Document of The World Bank Public Disclosure Authorized Report No: ICR00004042 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT (ICR) ON A SMALL GRANT1 IN THE AMOUNT OF US$2.67 MILLION Public Disclosure Authorized TO THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA FOR STRENGTHENING THE LIVELIHOODS AND VOICE OF POOR AND VULNERABLE PERSONS IN ARMENIA PROJECT Public Disclosure Authorized February 15, 2017 Social Protection and Labor Global Practice Europe and Central Asia Region Public Disclosure Authorized 1 This ICR satisfies any other requirement for small grants completion reporting. ii CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective: January 1, 2017) Current Unit = Armenian Dram (AMD) AMD 487 = US$1 FISCAL YEAR January 1 – December 31 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS DRC Disability Resource Center FM Financial Management ICR Implementation Completion and Results Report ISR Implementation Status and Results Report JSDF Japan Social Development Fund MLSA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs MA Mission Armenia M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NGO Nongovernmental Organization OTJ On-the-Job OM Operational Manual PDO Project Development Objective PSC Project Steering Committee PWD Person with Disabilities SC Steering Committee SEA State Employment Agency Regional Vice President: Cyril E. Muller Country Director: Mercy MiyangTembon Senior Global Practice Director: Michal Rutkowski Practice Manager: Andrew D. Mason Project Team Leader: Marina Petrovic ICR Team Leader: Maddalena Honorati iii REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA Strengthening the Livelihood and Voice of Poor and Vulnerable People in Armenia TABLE OF CONTENTS DATA SHEET A. Basic Information ......................................................................................................................1 B. Key Dates ..................................................................................................................................1 C. Ratings Summary ......................................................................................................................1 D. Results Indicators ......................................................................................................................2 I. Project Development Objectives and Design ......................................................................4 II. Key Factors Affecting Implementation ...............................................................................7 III. Assessment of Outcomes ...................................................................................................11 IV. Risk to Sustainability .........................................................................................................17 V. Lessons Learned.................................................................................................................18 ANNEXES Annex 1. Team Composition ........................................................................................................21 Annex 2. Implementing Agency Background ..............................................................................23 Annex 3. Outputs by Component..................................................................................................25 Map: IBRD 33364 iv DATA SHEET A. Basic Information Region: Europe and Central Asia Country(ies): Armenia Global Practice: Social Protection and Joint with IFC No Labor Recipient: Mission Armenia, on Implementing Mission behalf of the Government Agencies: Armenia of the Republic of Armenia Sector(s)/Theme(s): 100% Social Protection Theme Code (as % of total Bank financing) Income Support for Old Age, Disability & 30 Survivorship Other social protection and risk management 30 Participation and civic engagement 20 Social Safety Nets/Social Assistance & Social Care 20 Services Executed by: Recipient Project ID: P125791 TF Name and TF013894 Number(s): Original Grant Amount: US$2,670,000 Donor(s): Japan Revised Amount: US$2,670,000 Disbursed Amount: US$2,670,000 Environmental C Safeguards Triggered: n.a. Category: B. Key Dates Process Date Process Date Concept Review: 17-Dec-2012 Effectiveness: 15-Mar-2013 Appraisal: Restructuring(s): 19-Oct-2015 Approval: 01-Mar-2013 Closing: 01-Mar-2016 Revised Closing Date: (if 01-Sep-2016 any) C. Ratings Summary Outcomes: Satisfactory Implementation: Moderately Satisfactory Risk to Sustainability: Moderate 1 (a) Project Development Objective Indicators2 D. Results Indicators Original Target Actual Value Formally Values Achieved at Indicator Baseline Value Revised Target (from approval Completion or Values documents) Target Years Indicator 1: Number of graduates in sustained wage employment (Number, Custom) Value — (Quantitative or 0 200 203 Qualitative) Date achieved May 17, 2013 March 1, 2016 — August 31, 2016 Comments (including % Target surpassed. achievement) Indicator 2: Number of businesses in sustained operation (Number, Custom) Value (Quantitative or 0 40 — 90 Qualitative) Date achieved May 17, 2013 March 1, 2016 — August 31, 2016 Comments (including % Target surpassed. achievement) Increase of number of individuals helped by Mission Armenia to get benefits Indicator 3: (Number, Custom) Value (Quantitative or 88 1,000 — 1,239 Qualitative) September 30, — Date achieved March 1, 2013 August 31, 2016 2013 Comments (including % Target surpassed. achievement) Retaining or increasing capacity to independently carry-out activities of daily Indicator 4: living (Percentage, Custom) Value (Quantitative or 60 70 — 85 Qualitative) September 30, — Date achieved March 1, 2016 August 31, 2016 2013 2 These are Project Development Objective (PDO) indicators that are tracked in the ISRs. For further explanation see Section 1.1. 2 Target surpassed. This indicator is clarified in the Operational Manual (OM) Comments as: ‘Beneficiaries retain or improve their well-being, as measured by (a) (including % Morbidity per month; (b) Increase of capacity to independently carry-out achievement) activities of daily living; and (c) Increase of number of individuals helped by Mission Armenia (MA) to get benefits’. Indicator 5: Community financing (Percentage, Custom) Value (Quantitative or 10 11 — 12 Qualitative) Date achieved May 17, 2013 March 1, 2016 — August 31, 2016 Comments Target surpassed. Community financing is defined as contributions from local (including % governments, individuals, and from other nongovernmental organizations achievement) (NGOs). Indicator 6: Visits to project-supported government facilities (Number, Custom) Value (Quantitative or 0 n.a. — 19,666 Qualitative) Date achieved May 17, 2013 March 1, 2016 — August 31, 2016 Comments This indicator was linked to rehabilitation of infrastructure, which was ongoing (including % till the project closing date. Number is an estimate. achievement) (b) Intermediate Outcome Indicator(s) Original Target Formally Actual Value Values Revised Achieved at Indicator Baseline Value (from approval Target Completion or documents) Values Target Years Indicator 1: Number of beneficiaries. (Number, Custom) Value (Quantitative 2,100 4,000 — 4,856 or Qualitative) Date achieved September 30, 2013 March 1, 2016 — August 31, 2016 Comments (including % Target surpassed. achievement) 3 I. Project Development Objectives and Design 1. Original Project Development Objectives (PDO) and Key Indicators 1. The approval for this Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF)-funded project did not include the drafting of a separate Project Paper. Therefore, this Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR) evaluation uses the PDO statement from the Grant Agreement (GA), Operational Manual (OM), and Implementation Status and Results Reports (ISRs): To pilot self- reliant livelihoods and generation of employment opportunities combined with the provision of vital services for extremely poor and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, in Armenia. 2. An initial draft set of indicators was included in the Grant Proposal. Later on, these were elaborated and approved as part of the OM for the project and began to be tracked in the ISRs. For this completion evaluation, the list of key indicators from the ISRs (shown below) will be used. These are considered consistent with the Legal Agreement and with the other project documents. (a) Number of graduates in sustained wage employment (b) Number of businesses in sustained operation (c) Increase of number of individuals helped by Mission Armenia to get benefits (d) Retaining or increasing capacity to independently carry-out activities of daily living (e) Community financing (f) Visits to project-supported government facilities. 3. The indicators from the ISR deviate slightly from the OM indicators. The OM indicators are thus also reviewed in the ICR, as additional evidence. Table 1 compares the outcome indicators from the ISRs with the indicators from the OM. Table 1. Results Framework - Comparison between Indicators in the ISRs and OM Outcome Indicators Outcome Indicator Target Target Achievement from ISR from OM Number of graduates 200 At least 200 of the 200/700 203 graduates in wage in sustained wage 700 graduates of employment employment (Number, training courses are In addition: Custom) still in wage employment three about 800 unemployed months after they poor and vulnerable people were placed in jobs. start training. About 70 percent are person with disabilities (PWDs) and about 30 percent are other vulnerable people; about 550 of these poor and vulnerable people graduate from training; and out of the 800 people 4 Outcome Indicators Outcome Indicator Target Target Achievement from