Letter from Minister Regarding Marginalised Girls' Education
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Lord Bates Stephen Twigg MP Minister of State Chair of the International Development Committee House of Commons Tel: +44(0)20 7023 0500 Fax: +44(0)20 7023 0732 7 Millbank London Email: [email protected] SW1P 3JA February 2017 FOLLOW UP TO IDC HEARING ON ICAI’S REPORT ON UK AID’S SUPPORT TO MARGINALISED GIRLS’ EDUCATION My colleagues Anna French, Anna Wechsberg and I appreciated the opportunity to give oral evidence to the International Development Committee on DFID’s response to the latest ICAI report, “Accessing, staying and succeeding in basic education – UK Aid’s support to marginalised girls”. We again apologise for the delay in getting our initial response to you. As promised, I would like to provide additional information on four key areas as I promised: 1. Support to secondary education In 2014, the UK was the largest bilateral donor to secondary education (see Annex 1), and we will continue to make this a priority – particularly for its importance in reaching adolescent girls. We will also press others to give greater priority to secondary education, especially for girls. Secondary education is really important in improving girls’ life chances, preventing child marriage, reducing HIV infection, delaying early motherhood, and in girls having healthier children. Reaching the Global Goal commitment of quality primary and secondary education for every child by 2030 will require concerted international effort. 2. Equity and DFID’s VFM guidance I wanted to take this opportunity to expand upon my answer to Fiona Bruce’s question on VfM. I agree that equity considerations need to be part of our approach, alongside economy, efficiency and effectiveness. We are doing this through updating our VfM guidance. As agreed, I will share an update on the education sector VfM guidance by Easter. I have also included the criteria for project selection that we used in phase 1 of the Girls Education Challenge, as well as the cost per targeted girl as an illustration of the approach we are seeking to take around equity and VfM (see Annex 2). 3. Avanti Communications (Kenya) - i-mlango Paul Scully asked for further information on the programme and education expertise of Avanti Communications, who are working as part of a consortium of partners to deliver the iMlango project in Kenya. The iMlango project, (£27.6m in funding which includes match funding from Avanti), delivers improved educational outcomes in maths, literacy and life skills for 55,000 marginalised girls in rural Kenya, by providing high speed internet connectivity for schools; tailored online maths and literacy tutoring; and electronic attendance monitoring. The selection of schools was not based solely on access to electricity but also social and economic factors. The iMlango consortium includes partners with complementary skills and therefore benefits from a broad base of expertise. I am encouraged that this is being used to support the Ministry of Education to roll out the Kenyan Government’s Digital Literacy Programme and the early literacy reform programme, TUSOME, which you will have the opportunity to observe first hand during your visit to Kenya. 4. Evidence of what is working Finally, we are collecting a large amount of evidence on the state of marginalised girls. Each project conducts evaluations which survey girls, their families, teachers, and community members, and undertakes literacy and numeracy assessments. In addition the GEC Evaluation Manager collects data and information to draw conclusions across the entire portfolio. Reports and data are available online (see annex 3). LORD BATES Annex 1 Annex 2: GEC value for money Table 1: Selection criteria used in GEC phase 1 – Step Change Window Organisation track record & capacity to implement the project Has the lead applicant demonstrated that it has the structures, processes and systems in place required to implement this project and managing the work of its partners? - Management (governance) capability 3 - Financial capability 3 Has the lead applicant demonstrated that it has the structures, processes and systems in place required to manage the performance of the project, learn from the delivery 2 process and report on its effectiveness, value for money and impacts? Does the proposed partnership include organisations which are not traditionally 2 involved in bilateral development projects? How strong and relevant is the lead applicant's experience in the areas below and to what extent does it demonstrate that the lead applicant is capable of implementing this project and managing the work of its partners? - in the country where the project will take place 1.5 - in the education sector? 2.5 To what extent does it demonstrate that the lead applicant is capable of implementing this project and managing the work of its partners? (If there are no implementing partners, assess the capabilities of the lead partner to deliver project activities.) - in the country where the project will take place 1.5 - in the education sector? 1.5 Has the lead applicant and its partners (both in terms of organisation(s) and key personnel) implemented other projects of similar nature and/or size? 3 Are the key personnel sufficiently experienced in leadership, management and in girls' education technical areas? What learning results have the lead applicant and its partners achieved for 3 marginalised girls in the past? Do the lead applicant and its partners demonstrate a clear understanding of and 2 commitment to gender equality and girls' empowerment? Sub Total 25 Expected results and impact Does the project clearly identify a group of marginalised girls who will benefit from a 2 full cycle of primary or lower secondary education through the project? How strong is the analysis of why these girls are marginalised, the barriers that they 2.5 face in accessing education and why they are being targeted for this project? Are both supply and demand side barriers considered and addressed? If only one of these is addressed by the project, has the applicant explained how the other will be 1.5 addressed? Is the number of marginalised girls who will benefit through the project a realistic and 1 credible estimate given the barriers that they face and the overall project context? Is the methodology used to estimate the number of marginalised girls reasonable? 0.5 How strong is the analysis of evidence to support that this type of intervention will produce the intended results among the target group? If there are evidence gaps, have 2.5 these been addressed sufficiently? To what extent does the theory of change describe a plausible and effective case for intervention, given associated assumptions and risks? Does it present a logical results 2.25 chain? How strong is the analysis of risks (as provided in the risk matrix)? 0.5 How innovative is the proposed intervention? 1 Will the project be ‘additional’? Does the project represent a new programme for the proposed partnership, rather than a continuation of existing programmes? Does the 0.75 project complement existing state and donor interventions, rather than overlap with them? How strong is the project’s plan for engaging and benefitting, where appropriate, other 2 stakeholders (e.g. boys, men, women, community groups)? How significant and feasible is the impact that the project will have on the target group of marginalised girls'? - retention in school 3 - learning outcomes? 4 How significant and feasible are the project's direct additional impacts on health outcomes and/or the economic and social status for the target group? Has the 2 potential for these additional benefits been analysed and addressed sufficiently in the project design? Is the plan for collecting and verifying baseline data sufficiently robust? Does the applicant describe how the baseline data will inform the design of the 1.5 programme? How strong is the applicant’s plan for measuring change within the target group, 1 including unintended outcomes? How strong is the methodology for tracking girls? 0.5 Is the lead applicant able to demonstrate an effective approach to monitoring, reporting 1 and evaluating the project? How strong is the plan for delivering independent verification of results? 0.5 Sub-total 30 Value for money How well do the project's unit costs (i.e. Percentage of the base cost of education provided by the project) and the expected results (i.e. Increased quantity of schooling 7.5 and increased outcomes) compare with other similar initiatives? What is the level of confidence that this project will deliver Value for Money (VfM) in terms of the ’3 Es’ of Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness along the three levels of the results chain – inputs, outputs and outcomes? - Economy 3 - Efficiency 2 - Effectiveness 2 How innovative is the project in terms of the ‘3 Es’ mentioned above? 0.5 What is the degree of match funding (in cash or in kind) provided by the applicant? To what extent does the match funding demonstrate the applicant’s confidence to deliver 1.5 results and commitment to risk sharing? How strong is the applicant's payment by results approach? To what extent does the approach demonstrate the applicant's confidence to deliver results and commitment to 3.5 share risk? Has the lead applicant demonstrated an effective approach to monitoring, reporting 5 and managing its project’s costs? Sub-total 25 Sustainability How robust is the applicant's plan to sustain the impact of the project on marginalised 6 girls after the GEC support ends? Is the plan realistic and based on evidence? Has the applicant incorporated mechanisms for all girls involved to continue a full cycle 6 of primary or lower secondary education? How innovative is the approach to sustainability? 1 Will the proposed partnership develop capacity of local partners and/or other local 2 bodies? How strong is the evidence that the relevant state authority will be supportive of the 2 project? Does the project fit within the education sector plan (or equivalent) of the country? 3 Sub-total 20 TOTAL 100 Table 2: Selection criteria used in GEC phase 1 – Innovation Window 1.