Growth with Equity in Mindano-3 Program - Framing the Evaluation, Part 1

Summary

The transcript discusses USAID's shift from mandatory to voluntary evaluations and its impact on effectiveness. It highlights the GEM 3 program in Mindanao, aimed at promoting peace and stability, with a focus on economic growth, participation, and security. The evaluation of GEM 3, conducted by two sub-teams, is the first external assessment of its impact. It faced challenges in addressing all components due to the vast number of questions. The evaluation's results are crucial for communicating the project's impact and lessons learned to the Philippine government and USAID.

Takeaways

• 🏆 USAID was historically a leader in evaluations but shifted to considering evaluations as good practice rather than mandatory, which affected its leadership position.
• 🌟 Under Administrator Shaw's leadership, USAID is re-emphasizing the importance of evaluations, focusing on the utilization of findings.
• 📈 The GEM 3 program in Mindanao is the largest and most diverse program by USAID there, aimed at promoting peace and stability in support of the 1996 peace agreement.
• 🛠️ GEM 3's objectives include supporting economic growth, maximizing participation, and promoting peace and security.
• 🔍 The performance evaluation of GEM 3 is the first external effort to measure its impact in Mindanao.
• 👥 The evaluation was unique in that it split into two sub-teams to cover different parts of the country before reuniting for data analysis.
• 📊 The evaluation results are crucial for communicating the project's impact and lessons learned to the Philippine government and other partners.
• 🤔 The evaluation process initially faced challenges due to an overwhelming number of questions, totaling 54, covering seven performance elements.
• 📝 There were difficulties in designing research activities to address all questions in a short time, especially with limited data availability.
• 💡 Measuring peace is complex, but one approach is through increased economic activity and interaction, which raises the opportunity cost of conflict.
• 🔄 The evaluation process led to a reassessment of questions and methods, emphasizing the importance of detailed engagement and realistic data collection.

Q & A

What was USAID's historical role in evaluations?

Historically, USAID was a front-runner and leader in evaluations, known for doing some amazing work.

How has USAID's approach to evaluations changed under Administrator Shaw's leadership?

Under Administrator Shaw's leadership, evaluations have once again taken a prominent place in USAID, with an emphasis on the utilization of evaluation findings.

What is the main objective of USAID's Growth with Equity in Mindanao 3 (GEM 3) program?

The main objective of GEM 3 is to promote peace and stability in Mindanao in support of the 1996 peace agreement.

What are the three key goals of the GEM program?

The three key goals of the GEM program are to support economic growth throughout Mindanao, promote the largest number of participants or beneficiaries to be involved, and promote peace and security.

What components are integrated into the GEM projects?

The components integrated into the GEM projects include integration of former combatants, infrastructure, workforce preparation and development, business growth and development, governance, communications and public relations, and support services.

Why was the performance evaluation of GEM considered unique?

The performance evaluation was unique because it was the first external systematic effort to measure GEM's impact in Mindanao and involved splitting into two sub-teams to cover different parts of the country.

How many questions were included in the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the evaluation?

There were 54 questions included in the RFP for the evaluation.

How are the questions in the RFP patterned?

The questions in the RFP are patterned along the seven performance elements: impact, relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, gender, sustainability, and lessons learned.

What challenges did the evaluation team face in designing research activities?

The evaluation team faced challenges in designing research activities due to the wide variety of questions and the difficulty in addressing all of them in a short period of time.

How does the evaluation team propose to measure peace?

One way the evaluation team proposes to measure peace is by looking at increased economic activity and interaction among beneficiaries, traders, buyers, and the outside community, which implies an increased opportunity cost of engaging in conflict.

What was a key learning from the developmental evaluation with USAID's Conflict Management and Mitigation Office?

A key learning was the importance of repeated and detailed engagement, which led to a complete change in the evaluation questions from what they originally were.