Lombardini, Simone, 2015, Impact evaluation of the project ‘Scaling up sustainable livelihoods in Mindanao

2.3 DIRECT ACTIONS IN COMMUNITIES

2.3.6. Vocational education/skills training

Recommendation: 32) Ensure (and test) that project beneficiaries are fully able to use their newly acquired skills and working tools obtained through training. Monitor the beneficiaries even after the end of the project, supporting them in developing their new activities and, consequently, gain more from their work. Work with government and civil society representatives to enable this.

Reference: Lombardini, Simone, 2015, Impact evaluation of the project ‘Scaling up sustainable livelihoods in Mindanao’, Impact evaluation, OXFAM, Oxford.

Evidence sample: the evaluation determined that the project increased the probability of farmers selling agricultural products in the markets, as well as improving the quantity and increasing the variety of crops sold. These changes, however, did not translate into higher revenues, income or wealth. The project was successful in increasing the likelihood for a household to gain revenues from selling agricultural crops. On average more than 91 per cent of the households in the intervention group had revenues from selling crops in the previous 12 months, compared with less than 84 per cent in the matched comparison group. However, it appears there are no differences when comparing the average total amount of revenues from the two groups. This might be due to the fact that project participants were selling their crop production at higher prices or higher quality compared with comparison households. This explanation is consistent with the fact that project participants did not report using different technological tools or set of skills compared with households in the comparison group. Training on planning, climate change adaptation and marketing combined with technical support and planting materials, were expected to increase access to technology and skills, which in turn should increase agricultural diversification and the quantity of crops produced.

__________________________________________________

2.4 APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LIVELIHOODS, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

2.4.2. Social inclusion promotion (awareness raising on social inclusion in IE)

Recommendation: 5) Clearly identify the beneficiary selection criteria in the project design document.  This should include vulnerability criteria that are agreed to with the major stakeholders. During the project inception period, double check the correct application of selection criteria to ensure that the target community members are actually engaged in and benefit from the project.

Reference: Lombardini, Simone, 2015, Impact evaluation of the project ‘Scaling up sustainable livelihoods in Mindanao’, Impact evaluation, OXFAM, Oxford.

Evidence sample: it emerged from the evaluation that Oxfam’s project in Mindanao engaged households with higher levels of material wealth, including higher levels of education, higher quantities of cultivated land, and a lower probability of being employed as causal labourer compared with a random selection of people living in neighbouring villages. This suggests that the project was not able to engage with the poorest and most vulnerable households in the area. While more attention should be given to this when targeting project households, the country team is also encouraged to consider the type of interventions that are more effective in reaching and benefiting the poorest and most vulnerable households in the project area.

____________________________________________________________

2.4 APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LIVELIHOODS, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

2.4.5. Strengthening IE with attention to gender issues

Recommendation: 2) Develop a multi-dimensional index (analysis) in order to better assess the degree of women/s existing empowerment. Given that women’s empowerment characteristics vary depending on different contexts, such and index should rely on baseline interviews or studies conducted with stakeholders or local experts from the relevant areas.

Main subjects in the Index might build on the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index’ (WEAI) developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). See https://www.ifpri.org/weai-training-materials

Aspects that might be included for an index with women dependent on the IE and extracted from the  Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index’ (WEAI):

• Self-perception and personal change (self-confidence; self-efficacy; opinion on women’s economic role, gender rights, property rights, freedom of movement, power within the house)
• Personal freedom (personal autonomy, attitude to gender-based violence
• Domestic violence; knowledge where to go and what to do in the case of violence)
• Access to & control over resources; decisions & influence (control over sexuality
• Involvement in expenditure-investment-management decisions of the household; influence in women’s group and community decision making)
• Support from Social Network (participation in groups
• Level of support provided by groups to pursue own initiative)
• Care and unpaid work (ability to redistribute burden of care responsibilities
• Attitude towards and awareness of care work; women have more time for leisure and socialising.

Reference: Lombardini, Simone, 2015, Impact evaluation of the project ‘Scaling up sustainable livelihoods in Mindanao’, Impact evaluation, OXFAM, Oxford.

Evidence sample: the evaluation clarifies the kind of approach that was used to assess a multi-dimensional concept, such as women’s empowerment. This approach was built on the ‘Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index’ (WEAI) developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Using the WEAI approach, the index used in the evaluation assesses six dimensions of women’s empowerment. Several indicators were specified for each of these six dimensions. There is no one generic set of ‘women’s empowerment’ characteristics that are applicable to all contexts. Given this, efforts were made to specify characteristics relevant to the specific area where the survey was carried out through a workshop conducted with a range of project stakeholders, including Oxfam staff, partner organisations and local consultant experts in the area. In particular, the six dimensions and the 26 characteristics identified were:  1) self-perception and personal change (self-confidence; self-efficacy; opinion on women’s economic role, gender rights, property rights, freedom of movement, power within the house); personal freedom (personal autonomy, attitude to gender-based violence; domestic violence; knowledge where to go and what to do in the case of violence); access to & control over resources; decisions & influence (control over sexuality; involvement in expenditure-investment-management decisions of the household; influence in women’s group and community decision making); Support from Social Network (participation in groups; level of support provided by groups to pursue own initiative); Care and unpaid work (ability to redistribute burden of care responsibilities; attitude towards and awareness of care work; women have more time for leisure and socialising).

_______________________________________________________

2.4 APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LIVELIHOODS, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

2.4.5. Strengthening IE with attention to gender issues

Recommendation: 36) Identify methodologies encouraging simultaneous participation in empowerment programmes of both women and men. Include awareness raising of participants about shared household decision-making, as well as improving influencing skills and generating confidence in women.

Reference: Lombardini, Simone, 2015, Impact evaluation of the project ‘Scaling up sustainable livelihoods in Mindanao’, Impact evaluation, OXFAM, Oxford.

Evidence sample: the evaluation focuses on the Gender Action Learning System approach (GALS), used to empower women. GALS is a community-led empowerment methodology aiming to promote economic, social and political transformation of gender justice. The approach involves women and men developing achievable visions for change together, journeys and road maps. The project established 10 women’s groups consisting of 40 women members each. The participants were then equipped with tool kits to promote savings and investment opportunities and received training in order to increase knowledge for running small enterprises and businesses. The project also supported women’s groups in gaining access to loans to start new business. Women groups selected different vocational skills in existing enterprises that they wanted to develop. These include bakeries, hair dressing, tailoring, hand crafts and poultry-rearing. Equipment and inputs, such as sewing machines, needed to start up the business was also provided. In addition, women’s husbands were trained jointly with their wives using the GALS approach. This was expected to improve gender relations and women’s rights within the household and community.

The evaluation found that project activities conducted using the WEE activities are associated with higher levels of access to savings and credit, group participation, and group decision-making. The evaluation also found some evidence of an increased proportion of contribution to household income. However, there is no evidence of improved control over household assets or improved influence over household decision-making. No evidence of changes was actually recorded on self-efficacy, freedom of movement, personal autonomy and likelihood of experiencing violence.