SECSIP should focus on what can be accomplished in final six months period of the extended project (through June 2021) under COVID-19 conditions and the preparation of a successor follow-on project.

UNDP/Solomon Islands should decide whether to develop either a broad democratic governance project or a more focused project supporting electoral administration.

UNDP should engage with partners, stakeholders and donors on whether to develop a successor electoral cycle support project

For both narrower successor project focused on electoral administration and as part the potential alternative broader projected focused on democratic governance

Evaluation recommendations 3 and 4

For both narrower successor project focused on electoral administration and as part the potential alternative broader projected focused on democratic governance:

3a. In the remaining six months of phase II, SECSIP should prioritize conducting an inclusive, comprehensive technical capacity assessment of the EO to identify clearly the existing capacity of the EMB and its capacity gaps in terms of meeting the current responsibilities and future plans of the office.

3b. SECSIP should work closely with the new leadership of the EO and the staff to facilitate     agreement and consensus on realistic goals for the EO, action plans to achieve the strategic plan, and activities to support institutional capacity building to meet the goals of the agreed-upon action plans.

3c. A follow- on project in electoral administration should considering using the same objectives of SECSIP phase I and II because internatioanl support appears to still be needed to achieve the outputs of: 

a-Sustainable voter registration system created to strengthen the inclusiveness and integrity of the election cycle

b-More efficient and effective administrative procedures designed and implemented for the EO to fulfil its mandate

c-National authorities and local networks have better capacity to train and educate the population on voter awareness and civic engagement

d-Electoral, legal and administrative reform supported to contribute to a stronger electoral commission and representative democracy

e-Increased capacity of communities to promote women’s political participation

All other areas of potential support identified as appropriate in the 2019 NAM can fit well under these objectives.

4. Any successor project should be developed through results-based methodologies that articulate clear outcomes that the project will contribute to – with clear outputs that can lead to these outcomes. Outputs should be clearly articulated and be measurable, with baseline data and plans to measure progress towards outputs going forward under the next project. However, it may be more difficult or not be possible to develop a comprehensive, clear a results-based project in outcomes in broader areas of democratic governance as there are substantial uncertainties about national choices of governance modalities and reform. Outputs should be designed with a focus on sustainable results owned by national counterparts. SECSIP should consider hiring an experienced IC for substantive dialogue and engagement to develop an outcome-based project with clear expectations about outputs and their contributions to expected outcomes.

Evaluation recommendations 5, 6, 7 and 8

5.UNDP should consider joining with the AHC and potentially the EU or other interested international parties to form a regular, small donor coordination group on electoral assistance (or democratic governance and electoral administration) in order to strengthen cooperation and collaboration and avoid issues. Membership and leadership of this group should be at the level above SECSIP and ESSP. A future project would benefit from a clearer, agreed roles between assistance efforts. SECSIP and this group should also consult with IFES about their workplan and activities to be conducted under their USAID contract in order not to duplicate these engagements in the development of a new project

6.UNDP should consider using the same staff or IC(s) for these linked processes and products (capacity assessment of the EO, action plan towards meeting the SIEC strategic plan, and successor UNDP electoral cycle project document

7. UNDP should increase its efforts to collaborate across UNDP projects and with other UN agencies, particularly UN Women and UNFPA,

8. UNDP should develop and sustain a dedicated website that organizes and makes widely available both brief descriptions of all projects, including SECSIP, and the products produced by these projects in ways that can be used by citizens in the Solomons and other Pacific island countries to support discussion, debate, and development in the Solomons