Final performance evaluation report for the Peace Corps participating agency program agreement (PAPA)

It has involved nine funding sources including the Bureau of Food Security (BFS), the Africa Bureau, and seven Missions. The aim is to support the Feed the Future goals of reducing poverty and malnutrition. The evaluation of PAPA was conducted by a two-person team with fieldwork in Zambia and Senegal and used a case study design. It consisted of document review, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, observation, and digital photography. Three overarching questions were examined looking at outcomes, planning and coordination, and the Peace Corps approach. The evaluation found that there were differences between USAID and Peace Corps in how each organization perceived contribution to Feed the Future's goals, objectives, and intermediate results and what it valued. USAID focused on change in quantitative variables that would indicate the achievement of results while Peace Corps emphasized the capacity building processes that it expected would lead to those results. The evaluation identified the factors that have positively and negatively affected the achievement of Feed the Future objectives, and made actionable recommendations for both USAID and Peace Corps to inform future similar agreements and enhance their effectiveness in achieving Feed the Future objectives. (Author abstract)