The KEY programme: reinforcing resilience in northern Mali
In recent years, there have been a succession of emergency relief programmes in northern and eastern Mali. In 2016, the European Union decided to launch a vast programme called ‘KEY’ (which means ‘to stand’ in the local language). The programme aimed to help the transition from emergency relief to development, and reinforce the resilience of vulnerable people in Mali with regard to food and nutritional insecurity.
Five consortiums, made up of 27 international and national NGOs, were selected to implement the programme in the regions of Gao, Kidal, Ménaka, Mopti, Taoudéni and Tombouctou. In parallel, IRD (Institut de recherche pour le développement) and Groupe URD were chosen to provide support, and evaluate the programme as a whole. EU funding for the programme was 40 million Euro.
The KEY programme had two main objectives:
- Reinforcing the capacity of communities, households and the most vulnerable people to anticipate, absorb and recover from shocks to their food and nutritional security through the coordinated implementation of community projects;
- Reinforcing the leadership role of the authorities at all levels in the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of all operations.
What lessons can be drawn from the programme?
Following the closure of the programme, Groupe URD is publishing a detailed analytical report. Together with the report of the 5th EIMS iterative evaluation (effectively, the final evaluation), these two reports provide a general review of the lessons learned, including contextual and operational analysis, and analysis of the programme results.
Overall, the results of the KEY programme show that it has contributed to reducing vulnerability. The different communities involved have been able to get through hunger gaps without adopting negative coping strategies.
The implementation period saw a great deal of instability, with both political and military violence and an increase in lawlessness, but NGOs nevertheless managed to adapt their operational methods to limit the inconveniences of this situation and were able to reach the vast majority of the targeted beneficiaries.
Another aspect of the programme was the high level of involvement of communities and local authorities in the different implementation phases. The five consortiums of NGOs who were selected had experience of working together on other projects and were familiar with the operational contexts, which was a major asset for the implementation of activities. Some of the organisations have been working with the same communities for more than ten years, which helped to increase transparency and acceptance. Local NGOs ran the majority of the field activities, while international NGOs provided technical support in the different operational areas.
Running the programme via a large consortium in this way nevertheless did require major investment, and a complex operational set up for coordination, steering and monitoring. Groupe URD was in charge of monitoring and evaluation, and the provision of strategic support to DG ECHO and its partners. As such, the programme provided important lessons about adaptation and agility, and underlined the value of our role as a learning partner. Following the closure of the programme, questions remain about its impact, the sustainability of the systems put in place and their appropriation by local actors. A significant number of lessons have been learned that should be taken into account in other programmes of the same kind in contexts that are as complex as the one in northern and central Mali.
The two reports include detailed analysis of the programme and its results, lessons learned and recommendations for future programmes. All the reports that have been produced are available on the KEY programme’s webpage, as well as a series of videos illustrating activities carried out in the field.