Building on existing reform efforts and coordinating efforts with other donors can improve impact and sustainability of policy and institutional reform. It is challenging to fully implement complex sector reform activities from beginning to end within the five-year compact timeline. As discussed in the political economy analysis of the interim evaluation report, the compact built on work already being done in the WASH sector by the Government of Cabo Verde (GoCV), municipalities, stakeholders and other donors, particularly Luxembourg Agency for Development Cooperation (LuxDev). That work resulted in the development of corporatized water utilities on two islands in Cabo Verde. These earlier efforts contributed to building the political will for national water sector reform and corporatization of the water utility on Santiago Island, and served as a model for the compact reforms. While it was not realistic for MCC to complete all of the identified policy and institutional reform (PIR) needs in the sector in five years, and although by the end of the compact there was still work to be done, MCC’s investments had moved the WASH sector beyond the point where the reforms could be reversed. At the end of the compact, the newly established institutions and utilities continued to need technical support. LuxDev, which had supported the reform process prior to MCC’s compact continues to offer technical support to the entities created by the compact. MCC should focus on encouraging coordination with other sector donors to help to ensure that the reform work will continue when a compact closes. MCC should also be intentional about conducting PIR in settings where its investments can build on work already being done, or if MCC starts a PIR process, it should be clear how it will continue once MCC’s timeline is up.
Lesson Learned