revisions, which was not 
influenced by divisions or splits among municipal leaders. Various KIIs attested to the fact that the 
unity of municipal councils was among key aspects of projects successful implementation and 
adaptation to changing circumstances.
Negative Factors
Factors undermining BALADI-RMF’s ability to adapt were mainly the time-consuming procedural 
processes that often kept the team from responding to requests quickly or to make quick 
adjustments, which often resulted in the extension of project implementation periods. Longer
implementation periods meant the projects were at more risk of being affected by the fast-changing 
prices, currency devaluations, and dwindling inventory. In short, given the fact the BALADI-RMF was 
designed as a development rather than a humanitarian or stabilization project, it was sometimes 
unable to ensure a rapid response, which is a critical component to avoid price fluctuation, ensure 
available material, and comply with contracts and bidding agreements.
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The evaluation identified at least six interrelated adaptation challenges:
Finding 3.2.8: Extended time periods to complete procedures mainly associated with vetting, 
procurement, and meeting construction quality-assurance requirements.
When asked about factors that negatively affected adaptation, RMF’s team mentioned the lengthy
vetting procedure and the long time needed to issue an authentication to contractors. They said the 
time to complete these procedures had changed from only a couple of days through the previous 
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) to more than three months through the current UEI26
system. This long waiting period was a result of the new UEI numbering system that was being rolled 
out worldwide, the large number of applications that had to be processed, in addition to the
unfamiliarity of local contractors with the new system and procedures.
Furthermore, the process of procurement involved a multi-step procedure that at best required 
three months to complete, and sometimes double that time, the RMF team said. This included, for 
example, open tender, ensuring bill of quantities (BoQ), compiling and screening technical and 
financial applications, establishing a Single Procurement Document, short-listing applicants, 
conducting expert reviews, establishing a Vender Comparison Matrix, vetting short-listed applicants 
through DUNS/UEI, obtaining USAID eligibility notice, and issuing contracts.
Meeting engineering and construction quality-assurance requirements also required a lot of time. For 
example, the lengthy back-and-forth communication between RMF and USAID’s new A&E
contractor (CDM-Smith) delayed the completion of construction design packages by RMF. Both 
parties kept a close eye on these challenges and addressed them when major delays were observed. 
RMF relied on individual engineering consultants during project design and implementation 
monitoring; thus, correspondence involved multiple lines of communications with CDM-Smith. 
Finding 3.2.9: Lack of pre-approved contractor list and tender qualifications.
Procurement was one of the main components of BALADI-RMF. After all, BALADI-RMF is centered 
around facility construction and equipment installation, which makes contracting qualified sub￾contractors a key determinant of implementation success. Furthermore, an effective procurement 
procedure became more crucial during the crisis, as the speed of contracting became a crucial 
element for project efficiency and the ability to acquire the needed equipment. 
However, the evaluation found that BALADI-RMF’s procurement procedure was lengthy and added 
to the long approval process. For example, the utilization of open tenders instead of issuing requests 
for offers was among the main factors that prolonged the process. Moreover, the lack of a pre￾approved contractor list complicated the procedure more since there needed to be a screening 
process every time a new bidding process began. Requests for multiple quotations and multiple 
approvals for purchases below $1,000 was also a time-consuming procedure. 
Finding 3.2.10: Use of paperwork and lack of an expedited, digitalized approval procedure.
Another factor that prolonged the approval process even more was RMF’s reliance on hardcopies, 
such as using hand-written signatures and various types of paperwork. Physical requirements to 
move paperwork across RMF offices, municipalities, government offices, and contractors for reviews, 
signatures, and stamps was time-consuming, especially as the country faced multiple phases of road 
26 SAM.gov | Duns - Sam UEI
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blocking, the COVID lockdowns, and a fuel crisis. As such, the lack of digitalization especially at the
level of municipalities and related government directorates extended the approval process and 
delayed the implementation overall.
Finding 3.2.11: State institutions’ unresponsiveness and slowness in issuing any required 
licensing for municipalities (e.g., construction, land use, etc.) for some of the BALADI-supported 
income-generation interventions.
Projects that required municipalities to obtain certifications for doing construction work or signing a 
PPP posed particular adaptation challenges to BALADI-RMF. The constant lockdowns, interruptions, 
and government resignations prolonged these processes for municipalities and made it difficult for 
them and their private-sector partners to start operating certain income-generation projects. This
was the case of the Mechha Bakery, for example, which was unable to start operations in the 
absence of a certificate for the local NGO to obtain subsidized flour from the central government
and supply it to bakeries. The bakery tried to pilot an operation using unsubsidized flour to produce 
a variety of baked goods and breads that it thought could be competitive on their own, but the 
project was not lucrative and was discontinued. The bakery has put its operations on hold until the 
NGO obtains the certificate for subsidized flour. 
Hence, delays in obtaining government-issued certificates by local operators and municipalities as a 
result of the country’s context added another layer of administrative complications and resulted in
time extensions that hindered project implementation and challenged BALADI-RMF’s ability to
adapt.
Finding 3.2.12: Declining municipal funds and growing concerns over changes in community 
priorities and the dissolution of some municipalities.
With the worsening economic collapse in the country, mounting stress on municipal resources and 
fast-evolving community priorities were among the main challenges that threatened the ability of 
municipalities to adopt BALADI-RMF’s projects amid a growing state of emergency. Municipal 
members reported that declining funds had been barely sufficient to support communities’ urgent 
priorities, such as garbage collection. Neither the IMF’s contributions nor the municipalities’
revenues (from permit fees for example) were adjusted to the dollarized market rate. Other 
government-supported services provided by entities such as the Lebanon Council for the South 
(LCS) and the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) were also no longer available 
either due to budget constraints. The result was a dramatic decline in the amount and value of
municipal funds and support, which made municipalities incapable of resuming basic service delivery.
Municipalities also became increasingly concerned about their ability to prioritize their constituents’ 
basic and most urgent livelihood needs, such as solid waste management, wastewater treatment, and 
basic utilities. In various regions, municipalities were no longer functional, and internal disputes 
forced several of them to dissolve themselves. Though BALADI-RMF did not witness many such 
severe cases, particularly thanks to the SPD modality which conducts comprehensive pre￾qualification assessments, the ability of municipalities to adapt to the economic crisis remained 
threatened by a growing trend of collapses. 
Only one BALADI-RMF partner municipality (Toula, under RFMA R2) was dissolved, and this was
due to a local political dispute that prevented holding elections.27 Management of the partnership 
(com.annahar (إرجاء االنتخابات البلدية واالختيارية في توال- زغرتا |النهار 27
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was then transferred to the Qaemmaqam (County Executive) who is appointed directly by the 
Ministry of Interior and Municipalities. The various Qaemmaqams in the country appear to have 
taken over a growing number of municipalities that declared bankruptcy due to lack of funds or 
were dissolved as a result of internal disputes. 
“The project started in 2018, before the start of the financial crisis, but today we have some 
restrictions and challenges because our money is still blocked by the Ministry [of Interior and 
Municipalities], as the Independent Municipal Fund is no longer sufficient to cover municipal 
services, particularly garbage collection.” 
— Head of Municipal Council
LESSONS LEARNED
Q4. WHAT ARE BALADI RMF’S MAIN SUCCESSES AND LESSONS LEARNED THAT CAN BE TRANSMITTED TO 
OTHER ONGOING OR FUTURE USAID/LEBANON INTERVENTIONS?
Finding 4.1: Municipal leaders learned that partnership with local implementing partners, such 
as RMF, was central for project success and that USAID sponsorship and support could be well 
received by localities with large American-Lebanese diaspora.
Responses to this question varied according to the respondents’ roles. Municipal leaders said RMF’s
professionalism and responsiveness were critical factors for the successful implementation of 
projects. They highly valued RMF’s local knowledge and considered it as an asset in trust-building 
that other or future projects should rely on. In SPD projects, local leaders found it particularly useful 
to conduct a needs assessment in a participatory way to build local communities’ consensus around 
projects. Some recommended that this participatory approach be replicated as a practice in future 
projects. Others found important lessons attained from the process of project development where 
quality assurances and regulations requirements in A&E informed municipal practice.
Additional suggestions highlighted the importance of assembling municipal leaders from various 
regions and different backgrounds for training and sharing knowledge and experience. In SPD South,
some leaders stressed the importance of the role that USAID-supported projects played in reversing
local communities’ political misconceptions about the United States. In towns with large Lebanese￾American diaspora communities, leaders suggested consolidating local partnerships with the US
rather than with any other country.
“[RMF] brought in the consultant and helped him with the project’s design. I was genuinely happy 
with the team, and I’ve never witnessed such ethical and professional work. They cared about all 
the details in the project. For example, they wanted to know where the waste material would be 
placed and if that would affect the environment. There were also strict rules to abide by, such as 
wearing protective helmets on construction sites.”
— Municipality Leader
Finding 4.2: BALADI-RMF staff highlighted the importance of prioritizing local livelihood projects 
that are not at risk of extended delays in obtaining government certification and have sufficient 
time to get their outcomes documented. The staff also learned that developing a feasibility plan 
ahead of launching tenders was a major factor in determining implementation success. 
Consensus exists amongst RMF and USAID staff that projects that do not necessitate procedural or 
certification approvals from the central government have better prospects for effective 
implementation.
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RFM staff stressed the importance of long-term projects, such as BALADI, allowing sufficient time to 
observe changes, measure outcomes, as well as help stabilize human resources. Given the 
deterioration of state services, projects that focus on the urgent provision of livelihood support and 
critical services, such as solar energy and health, are more suitable for municipal partnerships, while 
other development projects, such as tourism, are more prone to volatile country factors, such as 
security and lockdowns. Employing a technical expert to conduct a project feasibility study prior to 
launching tenders and a periodic revalidation of the feasibility and the theory of change amid a
changing country context is among the recommended best practices to be utilized in future projects.
“Municipalities have proven that despite of everything they can continue to provide services, at 
least basic services, and be there for their communities when other centralized government bodies 
are not there at all.”
— USAID Staff
EVALUATION CONCLUSIONS
RELEVANCE
Conclusion 1.1: BALADI-RMF demonstrated ability to build the service-delivery capacities of 
municipalities and to strengthen the administrative decentralized response to urgent community 
needs, using an innovative and multi-stakeholder partnership approach to project 
management.
This evaluation found that BALADI-RMF remained highly relevant to its objective of responding to 
community needs by building the capacity of municipalities and contributing to establishing a 
participatory and decentralized decision-making process. This was most evident in its partner 
municipalities acquiring extensive knowledge in many aspects of project implementation, including 
safety, health, quality assurance, and environmental compliance. Municipalities also learned how to
effectively communicate and collaborate with contractors, field officers, and operation partners. 
They are now capable of conducting a needs assessment survey, accommodating local priorities, and 
mobilizing public support in decision-making. This helped strengthen public trust in local and 
decentralized governance. 
Moreover, BALADI-RMF introduced innovative administrative partnership practices through its 
collaboration with civil-society and private-sector actors to complement the work of municipalities 
or to compensate for some municipalities’ inability to operate projects that provide services to the 
community. In this sense, municipalities ventured into new service provisions that were identified as 
local community priorities. This partnership increased the relevance of municipalities in providing 
services and running complex operations, such as an olive oil mill, food drying factories, and rural 
tourism venues.
“Personally, I learned a lot about how to implement similar projects in the future. Our municipality 
is now more aware of different standards that projects must comply with, such as environment, 
health, and quality (water, food, materials).” 
— Head of Municipal Council
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Conclusion 1.2: BALADI-RMF contributed to putting a participatory and inclusive municipal 
decision-making process in place. However, most projects remained subject to traditional 
gender perceptions and were unable to deconstruct prevailing attitudes during project
implementation.
CPCs and participatory ground-truthing were among the inclusive approaches adopted by BALADI￾RMF to ensure a gender-inclusive decision-making process in all phases of project design and 
implementation. Commissioned facilities were also required to be accessible to persons with 
disabilities. However, despite sincere efforts by BALADI-RMF’s management, traditional gender roles 
prevailed in different aspects of project implementation. Misconceptions were evident, such as the 
belief that women’s participation is not a priority in non-gender-oriented projects, that emergency
situations makes the participation of women less of a priority, and that construction projects are not 
as accommodating to women as other more softcore projects like food drying or nursing. These 
opinions were more salient in male-dominated municipalities, which constituted the vast majority of 
BALADI-RMF’s partnerships.
EFFECTIVENESS
Conclusion 2.1: The crisis did not result in the modification of or deviation from the initially-set 
outcomes. BALADI-RMF’s initial design contributed to systems and municipal-level change rather 
than to outcomes at the community/resident level. This made it easier to adapt activities to fit 
under the same outcomes.
The multidimensional crisis did not result in any deviation from BALADI-RMF’s initial purposes and 
IRs and did not lead to major changes in its indicators. BALADI-RMF’s activities fall under one 
strategic objective that contributes to systems and municipal-level change rather than to outcomes 
observed at the community level. This made it easier for RMF and USAID/Lebanon to adapt 
BALADI’s activities to the changing context and emerging needs, which led to the achievement of 
the desired results and outcomes. This approach also helped BALADI-RMF to focus more on field 
work implementation and spend less resources (human and financial) and time to work on a new 
M&E strategy. 
While BALADI-RMF was able to build the capacity of municipalities, it did not do so using a 
systematic, academic approach but through simple on-the-job interactions. No proper coaching 
modules were developed for this purpose.
Conclusion 2.2: Adaptive management was a key factor in both USAID/Lebanon’s and RMF’s 
response to the crisis.
The adaptive management approach used by BALADI-RMF under the guidance of USAID was a key 
factor in the way RMF responded to the crisis, which affected the two of main pillars of project 
management—budget and time. Without the quick adaptation, close communication, and daily 
follow-up done by RMF and USAID, these two pillars would have affected the third one—scope—
which would have led to project problems that would have been costly to overcome. More 
precisely, budget constraints due to the devaluation of the Lebanese lira rendered municipalities 
unable to provide on-time cost-sharing. Furthermore, the lockdowns, social unrest, and fuel scarcity 
delayed implementation. BALADI-RMF’s ability to adapt its activities quickly and without changing its 
initial scope kept everything going in the right direction.
Conclusion 2.3: As priorities shifted due to the crisis, citizens highly appreciated the support they 
received from their municipalities in terms of access to urgent basic services. Their trust in their 
municipalities also grew as a result.
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Increasing citizens’ trust in their local governments as part of building the social capital was more 
relevant under this evaluation than it was in the previous one. This is because basic service delivery 
was not a high priority for communities at the time (the focus was more on economic activities), but 
after the onset of the crisis in 2019-2020, people appreciated the fact that their municipalities 
(through BALADI-RMF support) were responding to their urgent basic needs, which in turn
increased their trust in these institutions.
Conclusion 2.4: Facilitative factors outweighed inhibiting factors, which led to a successful 
implementation, adaptation, and closure of BALADI-RMF.
RMF’s team acquired a solid experience since the start of BALADI-RMF in 2012. Additionally, the 
proactive role of BALADI’s AOR at the Mission was very helpful, especially in terms of constantly 
following up on the implemented projects and also in terms of expediting entity vetting and resolving
UEI number complexities, both of which were beyond RMF’s control.
Conclusion 2.5: Engaging the private sector proved effective and efficient, as it helped 
municipalities better manage and operate the implemented projects and ensure their 
sustainability.
The evaluation team did not notice any increase in collaboration between municipalities and the 
private sector to implement the awarded projects during the evaluation period; only a few 
partnerships were envisaged due to the type of the projects or the South SPD’s design.
Municipalities are more aware of the importance of cooperating with civil society and the private 
sector and understand the concept of outsourcing better.
ADAPTABILITY
Conclusion 3.1: RMF’s effective management response and emergency planning during the 
crises ensured BALADI’s adaptability. BALADI-RMF was able to adapt its operations and project 
design to overcome external stressors, such as the economic crisis and the COVID 
lockdowns.
BALADI-RMF was able to make the necessary adjustments to its work to navigate the challenging 
environment and continue the construction of facilities and the delivery and installation of 
equipment. These adjustments included working remotely using online communications software,
setting up on-site camps, procuring an emergency gas station to refuel staff vehicles, and encouraging 
car-pooling. In most cases, BALADI-RMF was able to retain contractors despite delays in processing
payments, as it has an established credibility and a good reputation in the market. 
BALADI-RMF was capable of adjusting to the reduced municipal cost-share by modifying budget line￾items, substituting cushion-funds, and increasing non-cash, in-kind municipal contributions. RMF also 
adopted multiple billing rates in procurement to keep pace with multiple official exchange rates. 
Important as well was the practice of retaining and rotating staff in key leadership positions and 
avoiding hiring new people, a process that requires a lot of time (for selecting the right people and 
providing them with the necessary guidance), which would have risked interrupting key activities. 
Conclusion 3.2: Failing state institutions elevated the role and importance of municipal services 
provided through BALADI-RMF support. RMF also gained legitimacy thanks to its community￾supported agenda and impartial partnerships.
In addition to BALADI-RMF’s effective management response to the crises, the heightened relevancy 
of municipal services in terms of responding to community needs amid failing state institutions 
consolidated local support for project implementation. This was evident in municipalities’ increased
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in-kind contributions and rapid response to required adjustments. Municipal support was 
encouraged by locally-identified priorities under the SPDs and by the councils’ unified stands 
regarding project implementation. RMF’s disassociation from local politics in the different SPDs and 
its experience and knowledge in local development emphasized its neutrality and objectivity and 
boosted its credibility. The outcome was a spreading interest in municipal partnerships with USAID￾funded initiatives. 
Conclusion 3.3: Rigid and time-consuming procedures affected BALADI-RMF’s ability to adapt 
smoothly in emergency situations. Exogenous challenges are related to the dwindling municipal 
funds and the fast-changing priorities. 
BALADI-RMF faced immense challenges since July 2020. While it was able to overcome most 
difficulties, some prevailed and curtailed its quick adaptation. Prime among these challenges was the 
lengthiness of approval processes, which made implementation less flexible and put project costs and 
inventories at risk. Delays happened in almost all implemented projects. Causes strictly related to 
BALADI-RMF include the complicated and lengthy processes it uses during vetting, procurement,
and administrative paperwork. External factors that hindered adaptation included municipalities’ 
declining funds and revenues and the difficulty they faced in obtaining government-issued certificates 
for certain interventions, mainly livelihood ones. The latter factor strained municipal resources and 
put some municipalities at risk of getting completely dissolved as local priorities changed, and 
responses proved inadequate.
EVALUATION RECOMMENDATIONS
Following the onset of the economic crisis in late 2019, Lebanon witnessed dramatic economic and
political collapses that undermined the ability of the central state to continue to deliver basic 
services to the population. The repercussions of this deepening crisis were manifested in massive 
power shortages, as the government was no longer able to purchase fuel to operate its power 
plants. Additional effects were evident at the local level after the dramatic devaluation of the 
Lebanese lira rendered negligible the financial revenues generated by municipalities from local 
services or from the Independent municipal funds, especially when compared to the cost of services 
provided.
Although BALADI-RMF operated under difficult circumstances, including the COVID-19 lockdowns, 
its role only increased in relevancy to local communities. BALADI-RMF was originally designed to 
support local development and decentralization. In the past two years, however, its new SPD 
modality revolved around responding to communities’ urgent needs by helping municipalities 
substitute for the state in delivering basic services, such as electricity. 
BALADI was designed to serve community needs through partnerships with municipalities, and it has 
demonstrated substantial ability to adapt to emerging challenges, hence yielding many lessons 
learned. Based on that, the ET suggests that similar USAID/Lebanon programming in the future be 
built on the wide experience acquired through the implementation of BALADI projects in an 
emergency situation. 
This Endline Performance Evaluation has the following recommendations to make that would benefit 
future USAID programing in Lebanon:
EXPAND MUNICIPAL CAPACITIES TO SUBSTITUTE FOR FAILING STATE SERVICES
Recommendation 1.1:
• RMF: Partner with clusters of municipalities instead of individual ones to allow for building the 
capacities of less-capable municipalities as well.
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• USAID: Build municipal capacities and improve public service delivery by working with various 
specialized implementing partners.   
Mainstreaming gained experiences and scaling up projects are recommended practices for future 
programming. While there are various advantages to partnering with a single municipality, 
particularly the ability to execute projects while dealing with a limited number of decision-makers,
this practice may limit the number of beneficiaries compared to the size of investment and efforts
made. There are also risks associated with the single municipality RFMA approach, especially since it 
places a significant amount of investment in one municipality, and this municipality could face 
economic hardships in the future that could lead to its dissolution. Furthermore, this approach may 
favor strong municipalities and ignore less-capable ones during the selection process, which 
ultimately affects the coverage of interventions. 
While the SPD approach mitigated some of these risks by doing targeted selections, municipalities 
that were capable of committing to cost-sharing, in-kind contributions, and the implementation of 
complex projects were the ones that were awarded the grants. 
Therefore, in future work, RMF is encouraged to partner with clusters of municipalities that 
combine municipalities with varying capacities. This would facilitate the exchange of knowledge and 
distribute the benefits evenly among several municipalities or unions of municipalities. Partnering 
with clusters of municipalities also helps avoid the risks associated with the dissolution of a partner 
municipality and ensure the inclusion of localities that need significant support. While there are much 
more complexities associated with working with cluster of municipalities in an emergency situation, 
the benefits of doing so are manifold.
As state services collapse, USAID/Lebanon programs face the challenge of being able to address 
urgent community needs while retaining and developing the existing human capital and 
infrastructure. Establishing such a nexus in future projects, while building on existing partnerships, is 
strategic. Applying this to the local municipal context is expected to increase in relevance in the next 
five years. USAID has already gained significant experience and learned valuable lessons related to 
effective local interventions. Scaling up BALADI-RMF approach and methodology in any upcoming 
future programs and working with various IPs specialized in essential service delivery (solid waste
management, wastewater treatment, household water, solar energy, health, agribusiness, 
infrastructure, etc.) can improve the effectiveness of project implementation.
Recommendation 1.2: 
• RMF: Mainstream the SPD participatory needs-assessment approach and merge it with the 
RFMA modality whenever required. Strengthen outreach and be as impartial as possible in the 
selection process. 
• USAID: Explore various partnership modalities that would strengthen private-sector and local 
ownership roles in municipal administration.   
Among BALADI-RMF’s strengths was the utilization of the local needs assessment which adopted a 
participatory approach to determining urgent community needs. This type of rapid surveys, along 
with local participatory decision-making processes, need to be emphasized and mainstreamed in 
other award-selection procedures, including RFMAs. The advantages are many, but most 
importantly, such an approach rallies local support and trust in local government decision-making, 
which helps contribute to strengthening decentralization (IR2). RMF’s work in the South and Arsal is 
a case in point. For these reasons, RMF is encouraged to adopt such an approach to maintain and 
build on its existing targeted-selection, local-participation, and ground-truthing practices.
USAID/Lebanon should enhance the practice of involving an impartial organization like RMF in the 
selection of awards in order to ensure local trust and eliminate political interferences in projects. At 
the same time, due to the expanding emergency needs of the different communities in Lebanon in 
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different sectors, it is best to build specialized partnerships as to increase the efficiency and 
effectiveness of project implementation. It is recommended that USAID/Lebanon continue selecting
impartial IPs for its programs, and at the same time, diversify partnerships along specific sectors 
(solar, water, solid waste management, wastewater treatment, agri-food, health, etc.).
ENSURE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN AND YOUTH 
Recommendation 1.3: 
• RMF: Ensure gender and youth inclusion in all project phases, across sectors and avoid 
submitting to traditional gender-biased justifications in crisis situations.   
The ET reiterates the recommendation made in the 2020 interim evaluation that RMF “include a 
gender specialist to develop a gender-analysis plan for the whole life of the project.” This crucial 
measure will enable the Activity to emphasize the centrality of women’s role in all different types of 
projects, in every field of specialization, and under all circumstances, including in emergency
situations. There is no reasonable excuse that explains gender exclusion, especially given the fact 
that Lebanese women are competent and now present in all fields of specialization, including A&E. 
For instance, there is a growing number of women seeking engineering careers in Lebanon where 
nearly half of all college students enrolled in Renewables/energy efficiency programs are women.
28
LOCALIZE WORKFORCE AND RESOURCES
Recommendation 1.4: 
• RMF: Request that contractors prioritize local employment and resources, whenever possible. 
As the bulk of awards is given to the contractors that implement the projects, it is important that 
these funds benefit the local community as well, i.e., where the project is being implemented. As 
such, contracts should include clauses requiring the contractors to hire a certain number of locals
(youth) and utilize a certain amount of local resources. These numbers can be determined after 
consultation with the targeted municipalities. Selecting local sub-contractors can further contribute 
to localization. This localization creates local jobs and benefits local suppliers. Local or national 
manufacturers may also contribute to localization.29
SYSTEMIZE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT
Recommendation 2.1:
• RMF: Design and conduct capacity building based on a systematic approach in project design, 
procurement, management, and implementation for municipal members engaged in the 
proposed projects. Produce written guidelines on the operation and maintenance of the installed 
equipment.
• USAID: Include a capacity-building component in the design of all Activities aimed at responding 
to community needs.
28 Shedding light on female talent in Lebanon’s energy sector, World Bank, April 2019. 
29 USAID/Lebanon has been moving in such a direction through its collaborations with local universities. See 
for instance USAID cooperation with Lebanese American University to support local development in solar 
energy: Harnessing Solar Energy in Lebanon with the Support of USAID | LAU News.
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BALADI-RMF’s focus was to implement the award and provide capacity building to municipalities in 
the bidding and project-implementation phases. However, in reality, BALADI-RMF focused more on 
the design and implementation of the awards, especially in SPD-South, and less on systemizing the 
capacity building of municipalities using an integrated approach. As such, they relied on on-the-job 
training to build the capacity of municipality staff rather than offering them academic training. The 
on-the-job approach can indeed be helpful if the municipal officials in question have previous 
experience in project design and implementation, however, this was often not the case. 
Adopting a more holistic and systematic approach in building the capacities of municipality staff
would ensure a better transfer of knowledge and enable municipalities to design and develop 
projects for their communities on their own in the future. A holistic and systematic capacity-building 
approach does not mean delivering classroom-like training but rather using simple coaching 
techniques where attendees receive key learning concepts, templates, and tools to be used for 
preparing proposals. This approach generates best practices in promoting sustainable solutions for 
community development and ensures the transfer of knowledge within the municipality.
Additionally, the implementing partner should provide detailed and clear operation and maintenance 
(O&M) manuals to all beneficiaries to ensure that the installed equipment is properly used and 
maintained and eliminate the need for a third-party operator after the contract expires. This is 
particularly important when providing equipment for household use. Getting beneficiaries’ feedback 
on the content of these manuals is also important to ensure this literature is updated as to provide 
more useful information and guidance in the future.
USAID/Lebanon is advised to include a capacity-building component in any Activity focusing on 
enhancing community services and assets. This would enable the IP to steer its activities in two
separate directions: implementing the award and building capacities, rather than mixing both and 
prioritizing one over the other due to context changes. In addition, such approach ensures the
viability of the project and the supported entity beyond the Activity’s life and enables partner
municipalities to apply for future funding and develop better community projects.
IMPROVE RAPID RESPONSE IN PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
Recommendation 3.1: Mainstream participatory partnership in crisis-response practices.
• RMF: Maintain existing management practices in the effective and responsive execution of 
projects and mainstream lessons learned while responding to crisis situations.
• USAID: Require IPs to adapt emergency response practices during planning and enlarge 
partnerships with relevant stakeholders.
Now that BALADI-RMF has come to a close, it is recommended that the lessons learned be 
documented by USAID to help maintain and mainstream the good practices acquired in crisis 
response and management. Such documentation can highlight (i) the practices used during the
COVID-19 lockdowns in terms of remote management and communication, (ii) the measures 
adopted to overcome fuel shortages and blocked roads, (iii) the budgeting practices implemented to 
deal with exchange rate fluctuations and liquidity shortages, (iv) the approaches followed to maintain 
credibility while working with partners and contractors experiencing delays and shortages of 
supplies, (v) the strategies devised to substitute for shrinking budgets, (vi) the staff rotations made to 
retain key management and field officers, (vii) the approaches used to reassess and respond to fast￾changing local priorities, and (viii) and the revisions made to accommodate new project designs. 
Holding a learning event or producing learning materials to disseminate these best practices could be 
very helpful. 
It is recommended that USAID/Lebanon make use of BALADI-RMF’s good practices and lessons 
learned while forging new partnerships. USAID may also want to recommend that IPs take into 
consideration some of the practices BALADI-RMF used to anticipate further deterioration of state 
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institutions and financial collapses, including the massive devaluation of the Lebanese lira and
municipal partners’ inability to make substantial contributions.
Additionally, USAID may need to explore emerging community needs as state institutions continue 
to fail, and recovery does not appear to be attainable any time soon. Therefore, some of the 
partnership strategies followed by BALADI-RMF should be further explored and enhanced, including 
partnerships with civil society, the private sector, and the Lebanese diaspora, in order to 
complement and/or operate the essential services which local governments lack the capacity or 
know-how to run.
Recommendation 3.2: Expedite the approval process and expand project stakeholders.
• RMF: Pre-plan in anticipation of any interruptions of state services and complicated state 
licensing and approval processes. Explore ways to expedite approvals based on digitalization, a 
pre-approved contractor list, fast-vetting/procurement procedures, and more responsive quality 
assurance verification.
• USAID: Attempt, to the extent possible, to avoid procedural changes during project 
implementation in emergency situations.
Project implementation may face many risks in the future, prime among them are Lebanon’s
continuous political stalemate and the paralyzed public sector, which is experiencing frequent 
interruptions and shutdowns and might be face total bankruptcy and collapse. Despite prior 
promises of decentralization, public administration has remained fundamentally centralized. Efforts to 
strengthen local governments to deliver services have remained sporadic rather than comprehensive 
and institutional. Local-development projects continue to require central state approvals. 
Therefore, it is highly recommended that project planning by RMF take into consideration all the 
current and potential risks, including the difficulty of obtaining approvals and permits from the 
central government, before and during implementation. It is also important to consider some 
contingency plans where government approvals may be significantly delayed or not obtainable at all. 
As part of the mitigation strategies against potential worsening situations, it is also suggested that 
RMF work with a cluster of local governments, as already mentioned, thus avoiding investments in a 
single entity that risks dissolution or abandoning the project due to changing priorities. 
Since project effectiveness in emergency is time-sensitive, and rapid response determines the ability 
to efficiently deliver intended outcomes, expediting the approval process became a major 
determinant of BALADI-RMF’s success. In anticipation of increasing requests for projects responding 
to emergency, it is highly recommended that RMF revisit its approval procedures and explore ways 
to efficiently manage the process. The ET recommends, as a first step, that RMF digitalize approvals. 
It is also recommended that RMF accommodate faster and flexible procurement procedures, such as 
facilitating a pre-approved list of qualified contractors, considering issuing requests for offers instead 
of open tenders, and establishing flexible quotation procedures for purchases below $1,000. During 
the design phase of engineering and construction projects, it is recommended that RMF consult with
a pre-qualified firm, instead of relying on individual consultants. At the same time, they should have
staff dedicated to the monitoring of engineering and construction sites. This can help expedite the 
quality assurance approval process in a comprehensive approach and maintain close follow-up on 
quality and environmental compliances during implementation.
USAID/Lebanon is advised to avoid, to the extent possible, changing the A&E monitoring contractor 
midway through an Activity’s lifetime, as implementing partners need time to become accustomed to 
new standards and approval requirements, which might cause interruptions and delays. In case this 
was a necessity, then USAID should support and streamline the new contractor’s working relation 
with the implementing partner to ensure a more efficient and productive process. The evaluation 
team, however, understands that some of these procedures may not be decided by the Mission in 
Lebanon, such as switching from DUNS to UEI and vetting.
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SUSTAIN PARTNERSHIPS
Recommendation 3.3: Build on existing achievements and establish an open communication 
channel with local governments.
• RMF: Maintain follow-up and post-project assistance and scale up activities, including an online 
open communication platform with municipalities to receive ongoing feedback about emerging 
local challenges and needs.
• USAID: Encourage and participate in meetings and conferences with IPs to engage with 
municipalities to address their challenges and develop a local agenda for development and 
recovery.
BALADI-RMF followed up on previously- implemented project rounds and reported on their 
operation status on a quarterly basis. Such follow-up practices are recommended to be sustained by 
RMF in its projects. RMF’s local presence and national networks allowed their team to maintain 
constant communication with municipalities and inform them about different funding opportunities. 
As such, projects and interests were sustained. 
It is highly recommended that RMF maintain and develop a follow-up program and produce a 
monthly online report featuring stories of municipal and project activities. RMF is also advised to
establish a forum (called ‘Forum for Municipal Development’ for example) where news and 
opportunities are exchanged, and occasional meetings are held to share views and make proposals 
regarding support for local development. RMF, or other IPs working with municipalities, may need to 
utilize or raise own fund for this purpose. 
USAID/Lebanon, on the other hand, can encourage IPs to adopt follow-up practices. It can also 
occasionally participate in municipality-sponsored meetings and mini-conferences that address 
development challenges in emergency and respond to local suggestions and recommendations. This 
can help maintain the enthusiasm and the contagious effects of BALADI-RMF and develop a
participatory local agenda for recovery and development.
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ANNEXES
Annex 1: Scope of Work 
Annex 2: Evaluation Methods and Limitations
Annex 3: Consent forms for KII and FGDs
Annex 4: Timeline of RMF Implementation in Light of Contextual Challenges 
Annex 5: Evaluation Design Matrix
Annex 6: Sampling
Annex 7: Adaptation to Changing Priorities in South SPD
Annex 8: KII Tool for BALADI-RMF Staff
Annex 9: KII Tool for RFMA Sub-Awardees
Annex 10: KII Tool for USAID/Lebanon Staff
Annex 11: FGD Tools
Annex 12: Observation Visit Form
Annex 13: Sources of Information
Annex 14: Disclosure of Any Conflicts of Interest
Annex 15: Evaluation Team
Annex 16: Challenges and Adaptation by Sector
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ANNEX 1: SCOPE OF WORK
Baladi RMF Endline 
Evaluation_SOW_FINAL-30032022.docx
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ANNEX 2: EVALUATION METHODS AND LIMITATIONS
EVALUATION METHODS
The evaluation adopted a mixed methods approach to answer the evaluation questions. Qualitative 
data was collected from interviews with 59 individuals (22 women, 37 men) and supplemented with 
the review of BALADI RMF documents including M&E data. The sample included BALADI RMF staff, 
USAID staff and community members who participated in RFMA 2, 3 and Arsal and South SPDs. The 
interviews The evaluation questions were mapped against sub-questions, data sources, data 
collection methods, and sample in Annex 3.
Data collection methods for this evaluation are further detailed below:
• Document Review: more than 20 documents.
Document review included at least 20 documents primarily focused on the BALADI-RMF
implementation post the 2020 evaluation. The review allowed the ET to build a comprehensive 
understanding of the design and implementation of BALADI RMF, to identify the learning captured 
so far, and to cross-check findings from primary data collection against existing data and information. 
The documents included quarterly progress reports, modifications, the 2020 evaluation, among 
others. The ET continued to review project documents iteratively throughout the evaluation 
process, as needed. All referenced and analyzed documents will be listed in the evaluation report’s 
bibliographical annex.
• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) 
o The team conducted semi-structured KIIs with USAID staff and ten BALADI RMF 
staff. These interviews were mostly carried out virtually to minimize risk of exposure 
to COVID-19 for the ET team and interviewees given that other data collection was
planned to be conducted in person. The ET selected respondents purposively in 
consultation with the program team and included staff members who were involved in 
program strategy, design, and/or implementation. The rationale behind the KIIs was to 
conduct in-depth interviews with key actors at BALADI-RMF who were responsible for 
the management and implementation of the activity. These KIIs were essential for the 
ET to gain multiple perspectives on the effectiveness of project management and 
implementation.
o The team also conducted KIIs with 18 staff of RFMA sub-awardees and 10 relevant 
community stakeholders who have participated in CPC. The staff were either heads of 
municipalities or municipality members who were leading on the implementation of the 
project. The community stakeholders were selected by the ET and RMF team 
contacted them to coordinate on interview times. . The team evaluated 18 projects of 
sub-awardees. Their selection ensured representation from different RFMA phases with 
a primary focus on South SPD and a secondary focus on projects completed in RFMAs 
2, and 3 and the Arsal SPD after the interim evaluation (July 2020). The rational for the 
prioritization is two folds. First, the projects from South SPD were not included in the 
2020 evaluation, unlike the projects of the previous rounds which were eligible for 
examination. And South SPD did not include CPCs, same as Arsal SPD, nor did it 
include municipal applications which might have yielded different results for the 
BALADI-RMF. The ET took into account the different districts targeted across the 
country, the PPPs achieved, the STTA provided, the participation of local NGOs, and 
the sectors of intervention (Energy, water, eco-tourism, etc.). The rationale behind 
carrying out KIIs with individuals responsible for the implementation of sub-awarded 
projects was to determine the relevance of the sub-awards to the overall project. In 
addition, these KIIs aimed to understand the effectiveness of the sub-awarded project. 
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Furthermore, KIIs with sub-awardees aim to identify successes and lessons learned that 
can inform future programming.
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)
o The ET conducted three FGDs with BALADI RMF beneficiaries selected purposively 
from three projects: Jezzine and Zgharta solar water heaters and Nabatieh agri-business 
facility. These projects were selected because community members have direct access 
to the equipment or facility and could provide the ET team with feedback on the needs 
assessment and implementation phases of each project. Up to 6 participants were
selected at random in each location from beneficiary lists provided by the municipality, 
and participation of women, youth, and marginalized groups were ensured.30 This 
included selecting beneficiaries from diverse backgrounds and disaggregating FGD
participants by sex (when possible). The FGDs will be held in single or sex￾disaggregated spaces, while making sure the facilitator is the same sex as the 
participants. The main purpose of conducting FGDs was to examine the extent to 
which the project has reached the appropriate target groups, was inclusive and 
consultative, and has positively affected these people’s lives as originally intended in the 
project design; hence assessing the relevance of BALADI RMF regarding community 
needs. FGDs can inform the ET about the shared experience, and diversity of 
experience, of beneficiaries. These discussions can further help learning challenges and 
recommendations for the project moving forward.
• Observation Visits (OVs) to RFMA sub-awardees. 
o The ET visited the selected projects for visual observation of the operational status of 
the project. Observation visits were planned for projects that provide long-term 
services to the community and include the installation of equipment and infrastructure. 
The observation were completed following the KII with the municipality member and 
were guided by that individual. The selection of these OVs was based on the findings of 
the 2020 evaluation, geographic distribution, the type of projects implemented, and the 
specificities of target groups. The rationale behind the OVs is primarily to observe and 
inspect the operation and maintenance of projects that were completed in 2020 or 
2021. 
30 Marginalized groups are those who are subjugated a process, and a condition, that prevents them from full 
participation in social, economic and political life (Defining-marginalised.pdf (ukaiddirect.org)).
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KII FGD Observation visit 
IP 10 
(5 women; 5 men)
0 0
USAID 2 
(1 woman, 1 man)
0 0
Municipal officials 18 
(men)
0 14
Community 
stakeholders 
10 
(7 women, 3 men)
3 
(9 women, 9 men)
N/A
Total 41 KIIs
(13 women, 27 men)
3
(9 women, 9 men)
14
BALADI RMF List of KIIs
Role
Program directors, previous and current
Operations manager (3)
M&E manager
Field coordinators (3)
Senior Procurement Officer
The data analysis was guided by the evaluation questions. The ET followed a rigorous procedure for 
data cleaning, coding, inter-coder reliability checks, and quality assurance. With a “start list” of codes 
based on the literature review, the team expanded, revised, and adjusted this list as data are 
collected and analyzed. 
The ET disaggregated data across key variables, such as respondent category, location and gender. 
After the ET completed preliminary analysis for these evaluation questions, they came together for 
three internal data analysis and interpretation sessions (DAIS) to share emerging themes and 
patterns, and developed concise narratives related to the evaluation questions. These narratives
provided information for the Preliminary Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations Workshop 
that the team conducted with USAID and RMF staff. Through this participatory process, the ET 
validated findings and conclusions, received feedback on initial recommendations, and discussed
dissemination plans. Following the DAIS and workshops, the team prepared the draft evaluation 
report.
TABLE 1: NUMBER OF DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES.
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GENDER ANALYSIS PLAN
This evaluation addressed the gender aspect as a crosscutting element in all activities, showing to 
what extent BALADI-RMF has adhered to USAID’s gender integration requirements. A key 
component of the ET’s analysis was its capture of gender-based findings and conclusions with a focus 
on the extent to which RMF interventions specifically benefit (or do not benefit) women or men. 
The KIIs and FGDs included questions to assess the extent to which gender has been integrated into 
BALADI RMF approaches and applied with community-level partners. 
Participant-level data was disaggregated by sex, when feasible. The ET analyzed how gender issues 
have been addressed both in the initial design of the activity and in implementation. More specifically, 
the ET assessed: 
• How women were involved in the supported communities. 
• The extent to which women actively participated in the identification and the 
implementation of the grant-funded community projects. 
• Whether and how successfully women were encouraged to take on leadership roles in the 
projects. 
DATA QUALITY CONTROL AND CONFIDENTIALITY
The data collection teams uploaded the collected data to MEPL’s password-secure SharePoint site 
on a daily basis. 
Data collection and management adhered to the protection and confidentiality of Personally 
Identifiable Information (PII) as follows:
• The team administered informant consent forms prior to conducting recorded interviews, 
ensuring respondents are aware of the purpose of the study and their participation options 
(see below discussion and Annex 5: Informed Consent Form).
• All interview recordings and notes were electronically stored in a password-protected and 
encrypted shared folder.
• PII was collected from all respondents so the ET can follow up with any questions for 
clarification, given that all respondents are intimately involved or benefiting of the program. 
Respondents were assigned a unique identification number. There was a single file in which 
the personal identifying information will be linked to this unique identification number.
• The dataset and shared folder were stored in EnCompass’s SharePoint account, which is 
highly secured and protected by U.S. standards. The team members had access to the project 
password-protected folder.
• Team members immediately shredded any documents containing PII. There was no 
information or documents stored on personal computers.
• The anonymity of informants was ensured by assigning a number to each respondent when 
referring to her/him in the report (ex: respondent 1, respondent 2, etc.), to avoid any PII 
from being utilized.
• Team members were instructed not to use emails with PII contents unless encrypted.
• The PII data remained stored in the encrypted SharePoint file and no such data was shared 
outside the evaluation team. Data shared with USAID did include PII, and the report included
results in aggregated form identifying only stakeholder groups. 
• Finally, all PII will be deleted once the final report is approved by USAID and the project is 
certified as complete.
They will also be held with appropriate protocols to protect the confidentiality of responses and 
abide by COVID-19 health regulations in the case of in-person interviews. 
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ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 
INFORMED CONSENT
At the start of each interview, data collectors read a standard informed consent and confidentiality 
statement explaining: 
• The purpose of the evaluation and why the respondent(s) was(were) selected. 
• The length of the interview (generally one hour), and if recorded, that the recording will be 
used only by the data collectors to fill any gaps in their notes and that all notes and 
recordings will be stored in a secure location and destroyed when the evaluation has 
concluded. 
• That participation in the interview is completely voluntary and the respondent may decline to 
answer any question and also end the interview at any time.
Respondents received a copy of the Study Information Sheet and Informed Consent Statement, 
either as a soft copy through e-mail before the virtual interview or as a hard copy at the beginning of 
an in-person interview (Annex 5). Respondents were asked for oral consent to participate, and 
permission to audio-record the conversations. If consent was granted, data collectors began 
recording. 
The same applies to FGDs, except for three points. The discussion was expected to take longer, up 
to one hour and a half. Participants may decide to withdraw from the FGD and leave the venue but 
cannot request to end the discussion. And the consent form was shared in hard copy with the 
participants at the end. No financial incentives or compensation were provided to the respondents, 
and data collection occurred during work hours or at a time convenient for the respondents.
RISK MITIGATION
The ET conducted interviews in locations that assure privacy or, if not fully private, are comfortable 
for the respondents. Data collectors reiterated that conversations would remain confidential and 
remind participants to be respectful and maintain privacy. Data collectors refrained from discussing 
interview content amongst themselves except when they are in private settings.
ADVERSE EVENTS
There are two categories of adverse events, defined as: 
Category A: Any Serious Adverse Event that Occurs within 48 Hours of Participation in the 
Research/ Evaluation   
Serious adverse events are those resulting in death, a life-threatening experience, hospitalization or 
prolongation of existing hospitalization, or a persistent or significant disability or incapacity. Every 
serious adverse event must be reported on a form provided by EnCompass’ Institutional Review 
Board (IRB), even if the event does not appear to be associated with the research protocol. In 
addition, the IRB (at irb@encompassworld.com) should be notified within 24 hours of discovery of 
any serious adverse event.
Category B: Any Event for which All Three of the Following are True:
• Subject or Risks to Subject or Others Adversely Affected: An event or outcome has occurred 
that has resulted in harm to the subject, has affected the subject detrimentally, has worsened 
as a result of their participation, or that has resulted in increased risk to the subject or to 
others, whether or not the risk has actually resulted in harm (for example, misplacing a 
subject’s research records would constitute an increased risk event that should be reported).
• Unexpected Event: The event or outcome was not described as a risk of participation in the 
research, or, though described as a risk, the event or outcome has occurred with unexpected 
severity or frequency.
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• Possibly, Probably, or Definitely Related Event: The event or outcome was definitely related 
to participation in the research or it is reasonable to conclude that the event or outcome 
was related to participation or it is possible the event or outcome was related but not 
enough information is available at this time to assess the likelihood of this possibility.
If an evaluation team member or data collector becomes aware of an adverse event, they must 
immediately report it to team leader _____ or _____ referring to the Adverse Event Report 
provided by the IRB.
INCIDENTS
EnCompass takes personal and organizational security seriously. Physical, personal, and cyber￾security measures are employed to avoid, mitigate, and respond to threats as a matter of policy. 
Understanding that no security measures are invulnerable, EnCompass requires all employees, 
independent contractors, and beneficiaries to document any incident that represents a threat to the 
organization, its employees, contractors, and beneficiaries. Where more than one employee, 
independent contractor, or beneficiary has first-hand knowledge of an incident, team leader, 
______, is obligated to take responsibility for assembling a full description of the incident, 
documenting the context, correspondence, and other information. When a member of the 
assessment or data collection team becomes aware of an incident, they must complete an incident 
report, provided by the IRB, and submit it to ________ who will review and transmit it to the 
appropriate vetted personnel based on a need-to-know basis to address the incident as needed.
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB)
Data collection instruments and protocols have been submitted for approval by the EnCompass IRB. 
Data collection will not begin until IRB approval has been granted. The ET will inform USAID if there 
is any unexpected delay in the timeframe for IRB approval.
EVALUATION REPORT, VALIDATION, AND DISSEMINATION 
VALIDATION SESSION(S)
The ET will share preliminary findings and conclusions through two virtual validation sessions with 
select participants from BALADI-RMF and key stakeholders from USAID/Lebanon who participated 
in the inception meeting. The ET and USAID will identify participants in this session during 
evaluation implementation and discuss combining into one session if of interest. This session will be 
used to validate findings and conclusions and to co-create and refine recommendations through a 
participatory and collaborative process. The outcomes of the validation session will be used to 
finalize the report. 
DISSEMINATION
After USAID/Lebanon approves of the evaluation report, the ET will redact it and make it ADS 508-
compliant before uploading it on the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) repository for 
wider dissemination and use by the development community. MEPL plans to solicit USAID/Lebanon’s 
feedback on the implications of the evaluation’s findings, conclusions and recommendations for the 
Mission and to obtain its feedback about the evaluation process. Additional dissemination materials 
will be developed including a 2-3 page Executive Summary document in both English and Arabic for 
easy sharing with all evaluation participants and other interested stakeholders. Other dissemination 
modes may be discussed with USAID/Lebanon. 
LIMITATION AND BIASES
The ET is aware that certain biases and limitations might affect negatively the evidence generated by 
the evaluation:
Recall bias is expected, especially with beneficiaries and sub-awardees who received the services 
and support more than a year ago or very recently. They may also respond with answers that blend 
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their experiences into a composite memory, and those who participated previously in similar 
activities may not separately distinguish their BALADI RMF experience. The ET will use in interviews 
references to related project or historical events to assist in accurate recall and mitigate this bias
The ET is aware of potential response bias from the key informants and beneficiaries, as these may 
be motivated to provide responses that would be considered socially desirable or influential in 
obtaining additional support. To mitigate such bias, the ET will clarify at the start of every interview 
that the responses will not influence the possibility of obtaining future assistance while emphasizing 
the confidential nature of the interview and the importance of collecting factual information.
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ANNEX 3: CONSENT FORMS FOR KIIS AND FGDS
INFORMED CONSENT FORM FOR KIIs
Principal Investigator: _______
Organization: EnCompass LLC 
Sponsor: United States Agency for International Development 
This informed consent has two parts: (1) information sheet and (2) provision of oral consent. 
PART I: INFORMATION 
The United States Agency for International Development has recently commissioned an independent 
Endline Evaluation of their BALADI-RMF Activity in Lebanon, also referred to as the Building Alliance 
for Local Advancement, Development, and Investment – René Moawad Foundation (BALADI-RMF) 
Activity. Our objective is to collect the knowledge and experiences you feel comfortable sharing 
about your communities. The overall goal of the evaluation is to derive evidence to inform strategy 
and future programming.
Before you decide to participate, you can talk with or ask questions of anyone you feel comfortable 
with. If you have any questions regarding this content, please let me know. If you have questions 
later or in the future, you can contact any member of the evaluation team. Information about how 
you can reach the evaluation team is included in this information sheet. 
METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION 
For this study, we are collecting information by conducting virtual interviews, focus group 
discussions with BALADI-RMF staff, partner organization staff, local government officials, civil society 
organizations, community leaders, and community members, as well as an online survey as needed. 
This interview will last approximately one hour.
Data will be collected between June-July 2022. 
RESPONDENT SELECTION 
You have been chosen for a key respondent interview because you either have knowledge of and/or 
experience with the BALADI-RMF activity or within the communities that BALADI-RMF has 
worked. 
VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION AND RIGHT TO WITHDRAW 
Your participation in this evaluation is entirely voluntary. If you choose not to participate, we will 
remove the contact information we have for you from our data set. If you decide to participate, you 
may change your mind and withdraw from the study at any time, and we will remove your contact 
details and any other information you have provided up to that time. Choosing not to participate in 
this study will not affect your relationship with United States Agency for International Development 
or EnCompass LLC. 
If you decide to participate, you may ask to skip any question or stop the interview at any time. You 
do not have to share anything you are not comfortable sharing. After the interview, if you decide 
you do not want your remarks/answers to be used, you may let us know and we will immediately 
destroy all information and it will not be used. 
PERMISSION TO RECORD
We would like to take notes and record this discussion via the online platform used to conduct the 
virtual interview (e.g., Teams, Zoom, Jitsi, Signal). This is so that we can develop an accurate 
transcript of what you say that will help us in analyzing the data. The recording will be kept on 
EnCompass’s secure password-protected web-based platform specific to this evaluation, which is 
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only accessible to the EnCompass team conducting this evaluation. You will not be identified by 
name in the recording file name, and any identifying information will be removed during 
transcription. Once the transcription is complete, the recording will be deleted and any written 
notes will be destroyed, and only the transcript will be kept. In the meantime, no one outside of the 
EnCompass assessment team will have access to the recordings or notes. 
RISKS 
The study team will keep all of your answers and personal information in a secure location and will 
not share this information with anyone not involved in the study. Your responses will not be shared 
with colleagues or your supervisor or anyone else. 
Your personal information, including your name, will not be included in the final report or any 
presentation of findings. Any risk of breaching your privacy or confidentiality has been significantly 
reduced by the strict rules and ethical principles all our team members have agreed to observe. 
In terms of risks: 
1.There is a chance that the conversation could be intercepted online from the platform we are 
using to conduct the virtual interview (e.g., Zoom, Jitsi, Signal). We are taking many steps to prevent 
this from happening, such as using password-protected meeting links and choosing encrypted 
platforms when possible. However, it is still possible that the discussion could be intercepted 
through a security breach in the online platform. 
2. You may be worried someone will learn what you said and not like that you joined the meeting. 
You may not feel safe. Again, we will do everything we can to keep your answers safe, private and 
protected from data leak . If someone does find out, somehow, you may not feel safe. You can 
contact people listed on this consent form. We will give you a copy of this form, if participating in 
this study affects your safety. There are actions we can take to keep your answers safe. 
For in-person interview only:
Given the COVID-19 pandemic there are several reasons you may choose not to participate in an 
in-person interview for the evaluation. If you or someone in your household or workplace has been 
feeling sick including having a cough or high temperature in the past two weeks, we ask you to 
inform us so that we hold a virtual interview instead. Should an in-person interview be feasible, we 
plan to use safety protocols when we talk such as sitting far apart and wearing masks. If these 
measures are not possible or not enough protection, you may not want to participate in-person, and 
the evaluation team will hold a virtual interview instead.
BENEFITS 
You may receive no direct benefits from participating in this study, but your participation is likely to 
help inform USAID’s programming. 
REIMBURSEMENTS 
No compensation is provided for this interview. 
CONFIDENTIALITY 
The information you share will be kept confidential. We will not share the information you provide 
to us with anyone who is not part of the evaluation team. We will store information, such as 
recordings, transcripts, and notes, electronically in password-protected and secure web-based data 
storage and analysis platforms specific to this evaluation. The interview transcripts, notes, and 
recordings will be de-identified, with each participant assigned a number ID. The ID linked to each 
participant will only be available in a participant tracker, which is saved separately on the password￾protected platform specific to this evaluation that is only accessible to the EnCompass assessment 
team. Information analyzed will be anonymous. We will destroy all the information you provide 
three years after the publication of the final report. 
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SHARING SUMMARY RESULTS 
The evaluation team will combine the information you provide with that from other interview 
respondents, focus group participants, reviewed documents; and/or survey respondents as needed, 
and we will present it in a final report that we will share with the USAID and other stakeholders. An 
external version summary will also be produced and we can send it to you. This report will also be 
available to other data collection participants and members of the public. 
The following text is for consent forms for pilot interviews:
The pilot interview will help the evaluation team identify any possible weaknesses in the 
questionnaire so that the team can amend them accordingly. The pilot interviews in which you are 
contributing will be included in the final sample and the data from this interview will be used to 
highlight expected refusal rates as well as respondents’ reactions to any specific questions or issues; 
the data from this interview will not be included in the final analysis. The results will be only used by 
the evaluation team and will inform any needed modifications to the interview guides.
WHOM TO CONTACT 
This study has been reviewed and approved by the EnCompass LLC Review Board EC-015-2022, 
whose members are tasked with making sure participants are protected from harm. If you wish to 
find out more about the ethics review, contact IRB at irb@encompassworld.com. 
If you have any questions about this research study in the future, please contact me using the 
following information: 
Name and phone # of interviewer: 
_________________________________________________ 
If you have complaints about our team or the study, please contact: 
__________Team Lead, BALADI-RMF Program Evaluation 
Email: _________
PART II: PROVISION OF ORAL CONSENT, CONSENT TO RECORD AND 
CONSENT TO BE CONTACTED TO RECEIVE EXTERNAL SUMMARY
Say to the respondent: I want to confirm that you have read the consent form or I have read it to 
you. Do you have any additional questions? 
After answering respondent’s questions: Do you voluntarily consent to participate in this 
study? 
Following verbal consent, note the response of the respondent with your initials: 
Yes ___ No ___ Interviewer’s initials: ________ 
If the respondent answers no:
Thank them for their time and end the interview. 
If the respondent answers yes: 
Ask them for their verbal consent to audio and video record the conversation using the virtual 
platform: I/We would like to both take notes and audio and video record our conversation. This is 
so we can develop an accurate transcription of what you say. The recording can be stopped at any 
time, if you choose to do so. We will delete the recording and destroy written notes immediately 
after creating a transcription of the conversation. The transcription will be deleted three years after 
the publication of the final report. In the meantime, no one outside of the study team will have 
access to this information. 
Do you give me/us permission to record the audio and video of this virtual interview, using the 
record feature of this platform? 
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Following verbal consent to audio and video-record, note the response of the respondent with your 
initials:
Yes ___ No ___ Interviewer’s initials: ________ 
If the respondent answers yes: Continue with the interview. If the respondent answers no: I 
understand your decision not to have our conversation recorded. Would you be comfortable 
proceeding with this interview if I take written notes only and do not use the record feature on this 
platform? 
If the respondent agrees to hand-written notes, proceed with the interview. 
Would you like us to send the report using the same contact information that we used to contact 
you?
Yes ___ No ___ Interviewer’s initials: ________ 
If the respondent does not consent to hand-written notes, end the interview. 
Signature of the interviewer: _______________________________________ 
Date: _______________________________________ 
INFORMED CONSENT FORM FOR FGDs
Principal Investigators: _________
Organization: EnCompass, LLC
Sponsor: USAID
This Informed Consent Form has two parts: (1) information sheet and (2) giving spoken consent. 
Each of you will be given a copy of the full Informed Consent Form. 
PART I: INFORMATION SHEET
Why we are doing this evaluation and why you are being invited to participate
Thank you for meeting here today. My name is [name of data collector]. We work for a company 
called EnCompass LLC which has been recently commissioned by the United States Agency for 
International Development to conduct an independent Endline Evaluation to conduct an evaluation 
of the BALADI-RMF Activity in Lebanon, also referred to as the Building Alliance for Local 
Advancement, Development, and Investment – René Moawad Foundation (BALADI-RMF) Activity. 
The goal for the evaluation is to derive evidence to inform strategy and future programming 
particularly looking at relevance, effectiveness and sustainability. We want to learn from you and 
others about your experiences participating in this project and how the work could be done better. 
Is there anything you want to ask regarding why we are here? (Answer questions, if any, then continue.)
Okay, now we want to be sure you want to be part of this evaluation. We want to do this before 
we ask you anything for the evaluation. You can ask your own questions any time. Feel free to stop 
us anytime.
First, I will let you know that we have permission to do this evaluation
RMF have allowed us to talk to you. The United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID) that gave us money to do this work, also allowed us to talk to you. We are not part of 
RMF. We are not part of the USAID. The United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID) hired us to collect this data. We are our own company – separate from the USAID, the 
government of Lebanon, and the project.
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This is how we are collecting information for this evaluation, and why we are asking to 
include you in the evaluation.
We are talking to a lot of people like you. We are talking to some people alone and some people in 
a group. This helps us learn different things. We are meeting with people like [project managers] 
who are running projects; and we are meeting with people like you who joined in activities for these 
projects. We are meeting with people who live here, in other parts of [Lebanon]. This is because we 
want to learn from a lot of different people. All of this information will help us better understand 
what work has taken place so far. We are collecting information between March and April of this 
year.
If you decide to join this evaluation, we will ask about what you have done while you were in the 
project. We will ask for your thoughts on what has worked well and how activities could be done 
better. We will listen to you and write down your answers. This will be our meeting. This will take 
approximately one and a half to two hours.
Now I will describe for each of you, your rights.
You do not have to be part of this evaluation. You can say “No” and can walk away and we will not 
bother you again. There is no problem for you from EnCompass or our funder, the USAID just 
because you did not want to be in the evaluation. It is all up to you. 
If you decide you want to answer questions for this evaluation, you can change your mind and stop 
at any time. You can leave the group, if you wish. There is no problem for you from EnCompass or 
our funder, USAID, if you decide to stop. That is your right. That is your freedom. You have the 
freedom to choose. 
You can also choose to skip any question that you do not want to answer. That is also your right. 
You can let us know if you want us to keep your answers or not. If you do not want us to keep your 
answers, we will get rid of them. We will destroy them before they are included in the evaluation. It 
is up to you. 
Now I will describe risks and benefits.
You may want to know if you can gain anything if you join this meeting. We have rules for this 
group. We expect everyone in this group to keep anything they hear during this discussion private. 
We do not want anyone in this group to share people’s answers with anyone else after leaving the 
group. This is an important rule. If you do not want to agree to this rule, please leave the group 
now, so that others will know that what they share here will not be shared. We also wish for you to 
honor your and others’ privacy by not sharing that you joined this meeting with other beneficiaries 
unless the whole group agrees that this is something they want to do. 
In terms of risks: 
• Some questions may not feel good to answer. If you feel things you don’t like, we will give you a list 
of people you can call or meet for assistance. You can ask us at any time for this information, now, 
or during or after we finish the group interview. You can also leave the group for a while or leave 
and not come back.
• There is a chance that the information you share will not stay private due to a data leak. We are 
doing as much as we can with the data we collect to keep it safe this from happening but it could 
happen. 
• You may be worried someone will learn what you said and not like that you joined the meeting. 
You may not feel safe. Again, we will do everything we can to keep your answers safe and private. If 
someone does find out, somehow, you may not feel safe. You can contact people listed on this 
consent form, and we will give you a copy of this form, if participating in this evaluation affects your 
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safety. We are following a rigorous protocol for ensuring the data collected during this evaluation is 
safe, private and not accessible outside of the evaluation team. We will not share your answers with 
others in a way that we think could be traced back to you. We will not share your private 
information, like your name, with people who are not on our research team. We will join your 
answers with answers from a lot of other people and will share data that way – as a whole. Only this 
joint information will be shared in the report. We will store information using passwords to protect 
your data from being seen by other people. We will take out information that could trace your 
answers back to you. We will do this before we report on what we learned. We keep information 
safely stored for three years. We destroy all of your answers 3 years after we finish the report. In 
terms of gains, there is not a direct gain for you by joining this meeting. Do you have any questions 
for us now? (Answer questions, if any.)
Do you have any questions for us now? (Answer questions, if any.) 
PART II: ORAL INFORMED CONSENT
Now we want to ask your permission to be part of the evaluation.
Do you choose to join this meeting? If you say “Yes,” it means you want to be part of this meeting. If 
you say “No,”, then you can leave without any problem. 
DATA COLLECTORS: If they say “No,” check the #1 option by their respondent # on the form below and 
initial. Stop asking questions, thank them, give them a copy of the consent form if they ask for it. If they say 
“Yes,” go on with the text, below:
Thank you. 
We would also like to record this meeting. The reason we want to record the meeting is because 
we want to be sure we don’t make mistakes writing what you say to us. If we can listen to the 
recording, this could help. Even if you are okay with us recording the meeting now, you can ask us 
to stop the recording any time and we will stop. Even if one person here does not want to be 
recorded at any time, we will stop the recording for the whole group and continue with written 
answers only. Is it okay with you if we record this interview? 
Do you have any other questions or comments? (Answer these, if any.) If you have questions after 
this interview, we have people you can contact on this form. Would you like a copy? (Share if they 
would like a copy.) Now we are ready to begin.
Note that, based on answers, only ONE option should be checked and initialed for each person (to be filled 
out by enumerator). Do you have any other questions or comments? (Answer these, if any.)
If you have questions after this observation, we have people you can contact on this form. Would 
you like a copy? (Share if they would like a copy.) Now we are ready to begin.
Additional Information
This evaluation has been reviewed and approved by the EnCompass LLC Institutional Review Board 
EC-008-2022. That makes sure you and others who choose to join the evaluation are protected 
from harm. To learn more, contact the IRB email: irb@encompassworld.com.
If you have any questions about this evaluation, please contact me using the following contact 
information:
Name and Phone # of Data Collector: 
54 | BALADI RMF – ENDLINE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION USAID.GOV
FINAL REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2022
If you have complaints about our team or the evaluation, please contact: Diana Shannan, USAID 
Monitoring and Evaluation Program for Lebanon (MEPL) Email: dshannan@encompassworld.com
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ANNEX 4: TIMELINE OF RMF IMPLEMENTATION IN LIGHT OF CONTEXTUAL CHALLENGES
(out of $12,123,262.06 allocated to 80 interventions)
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ANNEX 5: EVALUATION DESIGN MATRIX
Area of 
Evaluation
Main Question31 Sub-Questions Data sources Data collection methods
Relevance To what extent has BALADI￾RMF continued to be relevant 
to community needs post July 
2020?
• To what extent did the 
awarded municipal projects 
answer and/or address the 
relevant needs of the 
supported communities?
• Did women, youth and 
vulnerable groups actively 
participate in the 
identification, design and 
implementation of local 
development activities?
• Rapid Needs Assessment
• Community members
• Municipality staff
• Desk Review of 
Documents
• Focus Group Discussions
• Key Informant Interviews
31 The ET suggests removing the question about relevance to the CDCS, given that:
• The CDCS in question is for the period 2014-2019.
• The BALADI RMF Activity design and approach remain mostly unchanged.
• The 2020 interim evaluation has already provided a good analysis of the alignment with the CDCS.
The ET elected to remove the question from the SoW about effectively addressing community needs because it is addressed in questions 2.1. and 2.2.
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Area of 
Evaluation
Main Question31 Sub-Questions Data sources Data collection methods
Effectiveness To what extent has 
BALADI/RMF continued to 
achieve the activity’s goal and 
objectives, and what factors 
have contributed or hindered 
the achievement (or non￾achievement) of the activity’s 
objectives?
• What are BALADI/RMF’s 
headline outcomes and 
achievements post July 
2020, and to what extent 
were these outcomes in￾line with the stated 
purposes?
• Does the provision of 
essential services to 
communities remain the 
most effective intervention 
under BALADI/RMF?
• What are the main factors 
that influenced positively or 
negatively BALADI/RMF’s 
ability to achieve these 
purposes?
• Has BALADI/RMF been 
able to create new long￾term collaboration between 
sub-national public entities, 
CSOs, and private sector to 
implement the awarded 
projects and deliver 
services?
• How successful was 
BALADI/RMF in ensuring 
gender mainstreaming?
• What aspects of the activity 
demonstrate potential for 
sustainability beyond the life 
of the activity?
• USAID staff
• BALADI RMF staff
• Municipality staff
• Community members
• Desk Review of 
Documents
• Focus Group Discussions
• Key Informant Interviews
• Observation visits
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Area of 
Evaluation
Main Question31 Sub-Questions Data sources Data collection methods
Adaptability To what extent and how well 
did BALADI-RMF adapt in 
response to evolving 
circumstances?
• How has BALADI RMF 
adapted to the changing 
context as of July 2020?
• What are the main factors 
that influenced positively or 
negatively BALADI/RMF’s 
adaptation?
• USAID staff
• BALADI RMF staff
• Municipality staff
• Community members
• Desk Review of 
Documents
• Focus Group Discussions
• Key Informant Interviews
• Observation visits
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ANNEX 6: SAMPLING
# Project Municipality District Governorate Sector Rationale for selection
1 RFMA2 Tekrite Akkar North Lebanon Energy Efficiency: LED street 
lighting
- not included in previous evaluation
- reported high reach of beneficiaries 
(including women and Youth)
-change of scope in 2019
2 RFMA2 Bcheftine Shouf Rural Toursim: Eco-tourism area - not included in previous evaluation
- operator will be operating the center
3 RFMA2 Kfaryashit Zgharta North Lebanon
Solar Power: Generation of 
electricity for the village through 
renewable energy
- not included in previous evaluation
- STTA provided
4 RFMA3 Mazreat El 
Shouf Shouf Mount Lebanon
Public Education and community 
facility: Equip a multipurpose 
room in the village's public 
school; 
- not included in previous evaluation
5 RFMA3 Massha Akkar North Lebanon Agri-business: equip a community 
bakery
- not included in previous evaluation
-NGO operating the facility
6 RFMA3 Lebaa Jezzine South Lebanon Solar Power: Install 80 solar 
water heaters in the village 
- not included in previous evaluation
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# Project Municipality District Governorate Sector Rationale for selection
7 RFMA3 Aintourine Zgharta North Lebanon
Solar Energy: Install 80 solar 
water heaters and a 250 KVA 
generator 
- not included in previous evaluation
- high reach of beneficiaries 
8 and 9 Arsal 
SPD Arsal Baalbek Baalbek-Hermel
Agri-business: Rehabilitate/Equip 
a fruit 
cooling/drying/processing/packagi
ng facility
- Operator to run the facility
- community users eligible for FGD
8 and 9 Arsal 
SPD Arsal Baalbek Baalbek-Hermel
Technical School: Provide 
equipment to Arsal Technical 
Institute 
- Scope of intervention was modified in 2021
10 South Arzoun Sour South Lebanon
Energy Efficiency: Equip an 
estimated 44kWp photovoltaic 
system and upgrade the village’s 
back-up electricity distribution 
network
- not included in previous evaluation
11 South Tibnine Bint Jbeil Nabatiyeh
Agri-business: Equip an Olive 
Press and Olive Residues 
Briquetting Facility
- not included in previous evaluation
-job creation
-STTA
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# Project Municipality District Governorate Sector Rationale for selection
12 South Kaakaaiyet Al 
Sounawbar Saida South Lebanon
Water project: Building a storm 
water channel of an approximate 
length of 700 meters
- not included in previous evaluation
- STTA
13 South Safad Al 
Battikh Nabatieh Nabatiyeh Rural Tourism: Establish a 
Tourism Park/Garden
- not included in previous evaluation
- STTA
14 South Ansar Nabatieh Nabatiyeh
Solar Power: Equip an estimated 
129kWp solar pumping system 
to operate the village water well
- not included in previous evaluation
15 South Baysariyeh Saida South Lebanon
Supporting the Community by 
Providing Pruning, Harvesting and 
Shredding tools
- not included in previous evaluation
16 South Mlikh Jezzine South Lebanon
Energy Efficiency: Install a back￾up electricity distribution 
network for the village residents
- not included in previous evaluation
17 South Yanouh Sour South Lebanon
Back-up Generator: Install a 
back-up generator and upgrade 
part of the back-up electricity 
distribution network
- not included in previous evaluation
- Adjustment to needs with budget increase
18 South Qsaybeh Nabatieh Nabatiyeh
Solar Power: Equip an estimated 
120kWp solar pumping system 
to operate the village water well
- not included in previous evaluation
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ANNEX 7: ADAPTATION TO CHANGING PRIORITIES IN SOUTH SPD
Municipality 
Name
Project Project Project
Identified priorities as per the 
needs assessment
Identified priorities as 
per the Ground 
Truthing conducted
Selected and Executed project
Ansar PV Solar Pumping PV Solar Pumping PV Solar Pumping
Qaaqaayet el 
Sanawbar
Building a Dispensary 
Stadium with Cafeteria
Construction of a municipal building
Provision of tractor for the waste 
transportation 
Building a storm Water 
Channel
Building a storm Water Channel
Qseiby PV Solar Pumping PV Solar Pumping PV Solar Pumping
Safad el Battikh Establishing a tourism Park & Public 
Garden
Milk Factory
Establishing a tourism Park 
& Public Garden
Establishing a tourism Park & Public Garden
Tebnine Building a Public Hospital
Install a Generator
Public area for Seniors
Olive press + briquetting Olive press + briquetting
Yanouh Rehabilitation of the town spring
Food Processing
Solar energy to generate 
electricity
Generator & Cabling
Arzoun Dispensary building
Stadium with Cafeteria
Equipping the town of 
Arzoun with an electric 
generator and a Solar farm
Equip an estimated 44kWp photovoltaic system and 
upgrade the village’s back-up electricity distribution 
network.
Mlikh Building a livestock area
Solar Water Heater for houses
Install a back-up electricity 
distribution network
Install a back-up electricity distribution network
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ANNEX 8: KII TOOLS FOR BALADI-RMF STAFF
Evaluation Question 1
1. [EQ1] What is your understanding of the community support approach of the RMF Baladi 
project? To what extant is this approach relevant to the 2020-2022 landscape of Lebanon?
2. [EQ2] Overall, how satisfied have you been with RMF Baladi Project? Why?
3. [EQ1] Are you aware of other municipal community support projects implemented in 
Lebanon in the last years? If yes, were they relevant for BALADI RMF to partner with? How? 
4. [EQ1] To what extent are you satisfied by your ability/knowledge to define and respond to 
community needs identified by the municipalities? 
5. [EQ1] What do you think about the outreach plans? Do you think that they can be 
enhanced in the future? Please specify how.
6. [EQ1] How do you describe the approach adopted in shifting from call of applications for 
municipal interventions to identified interventions by municipalities (prior 2018, in Arsal and 
South)? 
7. [EQ1] Which approach do you think worked better in answering the needs of the local 
community?
o [EQ1] To what extent were the municipalities able to identify the interventions on 
their own?
o To what extent was RMF Baladi team taking part in supporting the municipalities in 
their assessment? 
8. [EQ1] To what extent did beneficiaries participate in the project cycle: identification, design, 
and implementation of local development activities? [Probe on women, youth, and other 
vulnerable groups]
9. [EQ1] What are the techniques or measures that you put in place to ensure that the quality 
of the assistance was consistent with the needs of the beneficiaries?
10. [EQ1] How Was the follow-up provided by RMF Baladi team suited to the needs of the 
beneficiaries? How did you maintain a consistent follow-up process with the municipalities 
and other stakeholders involved?
Evaluation Question 2
11. [EQ2] In what ways has Baladi RMF Project been able to help meet the community needs 
over the last two years?
12. [EQ2] In what ways has Baladi RMF Project been unable to help the municipalities and 
communities (or hasn’t been able to help enough)?
13. [EQ2] Were the project’s overall and specific objectives clearly defined? Did these 
objectives change throughout the course of the project lifetime? How so?
14. [EQ2] What has the Baladi RMF Project enabled your organization to do that it wouldn’t 
have been able to do otherwise? 
15. [EQ2] Aside from the multiple crises, what were the major factors influencing the 
achievement or non‐achievement of reaching the objectives and intended results? Did these 
factors fall under your control or outside?
16. [EQ2] To what extent has the program been successful in meeting its objectives for:
Improving the governance of municipalities and improving public service delivery. 
[Probes: biggest successes, biggest challenges, progress on targets]
Establishing sustainable local social capital 
[Probes: biggest successes, biggest challenges, progress on targets]
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17. [EQ2] What were the steps that you took to overcome the non-achievement of these 
results?
18. [EQ2] In the current context, what, if anything, could be done to help improve women, 
youth, and other vulnerable inclusion in future USAID programs?
Evaluation Question 3
The Baladi RMF Project went through several different changes in focus in response to recent crises. 
19. [EQ3] To what extent has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Baladi RMF Project 
implementation? Which activities were affected? What were the alternatives that you 
adopted to maintain the project activities in response to the pandemic? 
20. [EQ3] From your perspective, how successful has the project been in being able to help 
meet the needs of municipalities and communities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
21. [EQ3] To what extent has the Economic/Financial Crisis impacted Baladi RMF Project 
implementation? Which activities were affected? What were the alternatives that you 
adopted to maintain the project activities in response to the pandemic? 
22. [EQ3] From your perspective, how successful has the project been in being able to help 
meet the needs of municipalities and communities in response to Economic/Financial Crisis?
23. [EQ3] To what extent has the Beirut Blast impacted Baladi RMF Project implementation? 
Which activities were affected? What were the alternatives that you adopted to maintain the 
project activities in response to the pandemic? 
24. [EQ3] From your perspective, how successful has the project been in being able to help 
meet the needs of municipalities and communities in response to the Beirut Blast?
Evaluation Question 4
25. [EQ4] What lessons have you learned from the way in which the project unfolded?
26. [EQ4] What outcomes should be considered if an organization wants to repeat this or 
conduct a similar project?
27. [EQ4] What could have been done differently to complete the project more effectively?
28. [EQ4] What key changes should be made to the project to enhance achievement of 
objectives?
29. [EQ3] Which crisis was the most impactful on the Baladi RMF Project specially in its 
implementation and results? Reword
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ANNEX 9: KII TOOLS FOR RFMA SUB-AWARDEES
Questions for municipalities
Evaluation Question 1
1. [EQ1] How did you learn about BALADI/RMF?
2. [EQ1] How has BALADI/RMF helped you to work with citizens to achieve local 
development objective?
3. [EQ1] How has BALADI/RMF helped to build trust between municipal officials and citizens?
4. [EQ2] How has BALADI/RMF enhanced economic growth in your municipality, and how do 
you measure that?
5. [EQ1] Does the activity address the real needs of your municipality?
6. [EQ1] To what extent was the development of community activities challenging? 
7. [EQ1] To what extent were you able to identify the interventions on your own? How did 
the Baladi/RMF team assist you in this task?
8. [EQ1] To what extent did beneficiaries participate in the project cycle: identification, design, 
and implementation of local development activities? 
9. [EQ1] Was the follow-up provided by RMF Baladi team suited to the needs of community 
and municipality? 
Evaluation Question 2
10. [EQ2] What type of assistance has your organization received through the F2F Program?
11. [EQ2] How has BALADI/RMF contributed to improving capabilities of your municipality, 
including your local economic development plan?
12. [EQ2] How satisfied have you been with your involvement in the F2F Program overall? 
Why?
13. [EQ2] What do you think have been the biggest successes resulting from the support you 
received from F2F Program? What have the challenges been? 
14. [EQ2] To what extent was the implementation of the assessments for identifying community 
needs challenging?
15. [EQ2] Would you participate again in a similar project? What would you recommend for the 
future work?
16. [EQ2] How involved were women and youth in activity implementation, and is their 
participation sustainable?
17. [EQ2] Did women and youth actively participate in identifying and implementing activities?
18. The Baladi RMF Project went through several different changes in focus in response to 
recent crises. 
Evaluation Question 3
19. [EQ3] Which crisis had the most impact on the Baladi RMF Project? What were the 
challenges related to this crisis (possibility of talking on more than one crisis)? How were 
you able to solve and what were the Baladi RMF team interventions in helping you alleviating 
these challenges? 
20. [EQ3] Were the alternatives for training and assistance adopted by the Baladi RMF team 
able to maintain the project activities during the pandemic? 
21. [EQ3] To what extent did the COVID-19 global pandemic impact the activities? Which 
activities were affected? 
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22. [EQ3] To what extent did the Economic/Financial Crisis impact the activities? Which 
activities were affected? 
23. [EQ3] To what extent did the Beirut Blast pandemic impact the activities? Which activities 
were affected? 
Evaluation Question 4
24. [EQ4] What lessons can you learn from the way in which the project unfolded?
25. [EQ4] What outcomes should be considered if an organization wants to repeat this project 
or conduct a similar project?
26. [EQ4] What could have been done differently to complete the project more effectively?
27. [EQ4] What key changes should be made to the project to enhance achievement of 
objectives?
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ANNEX 10: KII QUESTIONS FOR USAID/LEBANON STAFF
Evaluation Question 1
1. [EQ1] What is your understanding of the community support approach of the RMF Baladi 
project? How relevant is this approach to the current landscape of Lebanon?
2. [EQ1] What has been your overall experience with BALADI/RMF?
3. [EQ1] How has BALADI/RMF contributed to improving municipal capabilities?
4. [EQ1] What is your understanding of the community support approach of the RMF Baladi 
project? How relevant is this approach to the current landscape of Lebanon?
5. [EQ1] How has BALADI/RMF helped municipalities to work inclusively with citizens to 
achieve local development objectives?
6. [EQ1] Do the activities address the real needs of the supported municipalities?
7. [EQ1] To what extent are you satisfied by Baladi RMF ability/knowledge to define and 
respond to community needs identified by the municipalities? 
8. [EQ1] How do you describe the approach adopted in shifting from call of applications for 
municipal interventions to identified interventions by municipalities (prior 2018, in Arsal and 
South)? 
9. [EQ1] How do you describe the approach adopted in shifting from call of applications for
municipal interventions to identified interventions by municipalities (prior 2018, in Arsal and 
South)? 
10. [EQ1] Which approach do you think worked better in answering the needs of the local 
community?
Evaluation Question 2
11. [EQ2] Overall, how satisfied have you been with RMF Baladi Project? Why? 
12. [EQ2] What are the most significant outcomes and achievements of BALADI/RMF, and were 
13. they in line with the BALADI/RMF’s objectives?
14. [EQ2] To what extent has the program been successful in meeting its objectives for:
Improving the governance of municipalities and improving public service delivery. 
[Probes: biggest successes, biggest challenges, progress on targets]
Establishing sustainable local social capital 
[Probes: biggest successes, biggest challenges, progress on targets]
15. [EQ2] Which activity or component stands out for you as particularly successful? How so? 
Why do you think this was the case?
16. [EQ2] How successful was BALADI/RMF in creating and sustaining collaboration between 
municipalities, civil society and the private sector?
17. [EQ2] How involved were women in BALADI/RMF implementation, and is their 
participation sustainable?
18. [EQ2] Did women actively participate in identifying and implementing activities?
Evaluation Question 3
The Baladi RMF Project went through several different changes in focus in response to 
recent crises. 
19. [EQ3] Which crisis had the most impact on the Baladi RMF Project?
20. [EQ3] To what extent were the Baladi/RMF team able to respond and adapt the activities in 
response to the multiple crises? What were the challenges that they faced? And to what 
extent were the alternatives that you adopted to maintain the project activities in response 
to the crises?
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Evaluation Question 4
21. [EQ4] What lessons can you learn from the way in which the project unfolded?
22. [EQ4] What outcomes should be considered if an organization wants to repeat this or 
conduct a similar project?
23. [EQ4] What could have been done differently to complete the project more effectively?
24. [EQ4] What key changes should be made to the project to enhance achievement of 
objectives?
25. [EQ4] In the current context, what, if anything, could be done by international organizations 
like USAID to help improve social inclusion in supporting communal projects led by 
municipalities (probes on women, youth and other vulnerable groups)?
26. [EQ4] What are the main lessons learned from BALADI/RMF for the design and 
implementation of similar projects in the future?
27. [EQ4] Are the lessons learned and/or innovations introduced by Baladi/RMF integrated into 
other USAID Mission projects?
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ANNEX 11: FGD TOOLS
FGD Solar Water Heaters (heads of households)
1. [EQ1] How would you describe your experience in the activity as a whole?
2. [EQ1] How were you selected as a beneficiary for this project?
3. [EQ1] Can you each tell us how long you have been using the solar water heaters? How do 
you use them (what function it fills for you)? 
4. [EQ1] To what extent was the process of installing solar water heaters clear to you from 
the beginning?
5. [EQ1] Who was responsible for establishing the solar water heaters? Do you know who was 
behind the initiative? Who paid for it? Who was involved in setting it up? Were there any 
women involved? 
6. [EQ1] Were the water heaters provided to you for free, or you had to contribute in any 
form to covering the costs? 
7. [EQ1] How well do the solar water heaters meet your needs? Do they function well? 
8. [EQ1 and 3] Please tell us on how you benefited from the solar water heaters specially 
within the current crises (Probes: free energy, reduced cost in energy bills, efficiency in
terms of heating during winters) 
9. [EQ2] What features of the solar water heaters would you say are most useful or valuable 
to you? What features are missing? 
10. [EQ2] Do you or any member of your family have challenges using the solar water heaters? 
Are they accessible enough for women and people with disabilities? 
11. [EQ2] How would you describe your overall experience with the project staff?
12. [EQ2] What kind of technical support did the project provide to support you in maintaining 
the solar water heaters? Did they provide any on-site training and provide you with guidance 
manuals?
FGD Agricultural Facility (farmers, SME staff)
13. [EQ1] How would you describe your experience in the activity as a whole?
14. [EQ1] How were you selected to take part of this activity and to benefit from the facility?
15. [EQ1] Can you each tell us how long you have been using the facility? How do you use it 
(what function it fills for you)? 
16. [EQ1] To what extent was the process of equipping the facility and its operations clear to 
you from the beginning?
17. [EQ1] Who was responsible for establishing the facility? Do you know who was behind the 
initiative? Who paid for it? Who was involved in setting it up? Were there any women 
involved? 
18. [EQ1] How well does the facility meet your needs? Does it function well? 
19. [EQ1 and 3] Please tell us how you benefited from the facility specially within the current 
crises (Probes: better product presentation and packaging, reduced post-harvest costs, 
increased in selling price, more marketing opportunities) 
20. [EQ2] What features of the facility would you say are most useful or valuable to you? What 
features are missing? 
21. [EQ2] Do you have challenges using the facility? 
22. [EQ2] Are community members involved in operating or managing the facility including 
women and people with disabilities? 
23. [EQ2] How would you describe your overall experience with the staff managing the facility?
24. [EQ2] Were you provided with any technical support to help you in your farming operations 
and to complement with the operations of the facility?
25. [EQ2] How would you assess the follow-up that the project provided you?
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ANNEX 12: OBSERVATION VISIT FORM
Date of site visit
Section 1: General information
IP Site Visit Information
Location Name of focal point
Role Contact information
Evaluation team members information
Name Telephone Number
Section 2: Observations 
Description of 
project 
equipment/facilit
y being observed
USAID 
Branded if 
applicable 
(Y/N)
Is the equipment/facility 
operational?
(Y/N or N/A)
Notes (especially if any 
significant deficiencies in 
operation are observed)
Section 3: Pictures
Item No. Picture / Geo Location Stamp (GIS Data)
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ANNEX 13: DOCUMENTARY SOURCES
I. USAID/LEBANON DOCUMENTS
RFA, Cooperative Agreement and Modifications
1. Cooperative Agreement CA No.AID-268-A-12-00004 - Final September 2012.
2. Contract Modifications: Mod 10 – August 2018; Mod 11- September 2018; 
Mod 12 – September 2018; Mod 13-December 2019; Mod14 – April2020; Mod 15 – March 
2022; and Mod 16 – May 2022.
Evaluations
3. BALADI RMF Interim Performance Evaluation – October 2020
II. BALADI DOCUMENTS
RFMA: all grant documents per awardee sampled for data collection
 SPD: all grant documents per awardee of Arsal and South SPDs sampled for data collection 
M&E
4. Approved M&E Plan
5. Performance monitoring plans from FY10Q1, Q2 and Q3. 
Progress Reports: FY8Q2, Q3 and Q4; FY9 Q1, Q2, A3 and A4; FY10 Q1, Q2 and Q3. 
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ANNEX 14: DISCLOSURE OF ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Team member Conflict of interest form
James Fremming, Chief of Party - Lebanon (EnCompass) [redacted]
Nour El Zaouk, Data Analyst (EnCompass) [redacted]
Dr. Imad Salamey, Team Lead (Independent Consultant) [redacted]
Ziad Atonious, Team Member (Independent Counsultant) [redacted]
Stephanie Bassil, Research and Evaluation Specialist (Management 
Systems International)
[redacted]
Dr. Pragati Godbole, (EnCompass) [redacted]
Amanda Stek, Facilitator and MEPL Senior MEL Specialist 
(EnCompass)
[redacted]
Julio Gerges, Third Party Monitoring Analyst (Management Systems 
International)
[redacted]
Hussein Zehri, Monitoring Specialist (Management Systems 
International)
[redacted]
Diana Shannan , Deputy Chief of Party – Lebanon (Encompass) [redacted]
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ANNEX 15: EVALUATION TEAM
Team member Qualifications Responsibility for this task
James Fremming, Chief of 
Party - Lebanon 
(EnCompass)
Chief of Party for USAID's 
Monitoring and Evaluation 
Program for Lebanon 
(MEPL), implemented by 
EnCompass LLC
Will maintain primary contact with 
USAID/Lebanon and ensure final delivery 
of the evaluation.
Diana Shannan , Deputy 
Chief of Party – Lebanon 
(Encompass)
Deputy Chief of Party for 
USAID's Monitoring and 
Evaluation Program for 
Lebanon (MEPL), 
implemented by EnCompass 
LLC
Will oversee the implementation of the 
evaluation and contribute to all phases of 
the evaluation. 
Ziad Antonios (Team 
member)
Evaluation experience of 
USAID Activities
Will contribute to all phases of the 
evaluation in collaboration with the team 
leader and the rest of the team, under 
the supervision of the Research and 
Evaluation Specialist
Nour El Zaouk, Data 
Analyst (EnCompass)
Public health practitioner, 
specialized in health 
promotion and community 
health. 
Will participate in designing, 
implementing, and analyzing the 
evaluation plan. Will support the team in 
planning the methodology for data 
collection, management, and analysis. Will
conduct quality assurance reviews of 
presented tools, data and reports;
coordinate ethics review; and facilitate 
the data analysis integration and synthesis 
workshop with the team. 
Dr. Imad Salamey, Team 
Lead (Independent 
Consultant)
Associate Professor of 
Political Science. Senior 
MEL consultant. Delivered 
and led several evaluation 
teams for USAID.
Will work under the direct supervision of 
the Research and Evaluation Specialist 
and in close collaboration with the MEPL 
team to coordinate and implement all 
evaluation activities.
Stephanie Bassil,
Research and Evaluation 
Specialist (EnCompass)
Managed several evaluations 
while working with the 
Norwegian Refugee Council
Will contribute to all phases of the 
evaluation in collaboration with the team 
leader and the rest of the team, under 
the supervision of the Senior M&E 
Specialist.
74 | BALADI RMF – ENDLINE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION USAID.GOV
FINAL REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2022
Team member Qualifications Responsibility for this task
Dr. Pragati Godbole,
(EnCompass)
Project Management, 
Research & Assessment, 
Quantitative and Qualitative 
data collection and analysis, 
Facilitation, Staff Training 
and Delivery, Grant 
Writing, Experience with 
Stata, SPSS, HLM, In-depth 
familiarity with developing 
contexts and Issues on 
Girls' Education in 
international contexts.
Will provide learning, recommendations, 
review, help with analysis, and ongoing 
feedback to the team.
Amanda Stek, Facilitator 
and MEPL Senior MEL 
Specialist (EnCompass)
MEL Associate Director Will facilitate the various tasks among the 
team members and ensure along the 
team leader the timely completion of the 
assigned tasks. Will provide quality 
assurance to deliverables.
Julio Gerges, Third Party 
Monitoring Analyst 
(Management Systems 
International)
Good experience in data 
collection and analysis
Supported in interviews, site observation 
and transcriptions
Hussein Zehri, 
Monitoring Specialist 
(Management Systems 
International)
Good experience in data 
collection and analysis
Supported in interviews, site observation 
and transcriptions
75 | BALADI RMF – ENDLINE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION USAID.GOV
FINAL REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2022
ANNEX 16: CHALLENGES AND ADAPTATION BY SECTOR
Rural Tourism (2 projects)
Solar and Energy Efficiency (10 projects)
Challenges to Implementation Adaptation
- declining revenues and 
IMF/LCS/CDR contributions.
- changing priorities.
- fuel cost.
- delays in implementation and incomplete 
project.
- Locals are not accustomed to scrutinized 
BALADI-RMF’s compliance requirements
- In-kind contribution substituted for cost-share.
- municipal council remained unified behind 
project.
- modified projects to accommodate new 
priorities.
- NGOs to take on increasing role in managing 
facilities.
- maintained public support due to prospects in 
youth and women employment.
Challenges to Implementation Adaptation
- Declining revenues and support from 
IIMF/LCS/CDR contributions.
- fuel cost.
- power generator not running at full capacity, 
undermining revenues..
- power generator not compliant with ERAC.
- government licensing complications.
- delays in implementation (2 years instead of 6 
months) and changes of contractors.
- available space for solar palates.
- Theft
- in-kind contribution substituted for cost-share.
- municipal council unified behind project.
- youth volunteerism contributed to local 
ownership.
- selection of beneficiaries based on Ministry of 
Social Affairs (Poverty Elevation Program).
- RMF proved impartiality and professionalism.
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FINAL REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2022
Agribusiness (3 projects)
Recreational Centers (1 project)
Challenges to Implementation Adaptation
- declining revenues and 
IMF/LCS/CDR contributions.
- government licensing complications.
- Ukraine war and rising cost of flour and 
cooking oil.
- fuel cost.
- delays in implementation due to 
quality assurances.
- prevailing public misconceptions about 
municipal work.
- lack of public media awareness campaigns.
- limited capacities of facility to absorb 
Agri production.
- in-kind contribution substituted for cost-share 
(mostly by partners).
- partners) operating the facility.
- maintained public support due to prospects of 
youth and women employment and needs.
- the productive and sustainable nature of project 
help maintain supporting momentum.
- received training to comply with food safety 
regulations.
- PPP is fully utilized through long term 
partnership.
- maintained cooperatives support due to 
prospects of benefits and marketing.
- remove development from politics.
-municipal leadership.
-effective partnership between municipality￾cooperative-contractor-RMF.
Challenges to Implementation Adaptation
-political disputes over municipal elections.
municipality terminated and project moved 
to Qaemmaqam.
- implementation delayed due to COVID and 
government permits requirements.
- incomplete projects
- Qaemmaqam role as impartial.
- Benefits and partnership in project helped 
navigate challenges.
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FINAL REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2022
Vocational Education (1 project)
-END￾Challenges to Implementation Adaptation
- Pessimism over resuming classes in 2022-23 
due to fuel and salary costs.
- discovered required renovation cost beyond 
initially anticipated.
- disagreement between school and municipal 
administrations over project orientation and 
allocated funds.
- Fuel cost
- modified intervention from renovation to 
equipment along the installation of power 
generator.