In the second half of 2022 the programme was evaluated by external consultants. Several key conclusions and recommendations were made that Wehubit can take into account in future programme development and implementation.
Strategic recommandations
Continue funding the Wehubit programme and design a Wehubit 2.0 which draws on the first phase lessons learned and best practices
The programme may be ambitious. Being ambitious means supporting the scaling of social innovations in the middle stages (transition to scale) as it has done during Wehubit 1.0, but also looking beyond to support projects’ later stages (e.g in creating co-financing schemes or pool-funding for large scaling).
Provide a well-defined interpretation of scaling social digital innovation and enhance the sustainability framework, while remaining flexible in implementation
It is recommended to review Wehubit’s theoretical framework and establish proper definitions to clarify what digital social innovation is, what Wehubit means by scaling digital social innovations and sustainability measures.
Develop tools to foster internal synergies between country portfolios and Wehubit
Although Wehubit produces useful knowledge for Enabel, internal synergies are limited by the organisation’s framework and focus on country programmes, from which Wehubit is currently absent. In the future, Wehubit should be involved in discussions leading up to new country programmes. Wehubit should also create regular instances of information sharing with each country representation to identify synergies between the Wehubit portfolio and bilateral portfolios.
Operational recommandations
Revise project selection criteria
Wehubit displays a concern for sustainability as a principle of action and takes this into account in the project selection procedure. Some projects demonstrate good potential for sustainability through the involvement of local authorities, but there are few concrete mechanisms in place to ensure this sustainability after selection. It is recommended to reinforce the importance of the current sustainability questions in the selection process and to view it as a minimum criterium.
Support partners to plan their large-scale applications
Under Wehubit 1.0, several projects expressed unmet needs in terms of further scaling-up and expansion. Thus, when continuing support with Wehubit 2.0, project scaling should be an integrated and larger topic of focus. By formalizing specific support to scaling e.g. identifying specific scaling objectives together, conducting assessments on projects’ scaling strategies and needs, as well as monitoring progress during implementation, Wehubit can better respond to projects’ scaling requirements.
Formalise internal documents on the informal support brought to partner organisations in order to gain efficiency
In line with the revised theoretical framework, Wehubit could identify the most impactful areas of support with the most added value to partner organisations and agree on whether to add this support to Wehubit 2.0.
Adapt the MEL framework and develop an accessible dashboard
It is recommended to align the MEL with the impact pathways of Wehubit, once these are clarified in their framework. The MEL system currently used by Wehubit is overly robust. Opting for a data visualisation tool that links with the M&E Excel file could ensure easier monitoring of the results and impacts expected by the PMU.