Evaluation Learnings Search

Learning Description

The project encouraged a youth savings culture and awareness of financial services, which also supported the success of this program.

Learning Description

Integrated approach. The integration of mine formalization, livelihoods, education, and policy interventions implemented in a well-coordinated manner by a consortium specializing in one of these components is considered a best practice. Despite early challenges, the project partners have managed to achieve a high level of teamwork that has facilitated the integration of the components and created important synergies to address child labor.

Learning Description

The Route. The Comprehensive Route of Territorial Management for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labor in Mining and especially the consultative and participatory way in which it was developed is another important best practice. Involving key national and municipal government agencies and other actors appears to have created ownership and commitment that will prove to be critical to its implementation and sustainability. Building the capacity of the CIETIs to implement the Route is an important part of this best practice.

Learning Description

Adaptive Management. The project uses an adaptive management approach to ensure that the project makes important adjustments and modifications to achieve its objectives. The intensification strategy, discussed earlier, is part of the adaptive management approach. In addition, the project conducts meetings after the submission of each TPR to identify challenges and develop solutions. The project also developed and implemented creative strategies to maintain a presence in communities during teacher and miner strikes. For example, FMS field teams implementing PAZalobien activities with children outside the formal school system.

Learning Description

Communication Strategy. While communication is not one of the five IOs, it has proven to be an indispensable component. The project’s communication strategy promotes effective internal communication among project partners and teams, external communication about the project including child labor to key stakeholders and supports important social change efforts. The communication strategy is cross-cutting and supports the achievement of the five IOs. The creation of the Somos Tesoro unified brand is an important part of the communication strategy

Learning Description

Local Facilitators. The project decided to recruit and hire facilitators from the eight target municipalities. The project partners consider this to be a best practice because the local facilitators not only understand the local context, including security concerns, but have been able to effectively build trust with communities so child labor issues could be discussed and addressed.

Learning Description

CMEP. The evaluators identified a few best practices associated with the CMEP. Project partners believe the CMEP is complex and difficult to understand. To address these concerns, the Somos Tesoro M&E team developed a simplified version and explanation of the CMEP called “CMEP for Everyone” Since some partners were not fully in agreement with the initial CMEP, the project decided to revise the CMEP to bring it in line with the revised project document and make changes based on partner input. Finally, the project decided to train and use project field staff to collect data using the CHEVERE campaign.

Learning Description

Mercury Test The mercury test conducted by ARM with contamination results provided by the University of Antioquia was noted by ARM, MINMINAS, and the Director of Mines in El Bagre as a best practice because it allowed the project to use tangible evidence to develop and communicate messages about the risk of using mercury to miners and their families. ARM field teams believe the mercury study lent credibility to their efforts to educate gold panners, families, and communities about the dangers of using mercury.

Learning Description

Use of Municipal Offices. Some of the project teams are based out of municipal government offices. These project teams and partners believe this qualifies as a best practice because it saved money while building strong and effective relationships with municipal government officials. This practice helped increased the level of coordination and collaboration with municipal level decision-makers.

Learning Description

Innovative Problem-Solving Tools. The livelihoods component of Somos Tesoro used two innovative problem-solving tools in developing its approach to productive projects. Pact conducted a two-part field study using Human Centered Design to better understand AfroColombian and Indigenous populations.66 Pact also conducted a study using Applied Political Economic Analysis (APEA) to better understand livelihoods strategies and how it might develop more effective productive projects.