SUMMARY and LESSONS LEARNED - FINAL EVALUATION IN BURKINA FASO Projet de Développement des Ressources Agro Pastorales de la Province du Namentenga' (PAPNA) A. Project Profile UNCDF has been active in Burkina since 1974. The two projects financed by UNCDF and UNDP before PAPNA were: (a) The Boulsa-Tougouri road construction project (1996 -2002) and (b) the action, production and support project In Namentenga 1994 - 1999 (PAPANAM). PAPNA Project duration: 2001-2008 Objective: To reduce poverty in the Namentenga province through social and economic development focused on good governance principles. Immediate Objective: To promote sustainable local development managed by local institutional actors enabling sustainable access to basic social services to the poor. B. Context -In 2003 the project underwent a revision and shifted from a 'soil development project' to a 'Local Development Approach'; BSF became a major partner. -Decentralisation in Burkina is recent with the complete 'communalisation' of the country ('rural commune' is defined as a 'regrouping of villages') in 2004. -Unlike GTZ projects that focus on the village level, PAPNA distinguishes itself from other decentralisation projects by operating at the inter-village level. This inter-village approach allowed for a smoother transfer to communalisation when communalisation was progressively introduced and 'Land Management Inter-Village Committees' replaced by 'Village Development Councils' a sub-unit of the municipal councils. -Mid-term evaluation was held in 2005 and the final evaluation was held in May 2008. The evaluation team was composed of an international evaluation team leader, three national and one international consultant. C. Key findings of the final evaluation - The final evaluation had 7 major findings. Overarching finding: 'PAPNA helped communities to manage local development thereby paving the way for an effective transfer from pre-communal supported structures