Gabriele Levi, Walter Antonio Canu, DISAMIS 

The external evaluation of the REBUILD project, conducted by Disamis, highlighted the results, critical issues and learnings that the project experienced in the first half of its life. (2021 – 2023). Our evaluation process is the result of the partners’ valuable cooperation, to which we thank you for your availability and kindness.

Participation in projects for evaluators is always an opportunity for reflection and growth, and in the case of REBUILD, the whole process was particularly challenging for us.

Through meetings, interviews, questionnaires and the study of the project context and documentation, we were able to explore the dynamics of the project, particularly enhancing the views of the ten municipalities on the training activities carried out so far, which are a central pillar of the entire project strategy. REBUILD is achieving promising results on the competences of municipalities and, thanks to the two pilot projects, may have the opportunity to engage concretely in local development policies, administrative strengthening, and inter-institutional dialogue (international and local). This last aspect is particularly relevant in a complex context such as Libya.

The project’s challenges arising from the changing situation, largely related to the recent implementation of local government reform, provided the partners with an opportunity to “field” test the complexities of multilevel and intersectoral governance, along with the constraints and opportunities of a regulatory framework that is being defined and only recently tested and implemented.

In this context, the opportunity for cooperation between Europe and Libya also offers an interesting space for intercultural dialogue, including on social issues. To date, the results of the evaluation suggest that the partnership will hopefully go beyond the REBUILD experience with new projects in the spirit of the Nicosia Initiative.

Looking ahead to the final year of the project, the main recommendations of the mid-term evaluation are summarized as follows:

  1. Ensure greater integration between universities and municipalities in the development and implementation of training courses for municipality staff.
  2. Promote wider external communication of the capacity building process within municipalities to inform Libyan civil society organizations and the public.
  3. Promote internal communication actions by further involving media managers in project activities.