EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PROGRAM OBJECTIVE
OXFAM USA (OUS) has commissioned the Firme d'Audit et d'Expertise Comptable (FIDEX) to conduct a joint evaluation of two Program Implementation Plans (PIP)—a) Livelihoods and b)
DRR/Humanitarian Preparedness—implemented by OUS with the support of several actors over the 2011-2014 period in the departments of Artibonite, Nippes, and Ouest, Haiti. Each PIP is built around a number of projects/actions, most of which have been implemented by local partners, such as community-based organizations (CBO), civil society organizations (CSO) in collaboration with local authorities, and sectoral state institutions.
The strategy adopted by Oxfam USA (OUS) and the actions implemented through both programs are, for the most part, aiming at long-term change. They have, whenever possible, worked to promote partnership, involve primary change agents, enhance and promote female leadership, build technical and economic capacity, and advocate for local production and policy change at the national and international levels, among others.
The Livelihoods PIP implemented in the Artibonite region built upon innovative livestock and agriculture (production, processing) initiatives to increase farm productivity and to strengthen household economies and the capacity of families to address food insecurity. This PIP placed special emphasis on disseminating new production techniques. Its actions primarily focus on a value chain approach. The innovative (rice production, processing, onion conservation) techniques and the various forms of support given (credit, training, etc.) are highly appreciated by community actors and state institutions. Actions have been implemented primarily by local partners (local NGOs, producer organizations, state institutions).
The DRR/Humanitarian PIP builds on local emergency preparedness and response capacity building to facilitate reconstruction, risk mitigation, and crisis response in order for communities to be better prepared and to prevent natural hazard-related disasters.
OBJECTIVES
In accordance with the Terms of Reference (ToR), this evaluation was commissioned to measure how well the PIP objectives were achieved in order for Oxfam, partners, and donors to be able to effectively measure the program outcomes and identify lessons learned. It specifically assesses:
How relevant and effective the partnership working strategy is, identifying its strengths and weaknesses as specifically related to the capacity of the Artibonite Department Local Emergency Response Team (ELRUDA); and
How sustainable program activity outcomes are and, objectively, what the impacts are of the different program activities and particularly what changes have occurred or are occurring in the quality of life of primary change agents.
At a deeper level, the analysis focuses on:
the approach taken and the participation process;
community ownership of projects and actions and involvement in project management;
the level of involvement of women and youth in the various actions;
the scope of technical innovations and the quality of final products; and
lessons learned.
METHODOLOGY
The evaluation findings were obtained through a participatory methodology used with the different stakeholders involved in both PIPs. These include state actors and sector regulatory institutions, implementation partners, local authorities, and direct beneficiaries/primary change agents. The data collected was complemented with data from secondary sources (e.g. project reports, sector planning document, evaluation reports, sector statistics).
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS
The Livelihoods PIP's implementation has brought about a number of changes in the lives of primary change agents (at the individual, community, and organizational levels). The evaluation team's main findings in this respect include:
Strengthened technical and economic capital of partner organizations and the farmers they support, with an increased role of community service providers, largely due to the new skills developed and tools provided to perform their work better;
Enhanced women's role in public/economic sphere, decision-making within households, and their organizations;
Local actors have access to new effective System of Rice Intensification (SRI) techniques for rice production and techniques for onion production (yield gains, input cost savings), processing (better quality milled rice), and marketing and to loan offerings tailored to local production conditions and realities through better repayment frequencies and interest rates that reduce usury;
Increased rice yield/ha by more than double in some farms using SRI, improving their farmbased income and storage capacity to wait for price recovery and support household sustenance;
Increased farm incomes using new conservation techniques while reducing post-harvest losses and getting around crop sales revenue losses in periods of abundant (low-priced) supply; and
Strengthened partner organizations' technical and productive capital needed to diversify their income sources, strengthen the producers' production system, build their service provision capacity, and increase their visibility with state agencies and financial institutions.