Baseline evaluation of the PSFU capacity building project at Safeway Right way (SWRW), Uganda Professional Drivers Association (UPDN) and Uganda Driving Standard Agency (UDSA)
Executive summary
Aimed at providing the consortium (Safe Way Right Way, Uganda Drivers Standards Agency and Uganda Professional Driver Network) with a “mirror” to assess the beginning of the performance of PSFU project against the intended objectives, the main purpose of the baseline evaluation was to provide an objective and independent review of baseline information on intended Program achievements /challenges and generate critical lessons learned. More specifically the baseline evaluation pursued to; assess the start of the implementation of the Program, including overall activities’ outputs as well as the drivers own experiences, assess the evolution of the Program during the period of inception to implementation and understand and document key lessons learned, particularly around the effectiveness, adaptability and sustainability of the approach.
The one-year (Oct 2019 to July 2020) capacity-building project (UGX1,114,070,000) targets 150 HGV drivers in Uganda, however, before the proposal was generated there was a need for identification carried out by the three Joint Venture (JV) partners comprising CNOOC Uganda Ltd, Total E&P Uganda B.V and Tullow Uganda Operations Pty Ltd through an extensive Industrial Baseline Survey (IBS). The survey findings indicated that the HGV drivers are insufficient in Uganda and that the drivers needed professional training if they are to meet the selection criteria for the job at the companies. The partner organisations that formed the consortium and charged with the responsibilities of training the HGV drivers (SWRW and UDSA), selecting of the drivers and Evaluation (UPDN), have since advocated for standardized driving and certification of HGV drivers to reduce road accidents through improved driving skills. At the time of the baseline evaluation, critical activities were being conducted for instance selection of the drivers and training of at least 33% of the targeted 150 HGV drivers. While the Covid-19 lockdown delayed the evaluation itself, the start date of the project was un clear, compounded by delays in the procurement process of the vehicle for the training which makes other consortium members ponder whether the set intervention will be achieved within the stipulated contract deadline.
During the baseline, it was found that; the Capacity building initiative is praised largely due to its unique ability to train CH class drivers which is a rare phenomenon in Uganda where most professional driver training are done by driving schools specifically for light vehicles. Majority 60% respondents prefer working with the Oil and gas sector, followed by 15% with the Oil and Gas including NGO, 11% with Oil and Gas including Government and minute 7% HGV drivers would like to work with any sector just like those that prefer NGO. With respect to evidence of impact, the evaluation team feels that it is too early at this point in the Program to be able to concretely determine the long-term effect. The project period alone is not enough to generate concreate evidence of intermediate outcome or even impact.
It is therefore clear, that food and transport components should have been included in the program from the beginning to motivate the drivers during the training since it is extremely difficult to do trainings without food. Besides, there should have been a deliberate effort to encourage women to acquire CH permits so that the women can benefit for similar programs. In terms of developing an equity and gender-equality sensitive recruitment and selection strategy, it will be important to consider: how female HGV drivers’ applicants are recruited to apply for the Program, at what point in the selection process of the women HGV drivers are prioritized over other candidates, and what mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that the prioritization process has worked effectively
Introduction
This report present findings of the formative baseline evaluation of the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) funding of professional training of the Heavy Good Vehicle (HGV) drivers Program at Safe Way Right (SWRW), Uganda Drivers Standards Agency (UDSA) and Uganda Professional Driver Network (UPDN). The Program is a one-year initiative (2020) designed to enhance capacity of technical and vocational institutions to deliver high quality training programmes under the skills development facility.
The evaluation was carried out between March 2020 and July 2020 by a team of two evaluators from Anfrey Connor Investment LTD contracted to provide an independent assessment of the beginning of the project before any progress is made in implementation of the project.
The baseline evaluation is aimed at providing the consortium (Safe Way Right Way, Uganda Drivers Standards Agency and Uganda Professional Driver Network) with a report to assess the beginning of the performance of PSFU project against the intended objectives, gather lessons learned and best practices from the beginning as well offer any evidence and recommendations that may shape the project moving forward.
The primary target audience of this baseline survey are the HGV Drivers, SWRW, UDSA and UPDN. Other stakeholders who could benefit from the baseline evaluation are the alumni, their employers, the Ministry of Works (MoW) and other driving institutions
