Institutionalizing results based on monitoring and impact evaluation practices in community based social services development projects

Kristine GrigoryanGrants and Outsourcing Specialist

Armenia is a small land-locked country with population of 3mln people bordering Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey. Following its independence in 1991 and post soviet era the country has gone through tremendous changes. During the last 16 years, the country has staged a remarkable economic turnaround.

Each year thousands of dollars are spent on more than sixty programs to improve social sector outcomes in Armenia. But very few programs benefit from studies that could determine whether or not they actually made a difference.

This absence of evidence is an urgent problem and urges the donors and the current government to build monitoring and evaluation capacity for programs implemented.

Community-based social services for vulnerable groups jointly with the local government

Capacity building using the social services development projects

Social services development pilot projects in four communities

Series of trainings provided by international expert trainers.

Guidelines and international evaluation theory and practice materials.

Demonstration exercise for logical framework development. Joint development of indicators and the

logical framework approach to exercise planning stage.

Monitoring of current grant projects with the program and monitoring departments Site visits Report review

Pilot projects identify the stakeholders for the community social services development Local government Community leaders Social services representatives

Mobilizing community leaders to develop social services goals and objectives

Jointly with the stakeholders developed competition process

I Stage - Project design

II Stage – Logical framework of the selected project

III Stage – Implementation of the Monitoring

Impact evaluation

Developed Request for proposal for the outsourced projects

Jointly with the community group developed the project proposal and selection criteria

Provided on going consulting and step by step coaching on NGO selection and outsourcing

Developed logical framework for the selected project

Jointly with the community group developed the project indicators, outputs and outcomes Impact evaluation

questions

Developed the monitoring schedule

Data collection

Reports from the outsourced projects

Interviews conducted by the project managers

Site visit reports

Use the background information and M&E database to conduct the evaluation

Evaluate the projects outsourced to NGOs

Base community social services development decisions on the evaluation reports and outcomes of the report

Communicate the results and outcomes of the outsourced projects to the public