Monitoring & Evaluation Support for Collaborative Learning and Adapting (MESCLA) Quarterly Progress Report

The program consists of four interrelated components: evaluation, monitoring, design and conduct of analyses, surveys, studies, and assessments, and support for improved knowledge management, learning, and community within the Mission and external stakeholders. During the period April - June 2018, MESCLA worked on each component of the contract. Component 1: Evaluations involved the Empleando Futuros (EF) Pilot Impact Evaluation (IE) and Performance Evaluation (PE). Due to high attrition levels in the treatment group, MESCLA recommended canceling the rest of the pilot impact evaluation and focusing on conducting the PE, which was scheduled to begin in September 2018. MESCLA and subcontractor Notre Dame Institute for Global Development (NDIGD) presented the pilot preliminary findings to USAID and Banyan in May and June. NDIGD also began recalibrating the Violence Involved Persons Risk Assessment (VIP-RA) evaluation tool, which was available for 2000 youth. The recalibration aimed to address concerns about self-reported violence entering into the risk score and the inclusion of gang involvement questions. The results from the recalibration were presented in July 2018. In addition, MESCLA presented the timeline for the PE, planned to begin in September after the VIP-RA recalibration. Banyan agreed to update its Empleando Futuros database to ensure accuracy and availability of information needed for the PE. The Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI)/Convive! Evaluation involved a time series analysis (2013-2017) of OTI/Convive!'s violence perception and victimization surveys. MESCLA received the corrected database on April 12, 2018, and completed and submitted the longitudinal analysis. MESCLA also supported the presentation of the Convive! program's results using statistical evidence of the changes in perception during the period of implementation. A briefing paper was created to disseminate the Convive! results. The Gobernanza en Ecosistemas, Medios de Vida y Agua (GEMA) IE PE involved requesting and receiving USAID's consent to subcontract with International Advisory, Products and Services (i-APS) to implement the GEMA IE and PE. The subcontract with i-APS was fully executed on June 7, 2018. The Honduran Local Governance (HLG) PE involved finalizing negotiations and signing a subcontract with Vanderbilt on April 27th. The MESCLA and Vanderbilt teams kicked off technical activities in early May and proceeded to draft questionnaires, workplan, and methodology report, develop training material, conduct pretest and training with local data collector, and draft pretest briefing report. Fieldwork started in early June and will last until mid-July 2018. The Feed the Future (FtF) PE and Case Studies involved receiving five proposals for the FtF PE and selecting NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC). MESCLA requested and received USAID's consent to subcontract and signed a subcontract with NORC on June 27, 2018.