Final external evaluation “Institute for Development” Norwegian Mission Alliance

Background:
The Institute for Development is an educative organization created by MANB to form grass-root female and male leaders. The program got prestige due to the formation of basic technicians in different areas: entrepreneurial leadership for development, gender and community development, formulation of project profiles, environment, preservation and conservation. The ID is part of MANB’s Strategic Plan, which in the last 10 years has positioned itself as a training body of local human resources to contribute to the country’s sustainable development. It aims to strengthen the Bolivian society “towards real democracy”, where the civil society and State work hand in hand to achieve a more just, fairer and equal society.

Purpose/objective:
The consulting teamwork focused on “evaluating and verifying the compliance of goals for
target groups to boost results and have future projections”. The document is structured into different stages in order to carry out a deep analysis of the project’s implementation, management, resources management and impact in the benefited population. A special emphasis is put on the following crosscutting themes: gender, institutional values, and stakeholders’ participation levels.

Methodology:
This evaluation used a mixed methodological design, which allows interpreting the reality from different perspectives. Different methodological strategies were used based on the defined objectives, access and availability of human and material resources. The following techniques were used: documents review, players analysis, semi-structure interviews for graduated students (both male and female), municipal authorities and officers, and IDMAN-B staff, surveys and information validation.

Key findings:

Pertinence:
• The ID is answering to the demands and needs of the target population; contents were adjusted considering community needs and national policies.
• The ID has the challenge of starting a transformation of the curriculum and materials, following the constitutional policies and 070 Law.
• Learning resulting from ID intervention promoted an empowering process in men and women, mainly adults, who are in leadership positions in their communities.
• Although women participation levels increased, there is still a long path to go because of the Bolivian society’s chauvinist structure.

Effectiveness:
• ID structure is characterized with deep respect for communities. Each year, community needs are identified to adjust the different programs. However, there is no participative community planning in this component.
• It is possible to see a statistical increase of graduated students; however, there is no coherence between planned and achieved outcomes and a limitation in strategic planning is identified.
• The logistic characteristic of the ID is questioned by graduated students. ID challenge is to incorporate communication strategies to reach municipalities, communities and society.
• A challenge is to translate materials into a pedagogic model, carrying out the transformation of the curriculum as well.
• Facilitators are temporal (external staff); this does not allow them to really contribute to local development and management.

Impact:
• Graduated students (both men and women) stated to have a better position after having participated from the project. Approximately 20% of graduated students have posts in their municipalities and communities.
• Statistics show an increase of women participation, not only in the formation process, but also in decision-making levels. The challenge is to generate spaces and formation opportunities for graduate students, especially for women.

Efficiency:
• Activities were implemented according to the plan, benefiting to the target population. However, some limitations at strategic planning level were identified.
• Quantitative results show that there is little participation of graduated students on the management and administration of the Project’s economic resources. Their participation has mainly to do with the signing of agreements and negotiations.

Sustainability:
• Overall, we can state that the project is sustainable in different dimensions: Institutional sustainability (promoting local development in municipalities and participating communities); social sustainability (graduated students in public posts in municipalities and communities), learning sustainability (participants developed capacities that allow them read their reality and implement processes to meet their needs).
• Given the social context, the Institute for Development has to change, incorporating policies from the Pluri-national State of Bolivia.

Recommendations:
• The ID has to consolidate its identity as part of MANB. Integration and effective coordination with MANB, answering to the demand and initiatives of programs and projects.
•Design a strategy for making alliances and networks with other partners to guarantee long-term sustainability, considering the mission and vision as well as the current social, political, cultural and educative context of Bolivia.
•Evaluate the technical formation of the programs to have a more effective values promotion model.
• Strengthen the technical capacities of the team responsible for the design, implementation, monitoring and strategic planning evaluation.
•Continue prioritizing women.
• Readjust ID’s organizational structure by building a work team to strengthen internal policies and give answers to local and national challenges.
•Include leaders from target populations into the planning, monitoring and funds management processes.
•Establish permanent monitoring and evaluation processes.
•Design a nation-wide strategy for the institute to become a public policy.
•Implement a more aggressive communications policy.
•Build a strategic vision for the institute to work at national level.
•Organize the institute training proposal, thus contribute to the sustainable local development of Bolivian communities, establishing a regional and local curriculum.