Measurement of employment and income created as a result of USAID intervention

The authors reviewed the data collection practices and types of employment generated by six USAID/SL projects: The Technology Initiative for the Private Sector (TIPS), Mahaweli Enterprise Development (MED), Agriculture Enterprise (AgEnt), Shared Control of Natural Resources (SCOR), Agromart, and Private Sector Policy Support (PSPS). Chapter 2 overviews the issues connected with employment and income and describes the context within which project impact takes place. Each of the six projects" data collection and reporting practices are outlined in chapters 3 through 8. In general, the study found many inconsistencies in reporting. While all projects are collecting and segregating data by gender, they differ in how they define employment and how they count jobs. All six projects lack baseline data on income; only one measures income changes; and none measure indirect employment generation. Nor are the projects measuring their contributions to corporate incomes, which have been significant over the last few years. Specific recommendations are made for each of these problems, and the report includes a set of employment definitions that should be used by all projects. Annexes include some of the projects" data collection instruments.