External evaluation of West Africa strategic plan 2009-2013

Background:
Strømme Foundation operates in West Africa in three countries Burkina Faso, Mali and
Niger. Its intervention strategy is to eradicate poverty and help to self-help through entrusting its strategic programs operationalization to 25 local NGOs spread across the three countries, two in Niger, four in Burkina Faso and nineteen in Mali. Mobilization of funds happens through cooperation within networks, consortium institutions and international NGOs. Working within the two core areas of Micro Finance and Education. Within Microfinance Strømme Foundation works with and through designated strategic partners. In the Education program is based on a cooperation with the Educational Departments in the three countries with the Speed Schools program.

Purpose/objective:
To evaluate the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness as regards to indicators reached of the program. The efficiency of micro finance and education is assessed in terms of economies of scale and the opportunity costs they provide. To adress the sustainability of implementing partners within micro finance and analysing the impact in the education sector on resource mobilisation and ownership in the local communities.

Methodology:
Consultations, reviews of documents and literature, field visits, qualitative data collection, SWAT analysis, interview covering all stakeholders.

Key findings
• The program shows consistency between the LFA in the strategic plan of the program and for horizontal logic and vertical logic on resources, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact. This enables Strømme Foundation to promote access of individuals, excluded and vulnerable groups to economic resources and to basic social services in West Africa. Facilitating gradual local involvement in the management of the process. Implementation is done in a sustainable manner with the target population. Do note that the indicators where poorly formulated as baseline and targets have not been defined in the logical framework.

• The organizational logic between the partners is clear on roles and responsibilities enabling each organization to perform.

• The relevance of the program is evident in all the documentation and from the processes and exercises with all involved parties during the evaluation.

• We conclude that the program has been effective from planning, to objectives and lastly on results achieved. We do see a weakness within the fields of institutional microfinance and Active Literacy.

• Efficiency: The evaluation has come to show that the program is efficient.

• Effects and impacts: According to the results of the field survey, the programs (SSA / P, AA and SFC)  has generated positive effects from the beneficiaries and has given changes at the community level.

Recommendations:
To the Strømme Foundation at the SSA / P
1. Making decentralized authorities/municipalities responsible for these initiatives by involving them heavily in the opening mechanism, transfer and expansion of SSA / P centers.
2. Establish formal mechanism for monitoring children transferred from speed schools to local schools to get a better view of their progress. To enhance the quality of the strategy for sustainable impact of the achievement by hiring a specialist M and E officer for the above mentioned work.
3. Go beyond the establishment and strengthening of the SP to raise funds for it and for the SSAP strategies locally.
4. Encourage actors in the field to have a formal communication plan for advocacy and community mobilization.
5. SSAP Centers must not be very far from formal schools because it causes a significant loss of transferred children.
6. Establishment mechanism for feedback of information.
7. Share the new strategic plan with other education partners to increase the knowledge and visibility of all the partners.
8. Extend the 2 days workshops of exchange between NGOs, SFWA and strategic partners.

• For Active Literacy (AA):
1. Retain staff in the period from June to December to minimize staff turnover.
2. Create as many centers as SFC allows for women to benefit from the AA.
3. Give a diploma for those who have completed two-year training courses.
4. Sensitize communities to care for infants.

• For Saving Strategy for Change (SFC)
1. Help women develop more promising and productive activities.
2. Identify reliable MFIs and develop relationships with these institutions.
3. Organize women into economic sectors going from production phases to the distribution or commercialization.
4. Negotiate the means of production for SFC women's groups.
5. Put the SFC tools in local languages for its management of and better control by women.

Comments from the organisation, if any: