Module 9 – The Contributions of Program Evaluation to Poverty Reduction

13/02/20142 Introductory Discussion How can evaluation help determine the contribution of programs to poverty reduction?

13/02/20143 Clarify the Causal Relations Between the Project/Program and Poverty IMPACT DIRECT RESULTS EFFECTS INPUTS IMPACT OUTPUTS OUTCOMES INPUTS Effect on living conditions infant and infant/juvenile mortality incidence of specific diseases Financial and material resources primary health care expenditures Goods and services produced number of nurses availability of medications Access, utilization and satisfaction number of children who were vaccinated % within 5 kms of a health centre... Then there will be an impact on poverty if the project reaches its objective

13/02/20144 Causal Relations Between a Project/Program and Poverty Poverty and the impact on poverty (in a broad sense) are among the criteria for evaluating the success of programs. The definition of poverty is quite broad (revenues and consumption, health, education, access to basic services, security, etc.). Therefore, most public policies and development aid programs contribute to poverty reduction. But, for each specific project or program, it is necessary to identify the dimensions of poverty on which the contribution will focus and to precisely identify the various groups of beneficiaries.

13/02/20145 Need for a National Evaluation System The measurement of impacts on poverty requires specific investigations which, in some respects, go beyond the project or program level.

13/02/20146 A National Evaluation System The logical framework outlines four levels of monitoring and evaluation activities Impacts Outcomes Outputs Inputs Impact on the standard of living Who are the beneficiaries? (access, utilization and satisfaction) Goods and service produced by the project Resources generated for the project

13/02/20147 A National Evaluation System Identification of the information needed to evaluate the impact: –The evaluation of the global effect of the measures implemented on well-being and poverty levels: The evaluation of impacts and the monitoring of beneficiaries require specific data,the collection of which requires a concerted effort.

13/02/20148 A National Evaluation System QuestionsInformationFrequencyBreakdownSource of Information Impact evaluation Groups whose health, resources, level of employment and level of education have improved as the result of the governments intervention and program? GDP % below the poverty line P-alpha indices Data on income, consumption, employment, health and education of households Yearly (Every 5 years (can be annual for small samples) Country Province / district / Socio-economic group (SEG) National accounts 1.Household budgets or Integrated Survey 2.Price statistics Evolution of poverty (passage from one side of the poverty line to the other: allocation of resources within the household) See aboveEvery 3 to 5 yearsSome collectivities / SEGs Surveys of households and panels Poverty distribution mapsInformation produced by a census of the population and a follow- up survey Decennial survey and periodic surveys Collectivities / parishesCensus, surveys of households Monitoring of results (beneficiaries) Do poor people have more access to services and programs? Distance to travel for each socio-economic group (per household or collectivity) AnnualProvince / District / SEGSurvey on service delivery or CWIQ (Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaire) Do they use these services and programs? Utilization rates (registration rates, etc.) AnnualProvince / District / SEGSurvey on service delivery or CWIQ Are the programs and services adapted to the Satisfaction indicatorsAnnualProvince / District / SEGCWIQ and Participatory Poverty Evaluation

13/02/20149 Some Sources of Information National and local data: –National accounts –Data on public expenditures and services –Price index –Production data Household data: –Census –Surveys: Integrated Survey, Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), labour market, service utilization, etc.

13/02/ How Can One Be Sure the Impact Results from the Program? Objective Impact on poverty Its objective is specific to the project The project contributes only to poverty reduction Measured effects Level of uncertainty The attribution issue is especially important when it comes to the impact. One must be able to say what would have happened, in respect to poverty, without the project or the program!

13/02/ How Can One Be Sure the Impact Results from the Program? Questions that must be answered: –Has the professional training program contributed to job placements, or would these people have found work anyway? –Has the supply of textbooks contributed to the improvement of education levels or is this improvement caused by other factors? –Has the micro-financing project improved the standard of living of families or has their standard of living improved due to other factors?

13/02/ How Can One Be Sure the Impact Results from the Program? Going back to quantitative methods with a comparison group, their difficulties, and the ways that are being explored to overcome them… Despite the billions of dollars spent on development assistance each year, there is still very little known about the actual impact of projects on the poor. Evaluating the Impact of Development Projects on Poverty, A Handbook for Practitioners, Judy L. Baker

13/02/ Detailed Presentation of your Case Your own experience of the evaluation of a project or programs contribution to poverty reduction