Artisan and Fez Medina 2013

Given the diversity of the initiatives to be evaluated, the evaluation team focused on directly eliciting extensive direct participation of the beneficiaries through focus groups and semistructured interviews, complemented by a survey of a sample of 100 representatives of the beneficiary populations.

Overall, the “Fez Medina” activity had a positive impact on the beneficiary groups of the Resettlement Action Plan, who saw an improvement in their social and economic situation. Vulnerable populations especially benefited, thanks to the training and vocational integration program, which opened up new occupational vistas for them. Moreover, the working conditions of beneficiaries in Aïn Nokbi substantially improved.

Positive impacts were also seen in the businesses and management teams, whose competencies and know-how were improved by the project.

The project had some unexpected adverse effects on neighboring populations that were economically linked to Lalla Yeddouna square but were not beneficiaries of the PAR. When the project was conceived, the risk of adverse effects on this group was considered to be minimal because of the short duration of these effects. However, the delays sharply exacerbated the adverse impact, with the result that many businesses were forced to close and declare bankruptcy.