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Local Empowerment through Economic Development and Reconciliation Project (LEED+) - Final evaluation

eval_number:

3552

eval_url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/3552

location:

country:

Sri Lanka

region:

Asia and the Pacific

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eval_title:

Local Empowerment through Economic Development and Reconciliation Project (LEED+) - Final evaluation

recommendations:

date:

2023-12-06 00:00:00.0

themes:

theme:

Organizational issues

category:

Monitoring and evaluation

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comments:

1. The PAVE project (building on the earlier phase of the LEED+ project) will hire a consultant conduct the MSME assesment.

action_plan:

The project management partially agreed with the recommondation. The team found common ground with the recommendation solely in regard to the issue concerning the monitoring of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and refer to the response provided under recommendation 4 for details. To calculate indicator targets such as productivity and additional income, it was imperative to gather yield, income, sales, and cost data from individual farmers involved in various value chains supported by private companies. However, the collection of individual-level data posed significant challenges due to limited financial and human resources. Consequently, the project attempted to obtain data through collaboration with private companies by leveraging their field staff and lead farmers with continous efforts of the project team in assuring data quality. Regrettably, only certain companies, such as CBL and Sunfrost, which primarily focus on farming as an agricultural business, expressed interest in collecting such quantitative data. Other companies were not inclined to engage in this data collection effort. To calculate indicator targets such as productivity and additional income, it was imperative to gather yield, income, sales, and cost data from individual farmers involved in various value chains supported by private companies. However, the collection of individual-level data posed significant challenges due to limited financial and human resources. Consequently, the project attempted to obtain data through collaboration with private companies by leveraging their field staff and lead farmers. Regrettably, only certain companies, such as CBL and Sunfrost, which primarily focus on farming as an agricultural business, expressed interest in collecting such quantitative data. Other companies were not inclined to engage in this data collection effort. To address this data collection shortfall, the project, led by the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer working closely with field colleagues, resorted to conducting Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to acquire both quantitative and qualitative data. However, this data collection approach was inconsistent and often hampered by mobility restrictions caused by events like the Easter bomb attack and the ongoing pandemic, compounded by the heavy workloads assigned to each staff member. Nonetheless, the project endeavored to develop and widely disseminate human-centered stories under its communication efforts. These stories were made available to various groups, supplementing the production of case studies typically shared through annual progress reports.

management_response:

Action not yet taken

progress:

No implementation

admin_units:

CO-Colombo

title:

8. Field-level monitoring: Field-level monitoring needs to be strengthened as the evaluation noted shortcoming in the monitoring of MSMEs; in addition, monitoring of agricultural activities is left with the private sector who have done a commendable service in providing inputs and extension services. The main interest of the private sector is to buy raw material for their business; the Project should complement this by undertaking outcome monitoring to capture changes in human wellbeing and social wellbeing. Connected to this is the need to support the private sector to ensure that the farmers maintain their loyalty in the linkages that have been established by the Project.

project_symbols:

LKA/18/01/MUL

url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/recommendations/17575

information_source:

Country Office

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