Independent Final Evaluation Cambodians EXCEL Project Eliminating eXploitative Child Labor Through Education and Livelihoods World Vision Inc. December 2012–December 2016 Evaluator: Deborah Orsini, Management Systems International Under contract to: United States Department of Labor Cooperative Agreement IL-23070-K Management Systems International | msiworldwide.com 200 South 12th Street | Arlington, VA, USA | +1 703 979 7100 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................................................................... ii ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................ v Evaluation Findings ............................................................................................................................................ vi Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................. xi I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION................................................................................................................................... 1 A. Project Context ............................................................................................................................................... 1 B. Project Targets and Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 2 II. EVALUATION OBJECTIVES, KEY QUESTIONS AND METHODOLOGY ....................................................... 5 A. Objectives and Key Questions ....................................................................................................................... 5 III. EVALUATION FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................ 10 A. Project Scope: Challenges ........................................................................................................................... 10 B. Evaluation Questions .................................................................................................................................... 13 III. LESSONS LEARNED AND GOOD PRACTICES ........................................................................................... 46 A. Lessons Learned .......................................................................................................................................... 46 B. Good Practices ............................................................................................................................................. 47 IV. CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 48 V. RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................... 49 A. Priority Recommendations Prior to Project End ........................................................................................... 49 B. Recommendations for Future Programming ................................................................................................. 50 ANNEX A: CMEP Performance Indicators ........................................................................................................ 51 ANNEX B: Responses to Interim Evaluation .................................................................................................... 58 ANNEX C: Terms of Reference .......................................................................................................................... 64 ANNEX D: Desk Review Documents ................................................................................................................. 84 ANNEX E: Field Schedule................................................................................................................................... 85 ANNEX F: List of Interviewed Key Informant Organizations ........................................................................... 89 ANNEX G: National Stakeholder Workshop Agenda, Outputs and Participants ........................................... 90 ANNEX H: Preliminary Endline Survey Conclusions ..................................................................................... 100 INDEPENDENT FINAL EVALUATION: CAMBODIANS EXCEL PROJECT i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The evaluator would like to extend sincere thanks to the staff of World Vision and its implementing partners, Wathnakpheap, Farmer Livelihoods Development and Vulnerable Children’s Assistance Organization, for their support during the final evaluation. Special thanks are due to EXCEL’s Project Director, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and Operations Manager, who responded promptly and thoroughly to all requests for information, provided efficient coordination of a complex itinerary, organized a productive stakeholder meeting and assisted in identifying an expert interpreter. On the field level, special thanks to the Local Coordinators, Community Facilitators and Community Partners who organized meetings and provided valuable insights into project achievements and challenges. The evaluator would also like to thank all the stakeholders who generously shared their feedback at the final evaluation stakeholder meeting, with special thanks to Secretary of State H.E. Ms. Soeung Sar Sochetta of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training and Dr. Kim Chhaihieng, Deputy Governor of Siem Reap Province. INDEPENDENT FINAL EVALUATION: CAMBODIANS EXCEL PROJECT ii ACRONYMS BMC Banteay Meanchey Province BTB Battambang Province CAHR Children at High Risk of Child Labor CCWC Commune Council for Women and Children CDRI Cambodia Development Research Institute CDW Child Domestic Worker CF Community Facilitator CIP Commune Investment Plan CL Child Labor CLC Community Learning Center CLMC Child Labor Monitoring Committee CLMS Child Labor Monitoring System CMEP Comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation Plan CP Community Partner CPC Child Protections Committee CWG Community Watch Group DoE District Office of Education DoCL Department of Child Labor (within MoLVT) E-TWG Education Technical Working Group EXCEL Eliminating eXploitative Child Labor Through Education and Livelihoods FiA Fisheries Administration FLD Farmer Livelihood Development HCL Hazardous Child Labor HH Household IDPoor Identification of Poor Households Program ILAB Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor ILO International Labor Organization IO Intermediate Objective KPC Kampong Cham Province LC Local Coordinator LOP Life of Project M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MoEYS Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports MoAFF Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries INDEPENDENT FINAL EVALUATION: CAMBODIANS EXCEL PROJECT iii MoLVT Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training N/A Not Available (data) NPA2-WFCL National Plan of Action on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor NSC-CL National Sub-Committee on Child Labor NSPS National Social Protection Strategy OCFT USDOL Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking ODK Open Data Kit OSH Occupational Safety and Health PCCL Provincial Committee on Child Labor PNP Phnom Penh Province PUR Pursat Province RGoC Royal Government of Cambodia SC Student Council SP Social Protection SRP Siem Reap Province SSC School Support Committee TBK Tbong Khmum Province TOC Theory of Change TOR Terms of Reference TPR Technical Progress Report TSG Teacher Support Group TWG-CL Technical Working Group on Child Labor USDOL United States Department of Labor VCAO Vulnerable Children Assistance Organization VSNP Village Safety Net Partners WDACL World Day Against Child Labor WFCL Worst Forms of Child Labor WP Wathnakpheap WV World Vision INDEPENDENT FINAL EVALUATION: CAMBODIANS EXCEL 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 $10 million, four-year Cooperative Agreement in December 2012 to World Vision (WV) to combat child labor in Cambodia. WV contributed an additional $1,075,750 to project funding and titled the project Eliminating eXploitative Child Labor Through Education and Livelihoods, or EXCEL. WV implemented the project with four sub-grantees: Wathnakpheap (WP), Farmer Livelihood Development (FLD), Vulnerable Children Assistance Organization (VCAO) and Cambodia Development Research Institute (CDRI). The project objective of EXCEL was to reduce the number of children aged 5-17 years who are engaged in or at high risk of child labor in agriculture, fishing and child domestic work in target communities in seven provinces1 in Cambodia. EXCEL sought to accomplish this overarching objective through seven intermediate objectives: IO1- Increased participation in quality education among target children IO2-Target households’ livelihoods improved IO3- Improved access to child protection and social protections programs IO4- Young people aged 15-17 are gainfully employed and prevented from migrating IO5- Local and national structures are strengthened to monitor and prevent child labor IO6- Increased stakeholder awareness to combat child labor IO7-