Interim Performance Evaluation: Increasing Economic and Social Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Women in Rural Zambia (EMPOWER) United States Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs Date: May 17, 2019 Author: Deborah Orsini, Management Systems International This report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) under Contract Number 1605DC-18-F-00414. The views expressed are those of the author and should not be attributed to DOL, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement of the same by the U.S. Government. Table of Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ii Acronyms ........................................................................................................................ iii Executive Summary ........................................................................................................ 5 Evaluation Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 6 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 9 Project Description ........................................................................................................ 12 Project Context ......................................................................................................................12 Project Targets and Objectives ..............................................................................................13 Evaluation Objectives and Methodology ....................................................................... 16 Evaluation Questions .............................................................................................................16 Methodology ..........................................................................................................................17 Ethical Considerations and Confidentiality .............................................................................20 Limitations .............................................................................................................................20 Findings ......................................................................................................................... 21 Project Scope: Challenges .....................................................................................................21 Design ...................................................................................................................................24 Effectiveness and Schedule ...................................................................................................26 Sustainability .........................................................................................................................39 Lessons Learned and Promising Practices ................................................................... 41 Lessons Learned ...................................................................................................................41 Best Practices ........................................................................................................................42 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 42 Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 45 Annex A: CMEP Performance Indicators ...................................................................... 48 Annex B: Evaluation Terms of Reference (TOR) .......................................................... 54 Annex C: List of Documents Reviewed ......................................................................... 66 Annex D: Field Schedule ............................................................................................... 67 Annex E: List of People Interviewed .............................................................................. 73 Annex F: Stakeholder Workshop ................................................................................... 74 Annex G: EMPOWER Implementation Timeline by Hub, Cohort, and Month ................ 79 Annex H: List of EMPOWER MOUs (fully executed and in process) ............................ 81 Interim Performance Evaluation: EMPOWER Project i Acknowledgments The evaluator would like to extend sincere thanks to the 174 people interviewed during the evaluation. Their insights and suggestions informed the findings, conclusions and recommendations of this report. They include the: • Dedicated and energetic EMPOWER specialists; • Impressive chiefs and headmen committed to empowering women and girls; • Provincial and district government officials supporting EMPOWER; • Hardworking EMPOWER community representatives, facilitators and volunteers who select, train, monitor and motivate participants; • Radio stations and radio listening clubs seeking to raise awareness; • Private firms and NGOs partnering with EMPOWER; and • Especially the EMPOWER participants, many of whom walked long distances for our meeting. The intent of this interim evaluation, as stated during the stakeholder meeting on March 14, 2019, is that the information contained herein will help to strengthen the project in its final 18 months and enable it to: Poultry training class for adolescent girls and vulnerable women in Kagoro. Photo credit here and throughout the report: Deborah Orsini Interim Performance Evaluation: EMPOWER Project ii Acronyms CAHR Children at High Risk of Engaging in Child Labor CAS Community Awareness Specialist CBDL Community/Business Development and Livelihoods CCLC Community Child Labor Committee CL Child Labor CMEP Comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation Plan DCLC District Child Labor Committee DEBS District Education Board Secretariat DQA Data Quality Assessment CR Community Representative CV Community Volunteer DC District Coordinator EMPOWER Increasing Economic and Social Empowerment for Adolescent Girls and Vulnerable Women in Zambia HCL Hazardous Child Labor HH Household ILAB USDOL International Labor Affairs Bureau ILO International Labor Organization M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MLSS Ministry of Labor and Social Security MoFL Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock MOU Memorandum of Understanding NGO Non-Governmental Organization OCFT Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking OTC Outcome Indicator OTP Output Indicator PANOS Panos Institute Southern Africa PD Project Director PMP Performance Monitoring Plan POC Project Outcome Children POH Project Outcome Households PPP Public-Private Partnership REAL Rural Entrepreneurship and Leadership Interim Performance Evaluation: EMPOWER Project iii RLC Radio Learning Club RWEN Rural Women’s Entrepreneurship Network TEVETA Technical Education, Vocational, and Entrepreneurship Training Authority ToC Theory of Change TOR Terms of Reference TOT Training of Trainers USG U.S. Government VSLA Village Savings and Loan Association WI Winrock International Interim Performance Evaluation: EMPOWER Project iv Executive Summary Project Description: The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT) issued a $5 million, four-year cooperative agreement in November 2016 to Winrock International (WI) to reduce the prevalence of child labor in Zambia’s Eastern Province. The project is titled EMPOWER, Increasing Economic and Social Empowerment for Adolescent Girls and Vulnerable Women in Zambia. Winrock International (WI) is implementing the project with two subgrantees: the Panos Institute of Southern Africa, responsible for community awareness, and WECREATE, responsible for public-private partnerships. The project’s target audience is out-of-school adolescent girls aged 15 to 17 years who are engaged in or at high risk of child labor. EMPOWER seeks to achieve its project objective through four outcomes: 1. Adolescent girls engaged in or at high risk of entering child labor have increased access to acceptable work and high-quality training opportunities. 2. Vulnerable women whose households have children engaged in or at high risk of entering child labor have increased access to livelihoods opportunities. 3. Public awareness on child labor and gender equality increased. 4. Collaboration between government, private sector and civil society on the promotion of acceptable work for adolescent girls and vulnerable women strengthened. To achieve these outcomes, EMPOWER provides training and livelihood services through the one-year Rural Entrepreneurship and Leadership (REAL) course, targeting 2,500 participant adolescent girls aged 15 to 17 and 1,500 women from their households. EMPOWER also targets 1,000 men from participant households for three months of training to increase their understanding of child labor, child rights and gender equality. Per the project’s Comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (CMEP), EMPOWER intends to broadcast 512 radio programs and organize 870 community-level events to raise awareness on child labor and gender equity. Finally, EMPOWER aims to sign 33 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with government and private sector partners (public-private partners, or PPPs) to support participant households, hub- level cooperatives and 100 women’s entrepreneur networks. Evaluation Purpose: The purpose of this independent interim