Mid-term Evaluation Report Sri Lanka - Unido

5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The mid-term evaluation as conducted between 23 March and 27 April, 2001
provided us with the opportunity to monitor and evaluate the implementation of an
interesting UNDP/GEF & the GOSL project on - so needed - capacity building for
continued development of the sustainable energy sector in Sri Lanka. Since it was not
only a reflection of the historical occurrences as is usual the case for an evaluation, we
were also in the position to extract from our findings some (practical)
recommendations for a more effective and efficient implementation of the remainder
of the project. Lessons learned as it concerns the design and implementation of this
project will be hopefully considered when future generation GEF projects are being
identified, formulated and implemented.
During the evaluation mission to Sri Lanka between 26 March and 6 April, 2001 a
large number of people and institutions were visited for secondary, but more
importantly primary data collection. Even non-verbal communication has proven to be
quite useful as a means of providing information to us. We sincerely appreciate the
contributions made by Sri Lanka stakeholders (in)directly involved in this project
during the evaluation mission. We would like to thank all of you and we express the
hope that the conclusions, findings and recommendations originating from this report
will assist you in the continued implementation of the project.
The evaluation team would especially like to thank Dr. V.U. Ratnayake, the national
project coordinator for his professional and constructive participation as well as for
his humor that made working with him a real pleasure. The evaluation team also
wishes to thank Ms. Dorthe Jorgensen, programme officer at UNDP Colombo for her
guidance and valuable inputs before, during and after the evaluation mission.
As a closing remark we can only make mention of the fact that a lot of fine work has
been carried out that deserves a follow -up - in whatever format. We congratulate all
the Sri Lanka stakeholders with that work, which we believe is a very useful
contribution to the sustainable energy sector in Sri Lanka. May other countries in the
region and beyond learn from the Sri Lanka experience and put it to use in their own
context.
Sincerely yours,
The evaluation team:
Mr. Ad Dankers, Evaluation team leader, UNIDO consultant
Mr. Bandula Tilakasena, National expert, UNIDO consultant
Mr. Guillermo Jimenez, Evaluation team member, UNIDO staff member
May, 2001
Final report, 4 May 2001
Mid-term evaluation report: 'Renewable energy and energy capacity building'