Global Evaluation and Monitoring (GEM) Project

Over the past twelve years, the U.S. and more than 170 other countries have committed to work towards the prevention and elimination of the worst forms of child labor. Many countries, including the U.S., have provided significant funds for projects to prevent and eliminate child labor around the world. Despite the implementation of many successful pilot projects, there is a lack of robust empirical evidence that highlights which strategies and interventions are the most effective in reducing children’s involvement in exploitative labor, and the outcomes and impacts of project activities. Research tools such as impact evaluations can help address the first issue – the empirical evidence gap – by providing rigorous evidence on the impact of interventions at a specific point in time. For the second issue, projects need improved monitoring and evaluation functions that allow them to collect and analyze data beyond the activity level – they need the ability to show a project’s outcomes and impacts. In order to achieve this, projects must develop comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plans that facilitate the understanding of not only the ability of an organization to implement a project, but also the project’s impact on child labor outcomes.