Evaluation of Results Based Aid in Rwandan Education

Upper Quartile was commissioned to undertake a three-year mixed-method process and impact evaluation of the Results Based Aid (RBA) pilot in Rwandan education, considering if, how and in what circumstances the pilot contributed to the results envisaged in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Government of Rwanda (GoR). Results Based Aid is a form of Payment By Results (PbR); broadly defined, PbR is a financing scheme that makes payments dependent on achieved results. PbR is generally arranged in three main ways depending on who the funding recipient is; Results Based Aid (RBA) is characterised by government-to-government funding. DFID’s approach demonstrates two key characteristics.  A risk transfer (from DFID to the partner) as payment depends on a result, rather than an action; and  Independently verified results as the trigger for disbursal of payment  Recipient discretion; the recipient is given space to decide how results should be achieved. The purpose of the evaluation was to determine whether the additional incentive of RBA impacted completion at key stages of education and additional teachers becoming competent in the use of English as the medium of instruction. The evaluation also considered the response of the recipient (GoR) and other key actors to RBA and sought to establish the various processes that led to observed results. The methodological approach to the evaluation was ‘realist’; exploring questions about what works, for whom, in what circumstances and why. The impact evaluation component was premised on the findings of an econometric model which explored trends in, and the factors affecting, completion with the aim of identifying any RBA-related effect. The process evaluation in each year involved desk-based review of policy and literature, combined with qualitative primary research at national, District and school-based level to explore the response to RBA and the drivers of change in relation to completion and English language proficiency. The evaluation also included in-depth modelling of the potential value for money (VfM) of RBA. The evaluation findings are being used by the Government of Rwanda (GOR) and its agencies (specifically the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and the Rwanda Education Board (REB)) to aid their understanding of the current situation and the factors impacting completion and teachers’ competency in English as the medium of instruction; by GOR and DFID-Rwanda to inform decision making around the design of any future RBA initiatives; and by DFID, HMG and the wider development community to improve understanding of how RBA approaches may be designed and used to maximise the impact of development spend.