Our mixed-methods study—combining experimental, quasi-experimental, descriptive, and qualitative methods—assesses four of the five RTP components. Specifically, the components covered by this study are (1) Strengthening the Inspectorate Services of the RNP, (2) Strengthening the Rule of Law for Policy Reform, (3) Media Strengthening, and (4) Strengthening Civic Participation. Collectively, these four components account for over 85 percent of the RTP’s total program implementation budget. To determine the scope of the evaluation, we first sought to identify implemented activities within a component that could potentially produce a measurable effect within the study’s timeframe. For example, in coordination with MCC, we decided not to study effects of the Media Strengthening component’s assistance to media associations, because only a small part of the original activity plan for these associations was implemented. Next, we examined each activity to determine whether it would be possible to obtain data that would generate meaningful evidence on the program’s effects. We sought to collect information about either a comparison group similar to those who received the program or the prior status of program beneficiaries before activities began. Several RTP activities did not meet this requirement. For example, the RNP Strengthening and Media Strengthening components provided training and technical assistance to a large number of journalists and RNP officers before our evaluation was initiated, precluding the collection of baseline data or the identification of a comparison group. Likewise, activities that were nationwide in scope, such as the legislative policy reform initiatives supported by the Strengthening Rule of Law component or efforts to support passage of a national media reform law as part of the Media Strengthening component, were not included in the evaluation due to the absence of baseline data or an identifiable comparison group. It is possible that the RTP may have had indirect, longer-term impacts on national policies and institutions that fall beyond the scope of our evaluation designs.
