Here in CARE International’s Evaluation e-Library we make all of CARE’s external evaluation reports available for public access in accordance with our Accountability Policy.
With these accumulated project evaluations CARE International hopes to share our collective knowledge not only internally but with a wider audience.
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Baseline Study Report Adaptation in Ecologically Critical Areas in Bangladesh (AECAB)
The Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs) of Bangladesh, especially the Sundarbans and Hakaluki Haor natural resources and biodiversity are crucial for the ECA dependent communities. However, these ecosystems are experiencing many challenges due to human activities, economic pressure, poor governance and adverse effects of climate change. These factors disproportionately affect marginalised groups, including women, persons with disabilities, and ethnic communities in the two ECAs. In response to these challenges, the NABAPALLAB project, supported by the UK Government, aims to improve ecosystem-based protection and restoration and increase climate resilience of ECA dependent communities in the Sundarbans and Hakaluki Haor ECAs. During the inception period, the project has conducted three studies simultaneously: i) An Ecological Assessment and Detailed Scoping Study, ii) Political Economy Analysis, and iii) Baseline Study.
The baseline study serves to establish pre-project conditions, providing essential data for monitoring, evaluation, and learning. It aims to capture baseline data for outcome indicators, disaggregated by sex, disability, and geography, and validate assumptions mentioned in the project's Theory of Change (ToC).
The study scope encompasses:
•
Socio-economic conditions
•
Climate change perceptions
•
Awareness of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA)
•
Locally led adaptation (LLA)
•
Nature-based solutions (NbS)
•
The current status of project intervention areas.
Methodology
The study has applied a mixed approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches by incorporating household surveys (2622 household), Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) (2506 participants) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) (137 respondents). A multi-stage cluster sampling approach was applied to select the sampled households, while diverse community members and stakeholders were engaged through FGD and KII that provided comprehensive insights into local contexts, baseline situation and the needs of the communities in the six intervention areas of the project.
Key findings
1. There are high levels of poverty, landlessness, and climate vulnerability among target communities in both ECAs.
• Food is by far the highest expenditure for households - demonstrating a high proportion of expenditure is simply meeting basic needs.
•It is also the case that a relatively high proportion of expenditure is used on the servicing of debt, again demonstrating the impacts for poor households on having to use debt as a coping mechanism.
• Borrowing money and cutting expenditure are by far the most used coping strategies, with reliance on savings and migration also prevalent.
28% of households in the ECA are landless, while 72% possess land, averaging 5.58 decimals.1 In the Sundarbans ECA, the average landholding is 6.85 decimals, and in Hakaluki ECA, it is 4.18 decimals. This land is used for various purposes, including housing, agriculture, homestead gardening, cattle raising, and fish culture.
2.
Climate-induced disasters severely impact livelihoods and natural resources, with limited awareness of EbA, LLA, and NbS approaches.
• Household surveys reveal that around 91% of respondents were affected by climate hazards and disasters like floods, drought and cyclones in the last 5 years. FGDs participants also highlighted that the vulnerability of the communities is high due to the location of their settlement in a fragile area, with poor infrastructure, climate sensitive livelihoods and lack of access to government Social Safety Net (SSN) services and support.
• Among the households, 32% have incurred loss of income and 23% loss of livelihoods. Over 17% of the respondents mentioned that climate change has increased health risks and medical expenditures in recent years.
• In contrast to relatively high levels of negative coping mechanisms (e.g. borrowing money, or cutting expenditure), few households engaged in planned adaptation i.e. changing livelihood options, diversification of crops, changing types of crops.
• The survey results revealed that 94% of the ECAs respondents do not know about LLA and NbS, suggesting considerable scope to work with communities to increase their understanding of these key issues.
3. Access to climate information has been inadequate and there has been a low degree of anticipatory action.
• The survey revealed a low level of information on climate change and a lack of access to important climate information. The survey reveals that overall, 66% of the respondents do not know about the Early Warning System (EWS), around 23% have not received any early warning on floods, and only 11% got some early warning during the floods in the last five years
• When asked if they take measures to strengthen their household infrastructure before local climatic hazards, approximately 57% of respondents in the ECAs reported that they do not take such measures.
4. Access to clean and renewable energy, safe drinking water, and sanitation is inadequate, particularly among vulnerable groups including poor women and ethnic minority communities.
• 97% of surveyed households have access to grid electricity in the ECAs, with 5.3% using solar energy and 0.2% relying on biogas. However, the grid electricity supply is unreliable, with about 63% of these households experiencing load shedding for more than 4 hours daily.
• There is also a significant reliance on traditional fuels (i.e. wood, twigs, cow dung, kerosine etc.) which is likely to have an impact on the broader sustainability of ECAs.
• 41% of respondents collect drinking water from tube wells, followed by Rainwater Harvesting System (RWHS) (22%), pond and dug wells (17%).
• Around 67% of the respondents use pit latrines with ring slabs (a type of improved sanitary latrine), whereas 20% use pit latrines without slabs.
5. Despite some positive trends in joint economic decision-making, women were not systematically included in decision-making around agricultural production.
In key measures women appeared to have moderate levels of inclusion in household decisions. Participation in decision-making on household purchases the surveys demonstrated that on average, across both regions, 68.1% reported having moderate or high levels of participation in these decisions.
•
Nearly three-quarters of the female respondents lacked the right to participate in decision-making in agricultural decision-making. Most female respondents in both regions (around 70.6% - 79.1%) did not share decision-making with their husbands about agricultural land use.
6.
There is little engagement of LGIs in conservation of natural resources, promoting resilient livelihoods. Participation of the community in formal and informal institutions is low.
• Around 93% of ECAs respondents reported that they have no membership and affiliation with the local conservation committees and groups such as Community Patrol Groups (CPG) or Village Conservation Forums (VCF). About 96% of the ECAs respondents have no participation in the decision-making of the Local Government Institutions (LGIs). Participation of vulnerable groups in decision-making is higher (10%) in the Sundarbans ECA than that of Hakaluki Haor (0.2% only).
• The participation of the study population in formal (government-led) and informal (civil society-led, private sector-led) climate-relevant decision-making spaces is also very low in the ECAs. About 6% of the households’ members participated in the decision-making spaces where 98% were male. The project must put more emphasis on the empowerment of people living in poverty and women for their effective participation in local decision processes that may benefit people living in poverty and women for adaptation and resilience building.
• Whilst community members felt that local authorities and committees had an important role to play in supporting farmers and forest-dependent communities, this support is currently inadequate due to constraints like insufficient human resources and capacity. Read More...
The baseline study serves to establish pre-project conditions, providing essential data for monitoring, evaluation, and learning. It aims to capture baseline data for outcome indicators, disaggregated by sex, disability, and geography, and validate assumptions mentioned in the project's Theory of Change (ToC).
The study scope encompasses:
•
Socio-economic conditions
•
Climate change perceptions
•
Awareness of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA)
•
Locally led adaptation (LLA)
•
Nature-based solutions (NbS)
•
The current status of project intervention areas.
Methodology
The study has applied a mixed approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches by incorporating household surveys (2622 household), Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) (2506 participants) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) (137 respondents). A multi-stage cluster sampling approach was applied to select the sampled households, while diverse community members and stakeholders were engaged through FGD and KII that provided comprehensive insights into local contexts, baseline situation and the needs of the communities in the six intervention areas of the project.
Key findings
1. There are high levels of poverty, landlessness, and climate vulnerability among target communities in both ECAs.
• Food is by far the highest expenditure for households - demonstrating a high proportion of expenditure is simply meeting basic needs.
•It is also the case that a relatively high proportion of expenditure is used on the servicing of debt, again demonstrating the impacts for poor households on having to use debt as a coping mechanism.
• Borrowing money and cutting expenditure are by far the most used coping strategies, with reliance on savings and migration also prevalent.
28% of households in the ECA are landless, while 72% possess land, averaging 5.58 decimals.1 In the Sundarbans ECA, the average landholding is 6.85 decimals, and in Hakaluki ECA, it is 4.18 decimals. This land is used for various purposes, including housing, agriculture, homestead gardening, cattle raising, and fish culture.
2.
Climate-induced disasters severely impact livelihoods and natural resources, with limited awareness of EbA, LLA, and NbS approaches.
• Household surveys reveal that around 91% of respondents were affected by climate hazards and disasters like floods, drought and cyclones in the last 5 years. FGDs participants also highlighted that the vulnerability of the communities is high due to the location of their settlement in a fragile area, with poor infrastructure, climate sensitive livelihoods and lack of access to government Social Safety Net (SSN) services and support.
• Among the households, 32% have incurred loss of income and 23% loss of livelihoods. Over 17% of the respondents mentioned that climate change has increased health risks and medical expenditures in recent years.
• In contrast to relatively high levels of negative coping mechanisms (e.g. borrowing money, or cutting expenditure), few households engaged in planned adaptation i.e. changing livelihood options, diversification of crops, changing types of crops.
• The survey results revealed that 94% of the ECAs respondents do not know about LLA and NbS, suggesting considerable scope to work with communities to increase their understanding of these key issues.
3. Access to climate information has been inadequate and there has been a low degree of anticipatory action.
• The survey revealed a low level of information on climate change and a lack of access to important climate information. The survey reveals that overall, 66% of the respondents do not know about the Early Warning System (EWS), around 23% have not received any early warning on floods, and only 11% got some early warning during the floods in the last five years
• When asked if they take measures to strengthen their household infrastructure before local climatic hazards, approximately 57% of respondents in the ECAs reported that they do not take such measures.
4. Access to clean and renewable energy, safe drinking water, and sanitation is inadequate, particularly among vulnerable groups including poor women and ethnic minority communities.
• 97% of surveyed households have access to grid electricity in the ECAs, with 5.3% using solar energy and 0.2% relying on biogas. However, the grid electricity supply is unreliable, with about 63% of these households experiencing load shedding for more than 4 hours daily.
• There is also a significant reliance on traditional fuels (i.e. wood, twigs, cow dung, kerosine etc.) which is likely to have an impact on the broader sustainability of ECAs.
• 41% of respondents collect drinking water from tube wells, followed by Rainwater Harvesting System (RWHS) (22%), pond and dug wells (17%).
• Around 67% of the respondents use pit latrines with ring slabs (a type of improved sanitary latrine), whereas 20% use pit latrines without slabs.
5. Despite some positive trends in joint economic decision-making, women were not systematically included in decision-making around agricultural production.
In key measures women appeared to have moderate levels of inclusion in household decisions. Participation in decision-making on household purchases the surveys demonstrated that on average, across both regions, 68.1% reported having moderate or high levels of participation in these decisions.
•
Nearly three-quarters of the female respondents lacked the right to participate in decision-making in agricultural decision-making. Most female respondents in both regions (around 70.6% - 79.1%) did not share decision-making with their husbands about agricultural land use.
6.
There is little engagement of LGIs in conservation of natural resources, promoting resilient livelihoods. Participation of the community in formal and informal institutions is low.
• Around 93% of ECAs respondents reported that they have no membership and affiliation with the local conservation committees and groups such as Community Patrol Groups (CPG) or Village Conservation Forums (VCF). About 96% of the ECAs respondents have no participation in the decision-making of the Local Government Institutions (LGIs). Participation of vulnerable groups in decision-making is higher (10%) in the Sundarbans ECA than that of Hakaluki Haor (0.2% only).
• The participation of the study population in formal (government-led) and informal (civil society-led, private sector-led) climate-relevant decision-making spaces is also very low in the ECAs. About 6% of the households’ members participated in the decision-making spaces where 98% were male. The project must put more emphasis on the empowerment of people living in poverty and women for their effective participation in local decision processes that may benefit people living in poverty and women for adaptation and resilience building.
• Whilst community members felt that local authorities and committees had an important role to play in supporting farmers and forest-dependent communities, this support is currently inadequate due to constraints like insufficient human resources and capacity. Read More...
Baseline Report Evaluation of the CASCADE Programme in Uganda
The Global Alliance for Advanced Nutrition (GAIN) and CARE, with support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, developed the CAtalyzing Strengthened policy aCtion for heAlthy Diets and resilience (CASCADE) programme application. The overarching goal of CASCADE is to improve food security and reduce malnutrition for at least 5 million women of reproductive age (WRA) and children in Benin, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia,
and Mozambique between June 2022 and December 2026. AIR® partnered with GAIN and CARE to design and conduct rigorous mixed methods impact evaluations of the CASCADE programme in the six target countries. The evaluations will answer questions about CASCADE’s causal impact, strengths, and challenges. The impact evaluation focuses on those aspects of the programme that are implemented at the beneficiary level. The evaluation team will also conduct, in 2027, a process evaluation to assess policy and systems-level change as well as implementation fidelity with support from local country teams.
The primary purpose of this baseline report is to document and describe the study sample in Uganda prior to the start of the programme, and to test for equivalence at baseline between the treatment and comparison groups. This report first explains the context, details, and motivation behind the CASCADE programme. Subsequently, it explains the theory of change (ToC), research questions, study design, baseline data collection, sample description, baseline measures of key indicators and domains, and baseline equivalence between the treatment and comparison groups. Lastly, the report provides insights about the nutritional status at baseline of the target population and identifies key areas to guide activities by the programme implementation team. Read More...
and Mozambique between June 2022 and December 2026. AIR® partnered with GAIN and CARE to design and conduct rigorous mixed methods impact evaluations of the CASCADE programme in the six target countries. The evaluations will answer questions about CASCADE’s causal impact, strengths, and challenges. The impact evaluation focuses on those aspects of the programme that are implemented at the beneficiary level. The evaluation team will also conduct, in 2027, a process evaluation to assess policy and systems-level change as well as implementation fidelity with support from local country teams.
The primary purpose of this baseline report is to document and describe the study sample in Uganda prior to the start of the programme, and to test for equivalence at baseline between the treatment and comparison groups. This report first explains the context, details, and motivation behind the CASCADE programme. Subsequently, it explains the theory of change (ToC), research questions, study design, baseline data collection, sample description, baseline measures of key indicators and domains, and baseline equivalence between the treatment and comparison groups. Lastly, the report provides insights about the nutritional status at baseline of the target population and identifies key areas to guide activities by the programme implementation team. Read More...
Pakistan Multi-sector Integrated Emergency Response – Phase 2
Care Pakistan, Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP) and Fast Rural Development Programme (FRDP) jointly implemented DEC funded project titled, “Multi-Sector Integrated Emergency Response project to support the recovery of flood-affected people in Districts Dadu and Badin, Sindh province. The primary goal of the project was to deliver a comprehensive range of services to recover the needs of individuals affected by the floods. This initiative aimed to enhance the affected population's resilience and aid in their recovery from the aftermath of the floods. The following five project outcomes were designed to deliver an integrated response to the needs generated by the damages caused by the floods in terms of 1) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), 2) Education, 3) Protection, 4) Livelihood and 5) MPCA:
•
Increased access to clean drinking water for flood affected communities in target areas and provide better facilities for vulnerable groups.
•
Improved learning environment for children enrolled in schools in flood affected target area
•
Increased protection services to communities
•
Increased livelihood support to communities
•
Awareness raising and capacity building regarding the DRR.
CARE Pakistan intended to conduct endline evaluation of the project and contracted a consultancy firm, CDMSD to assess performance of the project on Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) OECD-DAC criteria (Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability) and document its achievements, challenges, best practices, and the learning aspects for all stakeholders, with the aim of informing future similar programming. Further to assess the project strategies and interventions on and their quality criteria with specific focus on DNH, participation, inclusion and accountability strategies of the project.
The consultant employed a mixed approach comprised of qualitative and quantitative data to collect primary data and desk review for secondary data collection. 404 households were interviewed through sample beneficiary survey beside 10 FGDs with men and women and 16 Key Informant Interview conducted with project staff and relevant stakeholders. Appropriate quality control measures were put in place to ensure completeness and accuracy of the collected data. Read More...
•
Increased access to clean drinking water for flood affected communities in target areas and provide better facilities for vulnerable groups.
•
Improved learning environment for children enrolled in schools in flood affected target area
•
Increased protection services to communities
•
Increased livelihood support to communities
•
Awareness raising and capacity building regarding the DRR.
CARE Pakistan intended to conduct endline evaluation of the project and contracted a consultancy firm, CDMSD to assess performance of the project on Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) OECD-DAC criteria (Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability) and document its achievements, challenges, best practices, and the learning aspects for all stakeholders, with the aim of informing future similar programming. Further to assess the project strategies and interventions on and their quality criteria with specific focus on DNH, participation, inclusion and accountability strategies of the project.
The consultant employed a mixed approach comprised of qualitative and quantitative data to collect primary data and desk review for secondary data collection. 404 households were interviewed through sample beneficiary survey beside 10 FGDs with men and women and 16 Key Informant Interview conducted with project staff and relevant stakeholders. Appropriate quality control measures were put in place to ensure completeness and accuracy of the collected data. Read More...
Gender Equity and Resilience in Malawi: Insights from Titukulane RFSA Outcome Harvesting
Titukulane aims to build resilience and improve food security in rural Malawi through approaches that advance gender equality by addressing key constraints for women and girls. These constraints include the gender division of labor, intra-household decision-making, and access to productive resources. Gender equality is critical to achieving the broader objectives of Titukulane, as it directly affects agricultural productivity, economic empowerment, and the resilience of households and communities. By promoting women's and youth's active participation in leadership roles and community decision making processes, Titukulane seeks to ensure more sustainable and equitable outcomes in resilience building activities.
Building off the earlier Gender Outcome Mapping, the 2024 Outcome Harvest evaluated Titukulane’s impact on five gender equality interventions, which included:
- More women are now asking men for help with household chores, freeing up time for rest and family care.
- Men are becoming active in tasks traditionally viewed as women’s work, including child feeding and housekeeping.
- Women have greater influence over nutritional choices, especially in food purchasing and household meal distribution, though cultural norms still limit their authority over assets like land and livestock.
- More women are stepping into community leadership roles, though these roles are typically less influential than men’s.
- Community attitudes towards GBV are shifting, with more cases reported and discussed openly. Men and youth are increasingly vocal against GBV, fostering greater awareness. Read More...
Building off the earlier Gender Outcome Mapping, the 2024 Outcome Harvest evaluated Titukulane’s impact on five gender equality interventions, which included:
- More women are now asking men for help with household chores, freeing up time for rest and family care.
- Men are becoming active in tasks traditionally viewed as women’s work, including child feeding and housekeeping.
- Women have greater influence over nutritional choices, especially in food purchasing and household meal distribution, though cultural norms still limit their authority over assets like land and livestock.
- More women are stepping into community leadership roles, though these roles are typically less influential than men’s.
- Community attitudes towards GBV are shifting, with more cases reported and discussed openly. Men and youth are increasingly vocal against GBV, fostering greater awareness. Read More...
Systems-Level Impact through the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill
In a global context of rising numbers of people affected by increasingly frequent and severe food security crises, CARE advocated for essential amendments in the 2018 Farm Bill to strengthen critical international food aid programs. CARE's advocacy for the 2018 Farm Bill was rooted in its focus on gender equality and systems change, which in this case meant advocating for a shift away from monetization in support of CARE’s long-term goals for transforming food aid from a commodity-centric model to one that enhances effectiveness, efficiency, and focus on systems change.
Central to CARE’s asks in the 2018 Farm Bill were efforts to end the mandate of monetization and provide greater certainty in the use of the Community Development Funds. Both of these asks would strengthen Food for Peace, a program authorized in the Farm Bill that provides in-kind food aid directly to communities and supports community self-sufficiency. CARE recognized the 2018 Farm Bill reforms, including ending mandatory monetization and expanding Community Development Funds, could strengthen local food systems, empower farmers, and build community resilience by prioritizing sustainable and effective food aid delivery. Read More...
Central to CARE’s asks in the 2018 Farm Bill were efforts to end the mandate of monetization and provide greater certainty in the use of the Community Development Funds. Both of these asks would strengthen Food for Peace, a program authorized in the Farm Bill that provides in-kind food aid directly to communities and supports community self-sufficiency. CARE recognized the 2018 Farm Bill reforms, including ending mandatory monetization and expanding Community Development Funds, could strengthen local food systems, empower farmers, and build community resilience by prioritizing sustainable and effective food aid delivery. Read More...
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