Performance evaluation of the Supporting Sustainable Artisanal Mining in Rwanda programme

DFID Rwanda recognises the relevance and importance of the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector to Rwanda’s future and has set aside up to £4.3 million between 2017 – 2020 for the Sustainable Development of Mining in Rwanda programme (SDMR). This programme aims to improve the livelihoods of over 40,000 Rwandans involved in the artisanal small-scale mining industry, as well as benefiting the growth of the wider economy through sustainable growth of Rwanda’s mining sector. DFID’s investment aims to make the ASM sector more productive, efficient and better governed, and is in line with the Government of Rwanda’s Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) II. SDMR seeks to provide tailored solutions to improve miner productivity and income, increase access to finance and improve the contribution that ASM makes to the economic development of the country. It will do so by addressing key market failures facing the mining industry. Beneficiaries will include the artisanal and small-scale miners in targeted mining communities of Rwanda, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) and the private sector. The different interventions under SSAMIR focus will fall under its two foundational pillars: • Pillar 1: Improving the business-enabling environment in the ASM sector across Rwanda • Pillar 2: Piloting model of Mining Service Aggregation Centres (MSAC) in two districts: Gakenke and a second MSAC district that has yet to be determined. In order to deliver these changes, the following reforms are being targeted through SDMR across different Pillars: • Create an enabling environment that attracts investment; • Build the knowledge base on ASM in Rwanda; • Address gaps in capacity for ASM communities and governance bodies; and • Implement Mining Services Aggregation Pilot. The SDMR programme will be delivered by the Technical Service Provider (TSP), Cardno, that reports directly to DFID Rwanda but has the responsibility for engaging with a wide range of government and private sector stakeholders. The TSP began work in April 2017 and completed its Inception Phase in October 2017. Coffey International was appointed as the Evaluation Partner in December 2017. As the Evaluation Partner, we bear the primary responsibility to ensure that programme-level M&E is appropriately designed, robust and effectively implemented. Our evaluation team will focus on adding value over and above the TSP’s main monitoring and evaluation strategy. Our Inception Phase runs through May 2018 and culminates in the approval of this Inception Report by DFID Rwanda.