Polish aid

In 2017, MFA assessed the activities of Polish aid, which supported system reforms, fire-fighting and police services in the Ukraine. Moreover, selected educational initiatives carried out in Poland as part of the development cooperation in favour of Ukraine and other Eastern Partnership countries were evaluated.

The research was carried out based on the tasks that have been accomplished under the Multiannual Development Cooperation Programmes 2012-2015 and 2016-2020.The main objective was to analyse the efficiency, sustainability, relevance, effectiveness, functionality and innovation of the undertaken development initiatives.

The research has led to a positive assessment of Polish development aid implemented in Ukraine and selected education initiatives carried out in the Eastern Partnership countries. Most of the social and economic objectives of the implemented development projects were met in all areas of support. Measures offered to Ukraine as part of Polish development cooperation are based on Polish transformation experiences and are readily adaptable to Ukrainian conditions.

Evaluation results – Component I (initiatives supporting reforms in Ukraine)

The Polish experiences served as an inspiration for the Ukrainian party, especially during the initial period of work on decentralization. The effects of carried out activities show that a mechanism of change was triggered, covering competencies of the participants connected with activities and the implementation of new mechanisms of running the local government.  

With regard to supporting the reform of the Ukrainian education system, the impact of Polish initiatives on comprehensive and systemic changes was much more visible. Moreover, a broad long-term nationwide impact could be expected.

The efficiency of initiatives supporting the education reform could have been greater if the needs of the recipients had been better identified and more emphasis had been placed on the practical aspects of operating of the Polish education system. Extending the projects to include the stage of implementation, monitoring and assessment of outcomes would be a big added value. The effectiveness could be increased if university lecturers specialising in education were included in the projects’ target group. Currently, they are regarded as reform hinderers.

The strengths of Polish development cooperation in this respect are: high level of aid relevance at both strategic and operational levels, good familiarity with Ukrainian realities coming from experiences and a history of contacts between Polish organisations and Ukrainian partners, and the practical dimension of projects and solutions offered.

Some recommendations:

• adopting a more strategic approach to supporting reforms in Ukraine by concentrating initiatives;
• continuing support in areas where ending projects would compromise their outcomes;
• relying more on the existing channels for coordinating Polish activities with other donors;
• strengthening the institutional presence of Polish development aid in Ukraine.

Evaluation results - Component II (initiatives addressed to firefighting, police and rescue services in Ukraine)

Projects in public security are characterised by high effectiveness in obtaining the assumed hard outcomes and outputs. In the case of some projects, indicators were exceeded.

Carried out projects are very sustainable. Ukrainian services benefit from the knowledge and skills acquired during specialist training. The projects combine education activities with “hard” infrastructural elements (modernisation and renovation of building structures) and equipment transfer. However, the projects are not being monitored for deferred effects.

Fire-fighting projects constitute a Polish “niche” and a “Polish export product.” The initiatives also have large horizontal synergy – subsequent initiatives are based on earlier experiences.

No evidence of complementarity between Polish projects and other donor initiatives was observed and no overlapping ventures in the area of security were identified. In comparison with other donors, Polish support provided to Ukrainian rescue services is systematic, complex and specialist.

Some recommendations:

• cooperating with other donors on fire-fighting projects;
• maintaining concentration and specialisation of rescue aid with a parallel inclusion of new recipients, subjects and areas in initiatives;
• continuing cooperation with reliable partners.

Evaluation results – Component III (initiatives in the areas of education in the EaP countries)

The evaluated initiatives should be assessed very favourably both in terms of their outcomes and relevance. Their sustainability impact should also be pointed out. However, participants said what they appreciated most was the knowledge they had acquired and the possibility to exchange experience with people from other countries.

The sustainability of evaluated initiatives should be assessed positively. Most respondents still draw on the knowledge gained during training, studies and internships in their professional work. Project participants have also said that now they are better off financially.

The fact that some of Poland’s initiatives are unique is also significant which makes our country stand part from our donors and has a positive impact on its image.

Openness, sincerity and willingness to share experiences are some of the things that internship, training and scholarship participants appreciate most in Polish lecturers.

Some recommendations:

• better coordinating initiatives and popularising good practices of knowledge sharing;
• develop analysing participants’ needs and introducing graduate tracking.