Evaluation Learnings Search

Learning Description

For microcredit projects, provision of initial capital by the project may not always be a good way to ensure ownership: When community members’ savings are at stake for microcredit projects, the loans and reimbursements are usually based on a careful evaluation of the borrower’s capability to pay it back. Also, this latter feels compelled to pay back on time, as the amount “belongs” to someone. The ownership of project capital is much more theoretical, and may lead to borrowers taking ownership of it instead of the microcredit association. It is important for the project to follow up on reimbursements in June in order to assess the future direction of similar components.

Learning Description

An organization with experience and multiple projects in a specific field (and country) may be more effective than an organization starting up in that country: The project’s cost effectiveness is further enhanced ILO’s in-country experience, status, ability to draw on resources (legal, programming…) from the Bangkok Regional office and Headquarters in Geneva, and its interproject coordination.

Learning Description

Awareness raising and research are activities that may benefit from the implementer’s standing: For these activities it is important to use implementation organizations that produce research that has respectability in terms of data validity and robustness of analysis. Otherwise, research may be produced but not used. For awareness raising, a similar concern could be raised about the origin of the message in an information-rich environment. ILO is a respected name in this regard, and the strategy of the project is building on ILO’s strength, which is enhancing costeffectiveness.

Learning Description

Policy and legal support may be inherently sustainable: Actions that help improve the country’s laws and policies are likely to be effective for a long time, and thus remain inherently sustainable actions. The challenge is to make high-level legal and policy changes “trickle down” to implementation level.

Learning Description

The set-up of a Technical Working Group is important for coordination of activities: The TWG is a key policy tool and also a means of raising awareness and advocating among government officials and other stakeholders.

Learning Description

Flexibility and frequent internal project reviews enhance efficiency: Project efficiency has been enhanced by its reporting and research structure, as well as by staff flexibility. For example, the decision to set up a micro-pilot project is evidence of good internal feedback loops and smart practice.

Learning Description

The first lesson learned concerned the Association pour la Promotion de l'Education et de la Formation à l'Etranger (APEFE) or Association for the Promotion of Education and Training for Migrants/MinAjliki program for women entrepreneurs where an APEFE representative in Rabat said that not all the Promise Pathways referrals manifestedthe entrepreneurial approach they looked for in referrals, but this was explained by the fact that these women were primarily selected because they were family members of vulnerable children, rather because of any particular entrepreneurial flair. APEFE thought that screening for entrepreneurial tendencies might avoid disappointment for some women, but overall described the partnership as a “win-win” relationship since it increased access to their program for women in rural areas.

Learning Description

The Artisan Training Center in Marrakech simply suggested that trainers provided by the project needed to offer up to date content in their classes, as a result of a session taught by an external trainer provided by the project that did not live up to their expectations.

Learning Description

Promise Pathways has largely good working relationships with its civil society and government partners, and the project team and case managers were held in high regard by many partner agencies. The exception to this was Al Karam where the partnership with Creative ran into some administration difficulties and the Al Karam case managers mentioned that they had found it difficult to adapt to the approach used by project. Overall, partners regretted the early project closure, but largely took it in their stride and worked to make the necessary adjustments.

Learning Description

One place where the local committee did feel very let down was in the Commune of Lala Aziza, where the Commune President had been relying on continued support to girls staying in the Dar Taliba until December 2017 as part of the Commune education strategy. Increased enrolment due to project input had required a rapid expansion of the facilities. He feared that without case manager liaison and support parents might withdraw their daughters from school and it would be more difficult to convince them and others in their communities to try again. He saw the early project closure as a risk to the future of girls’ education across the commune and advocated strongly for support to continue. He had based his planning on the project’s original commitment to continue until December 2017 and made commitments to his constituents on this basis. He now felt that his credibility had been put at risk and people would find it harder to trust him and other projects in the future.