iBCDE End Evaluation

Background

The ICC-iBCDE project with above mentioned Norad’s number started its first phase in 2013 – 2015. The current second phase started in 2016 and will finish in December 2018. The vision of the project is:

To see the indigenous minority communities in the North-eastern region of Cambodia have dignity and a mindset of possibilities to help themselves:

• Adapt to a changing context
• Are advocating for their rights and 
• Participating as valued and active members of Cambodian society.

The project works in two provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri with a total of 68 staff members. There are 43 indigenous target villages among the Bunong, Krung, Tampuan, Brao and Jarai.

Purpose/objective

The purpose of this end-term evaluation is:

• To assess the outcome and impact of each project objectives, including identification of changes and results achieved both in quantity and quality, and gender impact. Likewise, it is also to assess how efficient the project’s approach is in implementing interventions and documenting the result.
• Comment on the process, structure, and the strategies in relation to the vision and cost-effectiveness in order to determine what is being done well and what might need to be changed for a third phase.
• Assess the long-term sustainability of project programs.

Methodology

The evaluation employed mixed methods such as fieldwork, focused group discussions, interviews, workshops, observation and reviewing existing project documents to meet the purposes of the evaluation. Similarly, the evaluators employed the standard criteria for impact evaluation such as relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability and gender equality.

Key findings

• Good reports from the village leaders and government officials on ICC’s contribution in promoting education among the indigenous communities, specially giving value to children’s education in their mother tongues.
• Well-equipped staff members understanding the purpose and importance of education in a broad manner, and helping the society in this process.
• Closer collaboration with duty-bearers on various levels in relevant areas as a way of achieving project objectives.
• Limited number of indigenous mother tongues books in governmental schools hampers children’s practice to gain fluency in their languages.
• Lack of post literacy in villages. There are not libraries or other places where mother tongue or bilingual books are made available to the community.
• The project is using Outcome Mapping and reporting approach that made staff sensitive to listen to the needs of the communities, encourage and promote community led development. However, the evaluators also observed how difficult it is to measure project’s contribution to the positive change in communities by using Outcome Mapping approach.
• Excellent progress in gender issues in many villages as men have started sharing workload with women. This contributed to increase in family income and lessening the violence in villages. 

Recommendations

It is recommended that iBCDE define and refine its unique contributions by acknowledging who iBCDE is and what it is good at doing different from other NGOs.

• There is a need to focus on where iBCDE should put its limited resources, which communities it should serve and how to serve. That is focusing on specific goal or objective in a way that produces a clear impact rather than small outcomes in different areas.
• There is a need to respond to the changing times, and consider strategies to support indigenous children to be successful in government schools.
• There is a need to limit project’s systems and structures to only what are needed for efficiency. 
• Separating iBCDE into two projects due to the separate locations in order to help decision making, management, sustainability and localization possible.
• Improvements post literacy by strengthening mobile libraries to make books available for indigenous children in their villages.

Comments from the organisation

Normisjon is following up on evaluation report, and is in dialogue with ICC for implementation of recommendations as well as considering it when making plans for project’s third phase.