The African Commission and the Joint Secretariat Support Office organised a technical consultation meeting between the AU-Technical Working Group on Agenda 2063 and different regional stakeholders to take stock of the current preparations for the evaluation of the First-Ten Year Implementation Plan (FTYIP) and the formulation of the Second-Ten Year Implementation Plan (STYIP) of Agenda 203: the Africa We Want.

Various stakeholders took part in the technical consultation including six Regional Economic Communities (COMESA, EAC, UMA, SADC, CEN-SAD, IGAD) as well as representatives of AUDA-NEPAD, APRM and African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), African Development Bank, and UNICFE. Further, representatives of the Ambassadorial Committee on Agenda 2063 ; Algeria, Senegal equatorial Guinee and Congo also took part in the consultations.

The FTYIP evaluation responds to the Executive Council decision at the 32nd Ordinary Session in January 2018 which approved the Agenda 2063 FTYIP Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and Indicator Handbook as the basis for reporting on implementation status and progress against stipulated targets, as referenced in Executive Council Decision 987 (XXXII). Also, the Specialised Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning, and Integration at its Ministerial Meeting in March 2019 recommended that the African Union Commission (AUC) and African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) take the lead in coordinating the preparation and submission to Policy Organs of biennial performance continental reports on Agenda 2063.

The technical meeting aimed to outline the scope of the evaluation including methodology, guiding questions as well as data collection, analysis, and validation approach. Further, it also deliberated on the roadmap and milestones to be achieved in the evaluation process. The meeting also discussed the necessary communication and engagement strategies to raise awareness on Agenda 2063 and ensure proper coordination with member states for data collection and inclusiveness while conducting the evaluation process.

It is worth noting that the FTYIP evaluation will be mainly focusing on I) Assess and deepen the understanding on performance and progress on Agenda 2063 goals and targets as set out in the FTYIP, and the implications and impact of continental and global trends (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) on Africa’s developmental ambitions; ii) Assess the extent to which institutional synergies and complementarities were exploited in the coordination of and collaboration on Agenda 2063 FTYIP among AU entities; iii) Assess the progress of implementation of the 15 AU flagship projects; and IV) Clearly define priority areas of focus and critical success factors for the STYIP based on experiences and lessons learnt from the implementation of FTYIP.

The key outcomes of the meeting include a revised roadmap of the evaluation process, evaluation matrix, draft outline of the evaluation report, engagement, and communication plan and lastly the early steps of the STYIP.

At the end of the meeting, the AUC represented by Agenda 2063 Coordination Unit emphasised its eagerness to ensure coordination with all stakeholders and member states to ensure the success of the evaluation process and bring Agenda 2063 to the benefit of African Citizenry.