The News

ME&A Communicators Prepare for World Water Day

ME&A's USAID funded Water Sector Communication and Knowledge Management (WSCKM) Program team has been busy over the past few weeks generating ideas and content for World Water Day on March 22, 2013. This year's theme is: water cooperation. To help promote World Water Day to the international community, ME&A created a social media plan for on Twitter that features water-related information for use during the days leading up to . The March edition of USAID's Global Waters magazine, published by ME&A, provides a close up view of individuals working on water issues in every corner of the globe, and examines the collaborative work being done by USAID among the neediest. The WSKCM Program team is also developing story ideas for USAID's Frontlines magazine for its upcoming issue on water. For more information, promotional materials, and exciting ideas on the world's water, visit the www.worldwaterday.org or the official United Nations World Water Day Facebook page. Happy World Water Day from the WSCKM team!

Caucasus Mission Evaluation IQC

The USAID Mission in Tbilisi, Georgia awarded ME&A a five-year Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC) to conduct external, independent performance and impact evaluations. ME&A with its partners will provide evaluation and assessment services under the Country Development Cooperation Strategy Development Objectives (DOs). The multi-year contract is cross cutting and will support all of USAID's DOs and intermediate results (IRs). ME&A's partners include NORC at the University of Chicago, the Association of Finance Officers of Georgian Local-Self Governing Units (AFOGLSU), the Caucasus Research Resource Center – Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF/CRRC), IT Research & Metadata Solutions (IRMS), the Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG), and the SIAR Research and Consulting Group.

The ME&A Team is currently implementing or has successfully completed the following evaluations:

• Mid-Term Performance Evaluation of the Restoring Efficiency to Agricultural Production Project (REAP) (2015)
  

• External Impact Evaluation of USAID/Georgia Primary Education Project (G-PriEd) (2014-2015)

   

• Final Performance Evaluation of USAID/Gerogia Sustaining Family Planning and Maternal and Child Health Services Project (Sustain) (2014)

   

• Final Performance Evaluations of USAID/Georgia Municipal Infrastructure Project (MIP) and Internally Displaced, Persons Durable Housing Project (lOP DHP) (2014)

   

• Mid-Term Performance Evaluation of USAID/Good Governance in Georgia (G3) program (2013)

   

• Mid-Term Performance Evaluation of USAID/Advancing National Integration (ANI) Project in Georgia (2013)

   

• Mid-Term Performance Evaluation of USAID/Gerogia Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (JILEP) (2013)

   

• Mid-Term Performance Evaluation of the USAID/Georgia Power and Gas Infrastructure Project (PGIP) (2013)

   

• Final Performance Evaluation of the Access to Mechanization Project (AMP) (2013)

   

• Mid-Term Performance Evaluation of the Economic Prosperity Initiative (EPI) Project (2013)

Mid-term Evaluation of the Ongoing USAID/Zambia Integrated Systems Strengthening Project (ZISSP) (2013)

The USAID Mission to Zambia, Office of Population, Health, and Nutrition, has awarded ME&A a contract to provide a mid-term evaluation of the ongoing Zambia Integrated Systems Strengthening Project (ZISSP). ZISSP is a four and a half year, $97 million contract tasked with supporting the Zambian Ministry of Health (MOH) to strengthen skills and systems for planning, management and delivery of high-impact health services at the national, provincial and district levels. The primary objective of the project is to increase the utilization of high impact interventions in the interlinked areas of HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Family Planning (FP), Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) and Nutrition through a health systems strengthening approach. ZISSP applies a "whole systems" approach to strengthen the health system while enhancing use of quality, high-impact services. ZISSP works with communities to promote increased use of public health services. The in-country evaluation began on April 2, 2013 and ran until June 2013.

To conduct the ZISSP evaluation, ME&A assembled a team of experts including 2 internationals and 3 locals. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess ZISSP’s progress towards meeting its goals and objectives from three perspectives and make recommendations related to evaluation objectives.

The team collected data for this evaluation using numerous methods including: a critical desk review of materials related to ZISSP; two quantitative Likert-scale surveys; extensive project briefings; 110 key informant interviews with the Government of the Republic of Zambia and other stakeholder national offices; field visits to 5 provincial and 12 district health offices, health facilities, pre-service institutions and communities; and 25 focus group discussions in rural communities in ZISSP-supported health facility catchment areas.

The evaluation was very successful and the ME&A team was praised for its outstanding performance. The final report and the recommendations made were found to be very useful by USAID/Zambia.

Mid-term Evaluation of USAID's Consolidating Cooperative Agribusiness Recovery (COCAR) Project in Timor-Leste (2012-2013)

An ME&A team is currently conducting a mid-term evaluation of USAID's Consolidating Cooperative Agribusiness Recovery (COCAR) project in Timor-Leste. A continuation of the Timor-Leste Economic Rehabilitation Development Project (TERADP), it aims to improve and support the country's coffee sector. The ME&A team will be in Timor-Leste doing field work from January 7 through the end of February 2013.

This evaluation expands ME&A’s extensive M&E portfolio under the USAID Evaluation Services IQC, which includes more than 40 evaluations in 25 countries since 2010.