Ricardo Furman Senior Evaluation Officer- Geneva Daniel Chachu M&E Officer - Accra EIA Evaluation and Impact Assessment Section International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) _________________________ _ International Labour Organization Lessons from implementation of Integrated M&E Strategies in Child Labour projects in ILO- IPEC El Salvador and Ghana

Working in Child labour elimination…

Child Labour concept Work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interferes with their schooling.,

International Programme for elimination of Child Labour-IPEC Objective: effective abolition of child labour (as defined by States and ILO) A rights-based decent work approach to economic and social development ILO Conventions: – 138: minimum age for employment for children – 182: worst form, of child labour not allowed for all children

IPEC multi-strategy approach Assist countries, through concrete actions/ advice, in enhancing awareness of all stakeholders, to implement international labour standards on child labour in a sustained manner National Action Plans act as the political frameworks that encompass the whole range of activities towards child labour elimination

Strategic activities: Legal framework and enforcement National capacities development, policies and mainstreaming Supporting workers and employers organizations in the “real economy” Direct action (livelihoods and social services) Research, data collection and analysis Advocacy, awareness raising and social mobilisation Evaluation and Impact Assessment

The El Salvador and Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire Projects

The project in El Salvador Improving livelihoods opportunities for households Sensitizing households on the dangers of child labour Providing direct support to schools Close integration of child labour elimination concerns with anti-poverty and social inclusion policies (i.e. job-creation for 15+years old and women)

El Salvador II 3 levels: macro (national policies and institutional framework), meso (municipalities and schools) and micro (child labourers’ households and children) Integrated Area-based (IABA) approach: – Reaching out to all children working or at risk, empowering local communities and improving their livelihood

El Salvador III 48 months (January 2011-November 2014) Strong emphasis in building capacities in local and national government stakeholders:

The project in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire: Cocoa communities I Empower vulnerable households by improving their livelihoods Improving children’s access to education. Strengthening local mechanisms for community action and social surveillance of child labour Enhancing capacities and linking national and local stakeholders’ efforts against child labour Building consensus and ownership at community and national levels

The project in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire: Cocoa communities II 44 months (Jan Aug. 2014) 2 countries (2 different languages: English and French) Integrated with other child labour projects working in both counties

The Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation System

Integrated M&E Strategy (IMES): where is it come from? M&E in IPEC since 1993 that has included: – Strategic Programme Impact Framework (SPIF): a Theory of change approach – Project Monitoring Plan (PMP) – Baselines – Monitoring of services and immediate results – Independent mid term and final evaluations – Ex-post tracking and tracer studies of target children

Integrated/Comprehensive M&E Strategy (IMES) 2010: systematic integration of M&E elements in one system in the project  Pilot in 3 projects: El Salvador, Ghana & Cote d’Ivoire, and Thailand 2011: IPEC projects integrates the IMES to new projects (tailored to capacities & needs)

Adds-on of IMES vs previous M&E 1. Focused in results (outputs  impacts) 2. Articulate monitoring and evaluation components in one strategy (including at operational level) 3. Monitor the project interaction with the whole project setting (social, political, economic, etc.)

Component of the IMES I 1. Theory of change 2. Outcome Measurement Framework: - Indicators for outputs, outcomes and impacts, context indicators - Who, when and how to collect the data)? 3. Institutional and beneficiaries baseline 4. Data collection Plan (ie. quality assurance)

Component of the IMES II 5. Monitoring component (i.e. services to beneficiaries, capacity building, and context) 6. Evaluation component: - Independent Mid term and Final Evaluations - Impact evaluation (i.e. follow-up survey) - Ad-hoc qualitative and quantitative studies

Lessons learned so far…

Major lessons I Involvement of stakeholders: – The IMES provides an opportunity to have a common language among partners key stakeholders – Ownership and understanding of the IMES is necessarily a “learning by doing” process:  To validate indicators -identified during the planning phase- took more than a year in an incremental process of quality improvement, but it is necessary

Lessons II Monitoring context: – By looking beyond project intervention it is possible to increase efficiency of the intervention and effectiveness of the project and other stakeholders intervention effectiveness through increase synergies

Lessons III Linking monitoring and impact evaluation: - There is a local demand of developing impact evaluations about significant changes in child labour. - The detail-monitoring component of the IMES generate the basis to unpack the project black box, the how impact has been achieved.

Lessons IV Replication of the IMES by national and local governments – Replication of tailor-made IMES for CL projects is on demand  Use of simplified IMES or elements of it at local level in government new projects or policy action in El Salvador and Ghana

Lessons V IMES systematic use is still more focussed in reporting (i.e. to ILO HQ and the donor) – M&E officers available in intervention countries for CL projects are mostly formed for M&E focused in reporting – IMES as a learning and knowledge tool requires: Close interaction of the M&E officers and project team with implementing agencies and stakeholders Extra resources to make this to happen are required

Lessons VI There is a demand for in-country training in CL at national level.  This is an opportunity to include M&E modules as a component of this training, promoting M&E as an integrated strategic component.

__________________________ International Labour Organization Thank you! For additional information, please contact : Ricardo Furman /Daniel Chachu ILO-IPEC Geneva and Accra