Endline Report
FINAL EVALUATION “Support to Development of Agricultural Cooperatives”
The Final Evaluation Report consists of a project background, methodology, main findings (including analysis of in-depth interviews and focus group results), conclusions, recommendations and lessons learnt. The methodology used triangulation, combining desk research (qualitative and quantitative secondary data) and primary data collected during the mission in North Macedonia via interviews and focus groups in Skopje and other locations.
Relevance: The project was clearly relevant to the context of North Macedonia and the Western Balkans region. The interventions were timely and focused on addressing the priority needs of farmers, important for enhancing sustainability of North Macedonian agriculture. Its design was based on the in-depth needs assessment, which was a collaborative effort carried out by the partners, stakeholders and project beneficiaries. In the course of its implementation, the identified needs farmers and stakeholders were also met by the project to a great extent.
Effectiveness: The effectiveness of the project was visible in several areas. However in some areas more time is needed – likely until the completion of the project - to unveil the project outcomes and impacts. The project greatly succeeded in creating a significant number of new ACs and increasing the involvement of farmers into this kind of business model. Yet, their membership size is often small. Despite the efforts to consolidate representation of the AC’s, there were mixed results regarding the umbrella organization. On the one hand, it visibly improved the planning, management, and provision of services while ensuring the continuation of the funding until the end of 2020. On the other hand, it split into two entities, which hampered the consolidation process. There is limited progress that is visible in terms improved business performance of the ACs. However, the project lifespan was too short to detect a major shift in economic terms.
Efficiency: The implementation of the project was smooth and largely in line with its budget and timeline. The project encountered minor delays and budget issues from the beginning. Yet, the project was complemented with in-kind resources of the partners and thus was cost-efficient. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the project duration had to be extended. The management of the project was very efficient and responsive against this force majeure. The project lifetime was extended and this allowed for an adequate adaptation to those unusual circumstances.
Sustainability: Despite the relatively successful establishment of the ACs, the sustainability of the project has been called into question due to the fact that related legal frameworks have not been adopted and the challenges ACs face in accessing the markets. The cooperatives benefitted from investments to upgrade farm facilities (machinery, post-harvest storage), yet they were not clearly embedded into functioning value chains. The pandemic proved to be challenging for enhancing the links between the farmers and other value chain actors. Participation in face-to-face meetings and business events was seriously constrained. Yet, the project succeeded in facilitating contacts between business partners, especially for the AC Prespansko Jabolche. Read More...
Relevance: The project was clearly relevant to the context of North Macedonia and the Western Balkans region. The interventions were timely and focused on addressing the priority needs of farmers, important for enhancing sustainability of North Macedonian agriculture. Its design was based on the in-depth needs assessment, which was a collaborative effort carried out by the partners, stakeholders and project beneficiaries. In the course of its implementation, the identified needs farmers and stakeholders were also met by the project to a great extent.
Effectiveness: The effectiveness of the project was visible in several areas. However in some areas more time is needed – likely until the completion of the project - to unveil the project outcomes and impacts. The project greatly succeeded in creating a significant number of new ACs and increasing the involvement of farmers into this kind of business model. Yet, their membership size is often small. Despite the efforts to consolidate representation of the AC’s, there were mixed results regarding the umbrella organization. On the one hand, it visibly improved the planning, management, and provision of services while ensuring the continuation of the funding until the end of 2020. On the other hand, it split into two entities, which hampered the consolidation process. There is limited progress that is visible in terms improved business performance of the ACs. However, the project lifespan was too short to detect a major shift in economic terms.
Efficiency: The implementation of the project was smooth and largely in line with its budget and timeline. The project encountered minor delays and budget issues from the beginning. Yet, the project was complemented with in-kind resources of the partners and thus was cost-efficient. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the project duration had to be extended. The management of the project was very efficient and responsive against this force majeure. The project lifetime was extended and this allowed for an adequate adaptation to those unusual circumstances.
Sustainability: Despite the relatively successful establishment of the ACs, the sustainability of the project has been called into question due to the fact that related legal frameworks have not been adopted and the challenges ACs face in accessing the markets. The cooperatives benefitted from investments to upgrade farm facilities (machinery, post-harvest storage), yet they were not clearly embedded into functioning value chains. The pandemic proved to be challenging for enhancing the links between the farmers and other value chain actors. Participation in face-to-face meetings and business events was seriously constrained. Yet, the project succeeded in facilitating contacts between business partners, especially for the AC Prespansko Jabolche. Read More...
End of the Project Evaluation | Strengthening Approaches for Improved Maternal, Neonatal and Reproductive Health in Myanmar: Lashio Township, Northern Shan State, Myanmar
GSK and CARE Myanmar have been working together in the country since 2012 to provide better health services. The project was expanded from 45 villages to 60 villages in northern Shan State, based on successes and lessons learned in 2012-2015. The project goal is to contribute to the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality through increased access to, and quality of, sexual and reproductive health, and maternal and child health services. Read More...
End-line Survey Report for Scaling-up Sustainable Agriculture (SSA) Project: Lashio – Northern Shan
CARE Myanmar is working closely with the vulnerable communities in conflict-affected areas across Myanmar to achieve sustainable and inclusive community development. With the specific objective to improve agricultural yield, income, food and nutrition security of smallholder farmers and women-headed households through promoting sustainable agriculture technologies and nutrition and hygiene practices, a resilient livelihood project, namely Scaling Up Sustainable Agriculture (SSA), funded by Latter-day Saints (LDS) Charities, was implemented in Lashio between 2019 and 2020. Read More...
Promoting Human Rights and Inclusion of Roma Women and Youth Final Evaluation
The following report represents the external evaluation conducted on the implemented EuropeAid/EIDHR project: Promoting Human Rights and Inclusion of Roma Women and Youth.
The project lasted 21 months, and has been implemented by CARE Deutschland e.V. / CARE International Balkans, office in Sarajevo. The project aimed at the promotion and protection of civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights of the Roma minority by strengthening Roma civil society organizations and democracy activists in BIH. More specifically, the objective of the respective project was to protect and enhance the social, cultural, and economic rights of Roma women and youth and increase their influence in decision making processes.
The project has been implemented with co-applicants’ organizations Romani Ćej- Romska djevojka from Prnjavor and Roma association Jačanje - Zuralipe- from Vitez, and with the participation of local stakeholders like municipal departments responsible for social issues as well as economic departments from Vitez, Travnik, Donji Vakuf, Prnjavor, Modriča and Vukosavlje municipalities. The action has derived from the rich experience of CARE in working with grass root organizations, CSOs, and local stakeholders to promote political, social, and economic rights of the Roma minority with a clear focus on women’s and youth’s empowerment. CARE has been active in implementing Roma inclusion and capacity building projects since 2005.
The objectives of the external evaluation process are to: evaluate the achievement of the overall impact, evaluate if all partners worked toward the aims and objectives of the project.
Read More...
The project lasted 21 months, and has been implemented by CARE Deutschland e.V. / CARE International Balkans, office in Sarajevo. The project aimed at the promotion and protection of civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights of the Roma minority by strengthening Roma civil society organizations and democracy activists in BIH. More specifically, the objective of the respective project was to protect and enhance the social, cultural, and economic rights of Roma women and youth and increase their influence in decision making processes.
The project has been implemented with co-applicants’ organizations Romani Ćej- Romska djevojka from Prnjavor and Roma association Jačanje - Zuralipe- from Vitez, and with the participation of local stakeholders like municipal departments responsible for social issues as well as economic departments from Vitez, Travnik, Donji Vakuf, Prnjavor, Modriča and Vukosavlje municipalities. The action has derived from the rich experience of CARE in working with grass root organizations, CSOs, and local stakeholders to promote political, social, and economic rights of the Roma minority with a clear focus on women’s and youth’s empowerment. CARE has been active in implementing Roma inclusion and capacity building projects since 2005.
The objectives of the external evaluation process are to: evaluate the achievement of the overall impact, evaluate if all partners worked toward the aims and objectives of the project.
Read More...
Access Protection Empowerment Accountability and Leadership (APEAL) II project Endline Evaluation
The APEAL II project was a follow on project to APEAL I. The purpose of APEAL 2020 was to Enhance multi-sectoral responses by providing targeted life- saving protection, mental health, Psychosocial support and inclusive services to Congolese refugees and vulnerable host communities in Kyangwali and Kyaka II settlements. APEAL II deferred from APEAL I by; increasing the Consortium members from six (6) to nine (9) after incorporating three (3) organizations, programme scope included changes from GBV to SGBV, disability and Inclusion Services and strengthening the capacity of community structures. The community structures were strengthened to identify, respond, support and refer persons in need of MHPSS, comprehensive rehabilitation, disability and inclusion, protection and SGBV services. The Project operated in a COVID 19 environment which was not present in APEAL 1. As such, the project embedded a specific focus on COVID 19 response.
The European Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) funded the Project with Euro3,462,889.15 spanning from May 01, 2020 to April 30, 2021.
The project targeted 40,000 beneficiaries split between Kyaka II and Kyangwali refugee settlements and distributed support to 20% of surrounding Host communities and 80% of Refugees. The APEAL II intended to achieve: Enhanced access to timely protection, SGBV, MHPSS and disability and inclusion services, Improved protection mainstreaming and strengthen the capacity of community structures, duty bearers and stakeholders, provide extra capacity in nutrition screening for young children, pregnant and lactating mothers and supportive advocacy for standards setting, and harmonized approaches to refugee protection and MHPSS at the national level.
The APEAL II project end line evaluation was conducted to assess change and impact by comparing data from before and after for APEAL Project implementation. The end line evaluation was constructed on a cross-sectional assessment of intervention focus area, the individual refugees and host community members. Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were applied with the former utilized to obtain information on project relevance, effectiveness and outcomes from Project key stakeholders including beneficiaries through key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Read More...
The European Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) funded the Project with Euro3,462,889.15 spanning from May 01, 2020 to April 30, 2021.
The project targeted 40,000 beneficiaries split between Kyaka II and Kyangwali refugee settlements and distributed support to 20% of surrounding Host communities and 80% of Refugees. The APEAL II intended to achieve: Enhanced access to timely protection, SGBV, MHPSS and disability and inclusion services, Improved protection mainstreaming and strengthen the capacity of community structures, duty bearers and stakeholders, provide extra capacity in nutrition screening for young children, pregnant and lactating mothers and supportive advocacy for standards setting, and harmonized approaches to refugee protection and MHPSS at the national level.
The APEAL II project end line evaluation was conducted to assess change and impact by comparing data from before and after for APEAL Project implementation. The end line evaluation was constructed on a cross-sectional assessment of intervention focus area, the individual refugees and host community members. Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were applied with the former utilized to obtain information on project relevance, effectiveness and outcomes from Project key stakeholders including beneficiaries through key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Read More...
Enhancing Women’s Voice to STOP Sexual Harassment Final Evaluation – Myanmar
The Enhancing Women’s Voice to Stop Sexual Harassment project (STOP), an initiative of CARE Australia, has been working since 2017 to prevent and address the under-reported problem of sexual harassment (SH) in mainland Southeast Asia’s garment sector.
At the time of writing, STOP is the only initiative that addresses this issue on a multi-country scale within the sub-region. Operating across a pool of garment factories in four Mekong countries—Cambodia, Lao PDR1, Myanmar and Vietnam—STOP aims to enhance women’s voice and economic rights at both the national and factory levels. Based on a socio-ecological model of violence prevention, CARE Country Offices (COs) are working with participating factories to create workplaces where female workers feel safe and experience less SH through the implementation of standardised SH reporting mechanisms and rigorous training programs. Supported by CARE Regional staff, each CARE CO engages with relevant country, regional and international stakeholders to strengthen the national regulatory environment to promote laws, policies and mechanisms to address SH in the workplace.
In 2018, CARE Australia commissioned a consortium of researchers from UNSW Sydney and UNSW Canberra to undertake an independent evaluation the STOP project and provide a separate Social Impact Assessment (SIA) focused on Cambodia STOP as the particular case study. It is important to note that the SIA is intended to complement the findings of the Final Evaluation (FE) of the STOP, as implemented in the other three project sites. In this way, the SIA and the Final Evaluation should be read as two parts of a single whole.
The STOP project is evidence-based. This strength of evidence is reflected in the rapid review of evidence first published by CARE (Campbell and Chinnery 2018) in November 2018, which provides a comprehensive discussion of how to prevent and respond to SH in the workplace. The continued inclusion of evidence into the project cycle ensures that the STOP project is built on current best practice.
This report provides an overview of Final Evaluation findings of the full STOP project and evaluation findings relating to the STOP project in Myanmar. Read More...
At the time of writing, STOP is the only initiative that addresses this issue on a multi-country scale within the sub-region. Operating across a pool of garment factories in four Mekong countries—Cambodia, Lao PDR1, Myanmar and Vietnam—STOP aims to enhance women’s voice and economic rights at both the national and factory levels. Based on a socio-ecological model of violence prevention, CARE Country Offices (COs) are working with participating factories to create workplaces where female workers feel safe and experience less SH through the implementation of standardised SH reporting mechanisms and rigorous training programs. Supported by CARE Regional staff, each CARE CO engages with relevant country, regional and international stakeholders to strengthen the national regulatory environment to promote laws, policies and mechanisms to address SH in the workplace.
In 2018, CARE Australia commissioned a consortium of researchers from UNSW Sydney and UNSW Canberra to undertake an independent evaluation the STOP project and provide a separate Social Impact Assessment (SIA) focused on Cambodia STOP as the particular case study. It is important to note that the SIA is intended to complement the findings of the Final Evaluation (FE) of the STOP, as implemented in the other three project sites. In this way, the SIA and the Final Evaluation should be read as two parts of a single whole.
The STOP project is evidence-based. This strength of evidence is reflected in the rapid review of evidence first published by CARE (Campbell and Chinnery 2018) in November 2018, which provides a comprehensive discussion of how to prevent and respond to SH in the workplace. The continued inclusion of evidence into the project cycle ensures that the STOP project is built on current best practice.
This report provides an overview of Final Evaluation findings of the full STOP project and evaluation findings relating to the STOP project in Myanmar. Read More...
HBCC (Hygiene and Behavior Change Coalition) Project: Inclusive Communities – Changing behaviors to respond to COVID-19
The “Promoting safer hygiene practices for women and girls to remain safe and live better lives project has been implemented between the 23rd of July 2020 and the 31st of August 2021 through CARE International in Jordan and funded by Unilever-UKAID HBCC (Hygiene Behaviour Change Coalition). The project’s overall objective was to support the most vulnerable women and girls in conflict communities, refugee, asylum and host populations within the Syrian crisis region to improve their key hygiene behaviours and be better equipped to protect themselves from COVID-19 transmission through mass awareness, interpersonal communication and digital media communication.
CARE Jordan implemented a package of multiple interventions which includes mass media, digital communication, and in some cases targeted face-to-face interactions complemented by the provision of hygiene and dignity kits to promote key hygiene behaviours of the targeted beneficiaries. The mass media and digital campaign, which targeted community members who live in Amman, Zarqa/Azraq town, Irbid, Mafraq, and Azraq Refugee Camp, but also reached beyond these areas in particular with the mass media intervention; focused on a variety of messages in line with the national/local Health Service approved guidelines as well as some of the Unilever Global assets like the PASSWORD Campaigns, Snake and Ladder game, and Mobile Doctorni. Messages covered issues of prevention, protection, safety, security and where to seek early support when showing signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Read More...
CARE Jordan implemented a package of multiple interventions which includes mass media, digital communication, and in some cases targeted face-to-face interactions complemented by the provision of hygiene and dignity kits to promote key hygiene behaviours of the targeted beneficiaries. The mass media and digital campaign, which targeted community members who live in Amman, Zarqa/Azraq town, Irbid, Mafraq, and Azraq Refugee Camp, but also reached beyond these areas in particular with the mass media intervention; focused on a variety of messages in line with the national/local Health Service approved guidelines as well as some of the Unilever Global assets like the PASSWORD Campaigns, Snake and Ladder game, and Mobile Doctorni. Messages covered issues of prevention, protection, safety, security and where to seek early support when showing signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Read More...
RANO WASH Final Evaluation
Rural Access to New Opportunities in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (RANO WASH) is a five-year
$30 million bilateral United States Agency for International Development (USAID) water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activity in Madagascar. Its period of performance is June 2017 to June 2022. CARE International leads the consortium implementing the project, and sub-awardees include Catholic Relief Services (CRS), WaterAid, BushProof, and Sandandrano. The program aims to reach 250 rural communes in six high-priority regions of Madagascar: Vatovavy Fitovinany, Atsinanana, Alaotra Mangoro, Amoron’i Mania, Haute Matsiatra, and Vakinankaratra. RANO WASH is built around three interconnected strategic objectives (SOs):
• SO 1: Strengthening the governance and monitoring of water and sanitation
• SO 2: Increasing the engagement of the private sector in the delivery of WASH services
• SO 3: Accelerating the adoption of healthy behaviors and the use of WASH service
The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability (WASHPaLS) project completed a mid-term evaluation between April and August 2021 to assess whether the approaches employed and activities undertaken are successfully contributing to the program’s goal of increasing equitable and sustainable access to WASH services.
Overall, the Evaluation Team assessed the program to be complex, ambitious, and innovative; perceived positively by a large majority of stakeholders; and seen as a sector leader. While water supply provision through the public private partnership (PPP) model is substantially off-track, there are plausible reasons for these delays, and important lessons to be learned. Sanitation results, particularly regarding Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, are above target Read More...
$30 million bilateral United States Agency for International Development (USAID) water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activity in Madagascar. Its period of performance is June 2017 to June 2022. CARE International leads the consortium implementing the project, and sub-awardees include Catholic Relief Services (CRS), WaterAid, BushProof, and Sandandrano. The program aims to reach 250 rural communes in six high-priority regions of Madagascar: Vatovavy Fitovinany, Atsinanana, Alaotra Mangoro, Amoron’i Mania, Haute Matsiatra, and Vakinankaratra. RANO WASH is built around three interconnected strategic objectives (SOs):
• SO 1: Strengthening the governance and monitoring of water and sanitation
• SO 2: Increasing the engagement of the private sector in the delivery of WASH services
• SO 3: Accelerating the adoption of healthy behaviors and the use of WASH service
The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability (WASHPaLS) project completed a mid-term evaluation between April and August 2021 to assess whether the approaches employed and activities undertaken are successfully contributing to the program’s goal of increasing equitable and sustainable access to WASH services.
Overall, the Evaluation Team assessed the program to be complex, ambitious, and innovative; perceived positively by a large majority of stakeholders; and seen as a sector leader. While water supply provision through the public private partnership (PPP) model is substantially off-track, there are plausible reasons for these delays, and important lessons to be learned. Sanitation results, particularly regarding Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, are above target Read More...
Livelihoods, WASH and Protection Support to Drought and Conflict-Affected IDPs & Host Communities in Somali Region, Ethiopia
This report presented an end-line survey for the project entitled Livelihoods, WASH, and Protection Support to Drought and Conflict-Affected IDPs & Host Communities in Somali Region, Ethiopia. End line findings on WASH-related variables confirmed that the WASH response impacted the
life of the target community. Read More...
life of the target community. Read More...