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.

Looking for something specific? You can filter the evaluations using the dropdown menus on the right side of the screen.

If you have an evaluation or study to share, please e-mail the document to ejanoch@care.org for posting.

Beyond Economic Empowerment The Influence of Savings Groups on Women’s Public Participation in Fragile and (post) Conflict-Affected Settings

Promoting women’s meaningful participation and influence in governance processes in fragile and (post) conflict-affected settings (FCAS) is necessary to achieve inclusive development. Existing evidence suggests that by economically empowering women, they will be able to better participate in public decision-making processes. One such mechanism for women’s economic empowerment in Sudan is through Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA), which are savings groups that offer women a space to come together to save money, take out small loans, and make investment decisions.
The mixed methods study conducted in seven villages across three states (East Darfur, South Darfur, and South Kordofan) sought to answer the research question “To what extent does women’s participation in savings groups affect their public participation in governance or decision-making processes?” Additionally, this study investigated the differences between women who participated in VSLAs under the Every Voice Counts (EVC) and Latter Day Saints Charities (LDS) Recovery Support for Vulnerable Households programmes as well as the differences from participation in different community groups (VSLAs, community advocacy groups, and other community-based organisations). These comparisons helped to offer an explanation of how different programmatic approaches from civil society and different community groups did or did not affect women members’ public participation.
Through the findings of this study, it can be concluded that indeed women’s participation in savings groups (VSLAs) affects their public participation in community governance structures and decision-making. The extent, though, is dependent on a variety of factors including the gender composition of the VSLA, the support of family and community members, the support and resources contributed by programmes and partners, social norms and exclusionary practices within the communities, and the will of the women members themselves. Read More...

Mujeres Líderes en Emergencias Análisis Rápido de Género y Poder Pamplona, Norte de Santander, Colombia

Este informe de Análisis Rápido de Género (ARG)sobre el Poder examina el liderazgo de las mujeres en la respuesta humanitaria de Venezuela en Pamplona, Colombia. La crisis venezolana ha afectado a los ciudadanos venezolanos y colombianos, siendo las mujeres y las comunidades marginadas las más afectadas. Mediante entrevistas e investigación documental, se puso de manifiesto que las mujeres no participan adecuadamente en los espacios formales e informales en los que pueden influir en las decisiones que se adoptan en relación con el plan de respuesta humanitaria dirigido por el Gobierno de Colombia y los organismos de ayuda humanitaria. Las normas sociales patriarcales son una gran barrera, ya que se espera que las mujeres se queden en casa debido al control que ejercen los hombres sobre sus movimientos y la opinión de que las mujeres deben cuidar a los niños, el hogar y cocinar los alimentos, limita el tiempo de que disponen las mujeres para participar. La necesidad de encontrar una forma de ingresos también limita el tiempo de que disponen las mujeres para participar en los espacios de acción colectiva. La falta de conocimiento y conciencia sobre los derechos que tienen como mujeres y como migrantes, y sobre los spacios existentes en los que pueden participar es una barrera adicional. Para muchas mujeres migrantes, la situación irregular en Colombia hace que permanezcan en la sombra y no busquen ayuda ni participen en espacios de toma de decisiones por temor a la deportación. La discriminación sexual, calla las voces de los miembros de la comunidad LGBTIQ+, lo que da lugar a una respuesta humanitaria que no aborda adecuadamente sus necesidades.
Si bien hay barreras que enfrentan las mujeres colombianas y venezolanas afectadas por la crisis, existen oportunidades para aumentar su participación, por ejemplo, por parte de organizaciones femeninas y feministas ya existentes en la región, las organizaciones comunitarias informales de migrantes, y la participación en las mesas del GIFMM como método para que las mujeres actúen conjuntamente para exigir atención y recursos para sus prioridades y directamente afectadas por la crisis. Read More...

CARE Rapid Gender Analysis on Power INCREASE: Northern Samar, Philippines

Vulnerable groups – particularly women – suffer most from natural and man-made hazards. Now more than ever, there is a need to account for their needs and interests in public decision-making spaces to ensure that community-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) mechanisms and governance structures are effective, inclusive, and are sustainably adopted. Providing women with the opportunity and ability to actively participate in DRR planning and solutions not only amplifies their voice in decisions that affect their lives, but also harnesses their potential in leading community DRR work.
Aimed at increasing the resilience of small-scale farmers, fisher folk – with focus given to female headed-households and women collectives in its partner communities, Project INCREASE sought to augment its
women engagement activities and advocacy work through (1) piloting the Women Lead in Emergencies (WLiE)
action research model in its activities, and (2) drawing insights from the Rapid Gender Analysis on Power (RGA-POW) conducted in nine crisis-affected barangays in Mapanas, and Palapag, Northern Samar, Philippines covered by the project.
This RGA-POW provides information about the different needs, capacities and aspirations of women – with a focus on the structural and relational barriers to, and opportunities for women’s leadership and public participation during and after emergencies, as well as relevant information on the local context from previous studies (e.g. post-distribution monitoring reports, rapid gender analyses, etc.).
Apart from demonstrating that women do have power and exercise this with other women, the report also outlines underlying reasons for limited public voice and decision-making for different groups of women, and identifies potential resistors and risks, as well as present opportunities and actions that can address observed barriers. Thus, providing promising directions for WLiE in INCREASE. Read More...

A comparative study of Category Five Tropical Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu

Vanuatu is made up of 83 islands scattered across 1200 square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, leaving remote populations isolated and making access and service delivery difficult. Vanuatu is well established as one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, with cyclones, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, and floods among the hazards faced (UNU 2015). On 13 March 2015, Category Five Tropical Cyclone Pam (TC Pam), one of the worst cyclones to hit the Pacific region, struck Vanuatu and other Pacific Islands. TC Pam brought very destructive winds, storm surges, and flooding across huge areas of Vanuatu, destroying homes, schools, health facilities, crops, and livestock and affecting approximately 188,000 people, or 70% of the population (Government of Vanuatu 2015a). Read More...

Inspiring Married Adolescent Girls to Imagine New Empowered Futures (IMAGINE)

Each year around the world, almost 13 million girls under the age of 20 give birth, nearly 1 million of whom are younger than 15 (1). Child marriage is a strong indicator of early birth; 90% of adolescent pregnancies in the developing world are to girls who are already married; and married adolescents are more likely to experience frequent and early pregnancies than their unmarried peers (2, 3). Adolescent girls who undergo early marriage (often defined as prior to age 18) and subsequent rapid birth are more likely to experience a host of negative physical, mental and economic outcomes, including complications during pregnancy and delivery, higher rates of maternal mortality, and poor educational and economic outcomes for both themselves and their children (2-5). Read More...

The impact of price hikes of essential food commodities on the poor and extreme poor in Bangladesh

Strengthening Household Ability to Respond to Development Opportunities (SHOUHARDO) III Plus is a two-year program (2022-2024) funded by the United States Agency for International Develoment (USAID). The program aims to deliver improved gender-equitable food and nutrition security and resilience for 168,521 Poor and Extreme Poor (PEP) households in northern Bangladesh’s char and haor regions. Building on the successes of the predecessor program, SHOUHARDO III Plus works with participants to pursue diversified sources of income, support inclusive and sustainable agricultural-led growth, enhance access to markets, especially for women and girls, and improve access to financial services for PEP participants. The program also promotes increased consumption of nutritious foods and micro-nutrients for children under five, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls. The program continuously engages and links the program facilitated Local Service Providers (LSP) with the public and private sectors to achieve its aim. SHOUHARDO III Plus integrates gender, governance, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), environment, and private sector as cross-cutting components to maximize the program’s impact. Read More...

HER VOICE: Listening to Women in Action

COVID-19, climate change, and conflict are exacerbating the resilience of the most vulnerable communities and groups, especially women and girls. 53% of women and 50% of men reported an impact on their livelihood; since March 2022, women and men reported livelihood impact increased to 64% of women and 58% of men.

Food insecurity is rising; since March 2022, 52% of women and 29% of men reported an impact on food security. Women are more likely to eat less and not eat at all.

Crises are intensifying insecurity and gender-based violence, and the different livelihoods, food security, work burden, and increased violence affect women’s mental health. More women than men are reporting stress and mental health issues. Women are showing remarkable leadership and supporting their families and communities – 64% of women and 50% of men are focusing on actions to provide food for their households.

Women are helping to lead community response, but the space for their participation and leadership is shrinking. The best way to understand what is happening to crisis affected populations—especially for people who often do not get a chance to inform the global conversation—is to listen to their voices and experiences.

This report represents 6,299 respondents (4,610 women) from nine countries and provides quantitative and qualitative insights from countries that CARE conducted assessments in 2022. Read More...

Yen Sore Final Evaluation

The Yensore programme is a continuation of CARE Denmark and CARE Ghana’s support to Ghanaian civil society. The first phase of Yensore was implemented from 2013 to 2017. The second phase, which was implemented 2018 – 2021, continued to support four partners, KASA, Wacam, Civic Response, and UCSOND. The programme focused on organisational development and natural resource advocacy in the areas of mining, oil & gas, forestry and climate change. For the second phase the overall objective was to ensure that “the rights of vulnerable communities to natural resources essential for their food security and resilient livelihoods are respected, protected and fulfilled through inclusive and responsible governance of natural resources”. Read More...

LIVELIHOODS FOR RESILIENCE ACTIVITY

In October2019, CARE Ethiopia commissioned Care Plc. to conduct repeated annual intermediate result (IR) assessment of the Livelihoods for Resilience Activity over the coming three years, corresponding to the fiscal year of the project from 2019-2022. The study involves assessing project’s intermediate result that have been achieved based on the key performance indicators using information collected randomly selected project participating households as well as conducting multiyear trend analysis of changes in the well-being of project participants based on panel data are collected from 400 households . Read More...

Enhanced livelihoods and increased resilience of poor ethnic minority women and men rural areas to the effects of climate change and variability – Information for Adaptation in Vietnam (InfoAct)

The overall objective of the InfoAct Project is to enhance livelihoods and increase the resilience of poor ethnic minority women and men in rural areas to the effects of climate change and variability. This is to be accomplished through a specific objective (outcome) to ensure ethnic minority households in rural areas have improved access to and use of climate information, and resources to help increase their climate resilience. The InfoAct Project is focusing mainly on two target groups: (1) 5,000 ethnic minority households, especially women, in Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces and (2) government authorities and service providers, namely Department of Hydro-Meteorology, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and the provincial VWU and CCD. As InfoAct was going to phase out after three years’ implementation and close all its activities by November 2021, an independent final evaluation was conducted to understand the project’s impacts/outcomes and key lessons learned. Read More...

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