A Project Evaluation from the Eyes of a Graduate Fellow
As a Graduate Fellow at Causal Design’s Cambodia Office, I was exposed to myriad of things related to the company’s activities. Here is a glimpse of my experience on a particular project evaluation in Phnom Penh office:
- What is the project we evaluated?
The Microfranchised Agricultural Service Expansion (MASE) Project, implemented by World Vision Cambodia in partnership with Lors Thmey/iDE, work to improve the agricultural sector for the smallholder farmers, in Takeo Province, Cambodia through an existing network of Farm Business Advisors (FBAs). Over two years, this project has provided services to farmers, such as access to quality agricultural inputs (particularly for drip-irrigation), technical assistance, and market access through contract farming and collection points for MASE beneficiaries. The project aims to further develop the FBA model and expand the model implementation in Takeo province. The link below is is a video of the project, created by World Vision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE-nfQpZsyI
- What is the purpose of the project evaluation?
In this evaluation (a process evaluation, to be specific), we assessed the impacts, sustainability, effectiveness, and relevance of the project on beneficiaries and their communities based on the project’s goals and preliminary outcomes, as well as the overall performance of the project. The recommendations and lesson learned from the evaluation will also be utilized to improve the implementation of the MASE project’s second phase (when it expands across all of Cambodia) and other similar World Vision’s projects. The objective of this evaluation is also to provide recommendations for inclusion in future project design.
- As a Fellow, what was my role in the evaluation?
For this evaluation process, I supported Causal Design’s Cambodia Office from the beginning of the project. I began by reviewing project background documents, created a quantitative survey based on the project’s logframe and research questions, using ODK to code, test, and implement the survey. With local Causal Design staff, we trained the data collection team and made logistic adjustments based on their feedback. We went to the field to observe the data collection process and provided assistance as needed. We also conducted qualitative interviews in the form of Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with Village Chiefs and various project stakeholders, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in villages. I then cleaned the collected data, analyzed it, and assisted in bulding the final report.
- A Fellow’s Reflection
This experience reaffirms the belief that an intervention cannot be uniformly implemented. The many dimensions of different communities should be considered during any implementation process. It is important to be flexible and consider more than just a country’s characteristics (for a multinational project) or a province’s characteristics (for a national project) for the project design and implementation since villages may have significantly different traits. In such cases, an implementer should carefully consider the potential beneficiaries’ fitness to the program before implementing the project or be able to flexibly adjust the project based on the beneficiaries’ characteristics.
