measuring results, sharing lessons sharing measuring results, OPERATION EVALUATION Lao People’s Democratic Republic: CP 200242 A Mid-Term Evaluation of WFP’s Country Programme 2012-2015 Evaluation Report July 2014 Prepared by: David Coombs, Team Leader/ Agriculture and Food Security Specialist; Caroline Tanner, Nutrition / School Feeding Specialist; Thongdeuane Nanthanavone, Capacity Development /Institutional Strengthening Specialist Evaluation Manager: Martin Fisher Commissioned by the WFP Office of Evaluation Report number: OEV/2014/03 Report number: OE/20XX/XXX this number will be inserted by OEV Admin Assistant Acknowledgements The evaluation team sincerely thanks the WFP Lao PDR Country Office for the efficient facilitation of the evaluation process. The staff generously afforded their time to support the team with excellent planning and logistics and to provide relevant information. Our gratitude also goes to all stakeholders (government authorities, the donor community, the United Nations agencies, the operating partners and other non-governmental organizations, the beneficiaries and civil society), who dedicated their time to participate in informative discussions and contributed significantly to the findings of the evaluation. David Coombs, Caroline Tanner and Thongdeuane (Tick) Nanthanavone Disclaimer The opinions expressed are those of the Evaluation Team, and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Food Programme. Responsibility for the opinions expressed in this report rests solely with the authors. Publication of this document does not imply endorsement by WFP of the opinions expressed. The designation employed and the presentation of material in the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WFP concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers. Evaluation Management Evaluation Manager: Martin Fisher, the KonTerra Group Evaluation Focal Point, WFP: Anette Wilhelmsen, OEV Operation Evaluations Focal Point: Claire Conan, OEV A full list of acronyms used is included as Annex 1. ii Table of Contents Operational Factsheet .............................................................................................................................. iv Operational Map .................................................................................................................................... viii Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... ix 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Evaluation Features ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Evaluation Methodology ............................................................................................................ 2 1.3. Lao PDR Country context ........................................................................................................... 3 1.4. WFP’s Operational Overview for the Lao PDR CP 200242 ....................................................... 5 2. Evaluation Findings ................................................................................................. 7 2.1. Appropriateness ......................................................................................................................... 7 2.2. Results ...................................................................................................................................... 16 2.3. Factors affecting the results ..................................................................................................... 33 3. Conclusions and recommendations ....................................................................... 36 3.1. Overall Assessment ..................................................................................................................36 3.2. Recommendations ....................................................................................................................39 Annex 1: List of Acronyms .....................................................................................................................43 Annex 2: Terms of Reference ................................................................................................................. 45 Annex 3: Evaluation Field Schedule ..................................................................................................... 60 Annex 4: List of people met .................................................................................................................. 62 Annex 5: Evaluation Approach and Methodology ................................................................................ 66 Annex 6: Evaluation Matrix .................................................................................................................. 69 Annex 7: Original Log Frame for CP ...................................................................................................... 76 Annex 8: Ration Scales for WFP Lao PDR – Components 2 (MCHN) and 3 (SM) ............................... 78 Annex 9: Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 79 List of Tables Table 1: Timeline of Recent Events in Lao PDR ..................................................................................... vii Table 2: Budget Revisions - CP 200242 ................................................................................................... 5 Table 3: Total Food and Cash requirements by component (mt) ............................................................ 5 Table 4: Emergency response beneficiaries, planned vs actual ............................................................ 17 Table 5: EPR Component, commodities planned vs actual (mt) .......................................................... 18 Table 6: Gender breakdown in emergency distributions....................................................................... 18 Table 7: Performance indicators for Component 2 ............................................................................... 20 Table 8: MCHN beneficiaries: Planned and actual against CP targets .................................................. 21 Table 9: MCHN sites and 6-23 mo beneficiaries: planned vs. actual ..................................................... 21 Table 10: MCHN sites and beneficiary targets (PLWs): planned vs. actual, 2013 .................................22 Table 11: School feeding: Progress against beneficiary and delivery targets .......................................... 25 Table 12: School feeding: Progress against indicators ........................................................................... 26 Table 13: Component 4 - LIN: Actual vs. planned beneficiaries ........................................................... 29 Table 14: Component 4 - LIN: Commodity distributions ...................................................................... 29 Table 15: Direct Support Costs for actual vs. planned distributions ......................................................34 iii Operational Factsheet Type / Number / Lao PDR – Country Programme – CP 200242 – (2012-2015) Title Approval The operation was approved by the Executive Board in November 2011 There have been four Budget Revisions to the initial project document to increase the Amendments LTSH rates, to change the DSC component, and to include emergency response modality. [See para 23 for details and dates]. Initial: Four year period Jan 2012 – Duration Revised: No change December 2015 Planned Initial: 751,000 Revised: 894,514 beneficiaries Planned food Initial: In-kind food: 37,140 mt Revised: In-kind food: 41,827 mt requirements Cash & vouchers: US$1.2 million US$ requirements Initial: US$68.9 million Revised: US$76.8 million OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Corporate Strategic Operation specific objectives1 Activities objectives Strategic Component 1: Early warning - Capacity development of the Government in Objective 2 systems, contingency plans and disaster preparedness and response food security monitoring systems - General food distribution and supplemental are in place and enhanced with feeding as emergency response WFP capacity development support2 Strategic Component 2 and 3: Improved - Provision of rice incentive for Objective 4 nutritional status of target groups pregnant/lactating women at health centres of women, girls and boys - Provision of Plumpy’Doz for children 6-23 months and Nutributter for pregnant/ Component 3: Increased access to lactating women at the village level education and human capital development in targeted schools - Provision of mid-morning snack for children and hunger. and hunger. aged 3-10 at pre- and primary schools with Component 4: Adequate food nutrition-related messages consumption reached over - Provision of take-home rations for informal assistance period for targeted border students (primary and secondary households schools) Component 5: Increased - Home-grown school feeding programme production capacity for fortified Economic Development Plan (20112015) and the United Nations Nations United the and (20112015) Plan Development Economic - Purchase for Progress (P4P) activities - foods, including complementary Development Assistance Framework (20122015), and supports the the supports