EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Overall setting and the context of the Projects Liberia plunged into a civil war at the end of 1989 that lasted until the Peace Agreement, which was signed on August 2003 installing Transitional Government in place. However civil strife caused Liberia to lose substantial institutional capacity in terms of manpower and destruction of infrastructure. In short, the government then in power could not pursue any meaningful programs; even an effective administration and official development assistance ceased. The Accra Peace Agreement called on UNDP and other development partners to assist the Transitional Government with post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction, resource mobilization and aid coordination, as well as the establishment of the Governance Reform Commission with the objective to promoting the principles of good governance in Liberia. Moreover, at the request of the Transitional Government a joint UNDP/World Bank team prepared a Joint Needs Assessment (Feb. 2004) in which a results-focused transition framework was articulated. In this document ten goals were established for a transition strategy. The Projects/Programs that are evaluated in this Report constitute the components of the Joint Need Assessment that aim to contribute to a speedy transition from the post-conflict situation to the establishment of peace and stability in Liberia and creating an enabling environment for a long-term development based on UNDP strategic goals. The Team is keenly aware that the Projects/Programs evaluated here were prepared under most trying circumstances. Fragmented government, weakened leadership, absence of national human capacity and the need for quick and immediate action may have caused some shortcomings in project preparation as well as implementation. Notwithstanding these adverse conditions the Team notes that from the conceptual standpoint these Projects/Programs have kept their consistency with UNDP's overall sta