Monitoring and Evaluation: Good Practices, Common Challenges, and New Strategies Maureen Jaffe & Misty Heggeness Monitoring and Evaluation Team May 31, 2011

Outline of Presentation Good Practices and Challenges from Past Evaluations New Monitoring and Evaluation Tools Impact Evaluation Case Study (Bolivia)

The Role of Monitoring and Evaluation in OCFT-funded Projects Learning function:  Reveal strengths and weaknesses of different strategies  Identify good practices and lessons learned for future projects Process improvements:  Provide feedback on what is working, what is not  Identify challenges, inform adjustments Accountability:  Has project been implemented as planned?  Were expected outputs produced/delivered? 3 U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking

Overview of Lessons Learned: Education Strategies Good Practices Focus on Educational Quality and Relevance  Keep children engaged and interested  Teacher training, innovative learning strategies  Safe, “child-friendly” schools Provision of School Meals After-School/Enrichment Programs Common Challenges Increased Class Size due to influx of students Transitioning older children into school

Overview of Lessons Learned: Vocational Training Good Practices Context and gender-sensitive Determine market needs with good market study Facilitate transition to adequate, gainful employment Coordinate with government for official recognition and certification Common Challenges Inadequate funding leads less comprehensive interventions Apprenticeships must be monitored

Overview of Lessons Learned: Income-Generating Activities “When I eat sand, my children eat sand.” – parent of beneficiary, Benin Good Practices Consider linkages and partnerships Conduct quality market studies Incorporate business, marketing, literacy and numeracy, as needed Common Challenges Ensuring adequate funding Finding experienced organizations and personnel with business and marketing skills

Overview of Lessons Learned: Sustainability Good Practices Focusing on sustainability from beginning Active involvement of key stakeholders from inception Build on/integrate into existing efforts Build local capacity to take on issue Common Challenge Lack of Resources Staff turnover in government institutions Relatively short implementation period

New Strategies in Evaluation Success should be judged by results, and data is a powerful tool to determine results. We can't ignore facts. We can't ignore data.  President Barack Obama, July 24, 2009

Comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation (CM&E) Plans Identify evaluation opportunities based on project strategies Plan for evaluations based on project design and strategies Thoughtful and intentional design of evaluation at project design stage  Project management and evaluation staff work closely together  CM&E plans are living documents used as a management tool to improve service delivery and project outcomes

Evaluation activities to be carried out during the life of the project  implementation evaluations  short- and long-term assessments Monitoring mechanisms and processes Roles and responsibilities in M&E Monitoring indicators (common and project specific)  PMP Impact evaluation methodology Data collection  Baseline  Follow-up  Other data collection What is in the CM&E plans?

Rigorous Impact Evaluation Undertake a more substantial investment of resources in monitoring and evaluation, including with a focus on rigorous and high-quality impact evaluations. -President Obama’s Global Development Policy (2010) What works?  Was there a difference?  What are the benefits?  Can it be attributed to the program? Why does it work? Accountability Replicate and scale-up interventions that work

Impact Evaluation Panel Discussion: Case Study of Desarrollo y Autogestión (DyA) - Bolivia Discussants:  Matthew Holtman, Senior Manager, ICF Macro  Maró Guerrero, Project Director, DyA – Bolivia  María Gloria Barreiro, Executive Director, DyA Moderator:  Misty Heggeness, International Economist, OCFT 12 U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking

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