Mid-term and final external evaluations for Food for Education Project for USDA, Planet Aid International and ADPP Mozambique
Design, development, coordination and full oversight of evaluation process, including training of data gatherers.
Approach
Planet Aid International and ADPP Mozambique’s £26 million Food for Education Project, supported by USDA, delivers school feeding in 260 schools across Mozambique, along with infrastructure, fresh water supplies, latrines, health interventions and nutrition training and awareness, as well as a recently added literacy component. As external evaluator, Simone conducted the midterm and final evaluations of phase one of the Food for Education Project. With logistical support from the project, Simone designed the evaluations, prepared the instruments, trained the data gatherers and coordinated the overall process. In order to generate a holistic picture, Simone designed the evaluations to be as participatory as possible, gathering qualitative information from interviews with pupils, teachers, school leaders, and education stakeholders at every level. The evaluations also included quantitative data such as learning assessments and end of trimester test results from the provincial education offices. She designed and oversaw Quality Assurance processes, analysed the data in coordination with NFER, and wrote the final report.
As part of her commitment to capacity building, Simone trained data gatherers from a local private university, linking the training in research methods with their curriculum.
Outcomes
The mid-term evaluation report provided project stakeholders including the donor, project team, and beneficiaries with a valuable mid-term snapshot of the programme’s considerable achievements and detailed a number of challenges, identifying specific areas which required improvement. This allowed the project team to make informed strategic decisions on further development.
The final evaluation report documented the programme’s many successes and improvements since mid-term, making a number of recommendations for the second phase of the programme, which had been awarded an extension for a further four years.
The data gatherers trained by Simone gained a valuable opportunity for real-world application of research skills relevant to their university studies.