Mid-term Evaluation of Report of Notun Alo Project (NAP)

1. Project Description and Background to Evaluation:
The Notun Alo Project (NAP) was launched envisioning the development of livelihood of poor and marginalized households on Madan and Mirzagonj upazilas. The project partners called POPI and CODEC successfully intervened in their respective working upazila. During the project period Notun Alo has implemented quite a large numbers of its activities mentioned in the project proposal and obviously these activities have created significant outcomes and impacts and brought changes among the project participants.  In order to assess the impacts and changes, SF and the Partner Organizations decided to commission this evaluation.

2. Purpose/objective:
The overall purpose of this mid-term evaluation is to assess to what extent NAP has contributed to get the poor and marginalized communities out of poverty and prepared them to address their own issues and lead a decent life.  SF anticipates that the outcomes of this mid-term evaluation will provide relevant information to the ongoing scope of work of the partners; explore why the interventions implemented by the program succeeded or not; and provide guidance for subsequent implementation of the program during the next three years.

The evaluation will make use of generic evaluation criteria–relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability.

3. Methodology:
The evaluation was designed following a participatory approach ensuring the participation of the community people, key stakeholders and project staff. The evaluation matrices were developed by the evaluator in order to achieve the objectives using the required approaches. The evaluator has also applied other tools in the fields in view of gathering maximum information and data to make this evaluation a successful one. The evaluator tried to avoid duplication of information and error of information and data.

4. Key findings:

Objective 1: By the end of 2016, strong civil society mechanism functioning to address and advocate for social and economic rights of people:
Both POPI and CODEC have mobilized or organized women under small groups (SG) with the support of NAP. The organized women of SG have become the main strength the NAP. It was observed that the socio-economic situation of the partner households (HH) of Mirzagonj upazila has been found somehow better than the partner HHs of Madan upazila. However, the project has achieved the targets in bringing 1000 HHs under SG in each upazila.

Objective 2: Improved Health and nutritional status of the 2,000 target families (especially mothers and children).
The awareness program on community health and nutrition has been found going well in Madan Upazila while in Mirzagonj upazila the awareness program was found a little slow. The achievement of developing knowledge, changing attitudes and bringing knowledge into practice of mothers in Madan upazila was found somehow satisfactory.  Almost 100% partner HH members in both upazilas have now access to three meals but, the quality of the food was found imbalanced.

Objective 3: Children of the 2000 target families have access to quality basic and functional education.
The preliminary aims and objective of ECD has been achieved successfully. The project has supplied the book, notebooks, and pencils to the children in time which helped attracting the guardians and children to come to the school regularly.  The attendance rate of children in the pre-school has been found over 90% which is quite satisfactory. Children who have been graduated from the ECD merged to Non-formal primary school or mainstream government schools.

Objective 4: 2,000 families have improved income generating opportunities
NAP has successfully introduced a new dimension in the arena of livelihood development which is called ‘Family Development Plan (FDP). In fact this is a new Model of Development to the Bangladeshi households. In both Madan and Mirzagonj upazilas NAP has successfully motivated poor households to be visionary. Each of the target households has independently developed their ‘vision’ which in Bangla called ‘Shapna’ or ‘Dream’.

The NAP has incorporated the rights-based issues with the mainstreaming development activities. NAP followed the livelihood development approach and at the same time it could follow Rights-Based Approach (RBA).

Objective 5: Target households have developed their resilient to natural disasters
The Community Based-Disaster Risk Reduction (CB-DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) initiative by the NAP has been found relevant and time bound especially in the Mirzagonj upazila. NAP has established strong coordination between all working Union Parishads (UP) and local schools regarding DRR particularly at the pre-disaster stage. In both Madan and Mirzagonj upazilas NAP has successfully established a strong rapport with the Union Disaster Management Committee (UDMC) and successfully revitalized the UDMC. The project also developed WARD-base Disaster Volunteers who have been keeping liaison with the UDMC.  The Disaster Volunteers have been providing awareness lessons to the small group members which created impacts to develop the knowledge of members.

5. Recommendations:
Overall recommendations
• POPI and CODED have to develop a staff development plan so that staff can properly develop the capacity of small groups as well as People’s Organization / Ward Committees (PO/WC).
• The potentials of the Community Service Providers should be harnessed through providing them advance training and allocate more works to them.
• Provide revolving fund to small groups instead of providing collective or group IGA to small groups.
• The support and participation of community NAP should develop a ‘Community Resource Center (CRC) in each working WARD which will be used by PO / WC and adolescent girls as their learning center.
• NAP should give emphasis that the PO / WC members are capable to establish linkage independently.
• The Shonglap girls should not be phased out. They should be griped in the NAP involving in different social and cultural activities like day observation, plantation, sport, cultural, debate program, writing and drawing competition etc.
• The food security of poor HHs in both upazilas is a great concern. It was observed that in Mirzagonj upazila the land owners usually produce two crops and about four months their land remains almost empty. During this time the NAP could motivate the poor households to take lease of land and produce Rabi crops like cucumber, watermelon, sunflower, Soya beans etc. which will increase the food security of poor households.
• In next couple of years the NAP should design and develop a separate program exclusively for the children with disabilities in the target households and in the wider community.
• The Focal Persons of both POPI and CODEC have to increase his / her role in all the sectors of the NAP.

6. Comments from the organisation, if any: (this section to be filled by the staff responsible in SF’s Regional Office)

A detail action plan has been developed by both partners together with SF and is being followed up.