Projects

Kenya Social Safety Net Sector Review

To mitigate the impacts of poverty and shocks, the Government of Kenya (GoK) and its development partners have implemented a number of safety net interventions. These include food relief, cash transfers and public works programs. Some of the relief activities date to the 1980s but most social safety net programs have been initiated in the last 5 years. The sector review is being conducted in two parts. Part one provides an assessment of expenditure and measures of efficiency and effectiveness within the sector as well as a review of key operational pillars of current programs. Part two present a synthesis of these results and use it as a basis for formulating a set of recommendations for reform in the sector.

Kenya Cash Transfer Pilot in Urban Informal Settlements

In 2008/2009, Kenya experienced a serious food security crisis as a result of prolonged droughts, the post election violence and the global food and financial crisis. The crisis had adverse effects on both rural and urban populations. To address relief needs among urban populations, the Government of Kenya (GoK) established the Saidia Jamii programme, which provided immediate relief to households, support to households to meet their basic consumption needs, and build structures for the delivery of social protection. Kimetrica was contracted to undertake a review and lessons learned from the implementation of the cash transfer pilot to date, focusing on the targeting process, tools/instruments of cash delivery, MIS/M&E systems, and other key aspects of design and implementation.

Third Party Monitoring

Kimetrica is providing monitoring services to the World Food Programme in East Africa. Survey teams are monitoring general food distribution in rural, urban and IDP areas, food for work and assets and training activities, and maternal child health and nutrition programmes. Data are collected using standardized data collection forms and the data are captured using Kimetrica's ki-metrics™ survey management software. Monitoring data are provided monthly to WFP programme managers

Baseline Land Tenure Survey

Baseline survey of 3,600 households and 300 communities in support of Rwanda's Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy, which has identified land registration as a critical element to improve productivity of land use, functioning of land markets, reduce conflicts, empowering women, and improving overall governance. Kimetrica is managing all aspects of the baseline survey, from enumeration to data reduction.

Market Survey

In support of UNICEF Somalia's procurement office, Kimetrica's Somalia based staffed conducted detailed supplier and market surveys across Somalia, including Puntland, Somaliland and South Central locations. The survey is intended to provide UNICEF with an updated database of qualified suppliers of food and non-food items in Somalia.

Kenya Social Safety Net Sector Review

Kimetrica managed all aspects of data collection. This included review and finalization of draft instruments, recruitment and contracting of enumerators, training of enumerators, pilot testing of instrument, reproduction of questionnaires, creation of computerized data capture system, recruitment and management of data entry staff, development of field data collection manuals, management of field data collection, management of data entry, and delivery of final clean data set in SPSS.

Data Management for Policy and Development Decision Making

Kimetrica is providing technical training to the Southern Sudan Center for Census, Statistics, and Evaluation under the World Bank’s umbrella of its Poverty Assessment for Sudan. The training includes hands-on experience in data documentation and dissemination. Software tools designed for the capture and dissemination of national statistics are being integrated within existing systems to facilitate the data documentation and distribution.

Data Entry Program, Data Management & Integration, and Field Based Data Entry Training and Support

In support of the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Programs, Kimetrica is supporting impact surveys in four countries. The surveys are expected to document the health impacts and relevant project costs of WSP interventions. To measure impacts, the project is implementing randomized controlled trials using household surveys to capture key outcome indicators. Kimetrica’s survey and software experts are providing data capture software and training in household survey enumeration, data capture and quality control to local survey firms in the four project countries. The development of data capture software, including web-based reports, will provide both quality control and survey coordination.

Development of Pilot Drought Early Warning system for NERAD Somaliland

Kimetrica is developing a web-based drought early warning system (EWS) for NERAD Somaliland. The system is intended to contribute to disaster preparedness capacity of the Somaliland public by providing information and early warning to government and humanitarian partners and donors so that mitigation efforts can be taken to reduce the impact of food insecurity on people’s assets, environment and human capital. The EWS will provide necessary information to trigger response analysis; it is envisioned to be part of an expanded food security information and analysis system that can contribute to short-term emergency responses, as well as long-term development planning.The system will establish early warning information linkages with USAID FEWS NET and the UN FSNAU.

Evaluation of Process for the Selection of Cooperating Partners

WFP implements its food aid programs through local partners.In order to inform the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the current partner selection process, Kimetrica is conducting a process review to establish a framework for participatory review of performance and reselection and replacement. The work will define the roles and responsibilities of all the participants in the process and suggest areas where the selection and review process requires strengthening to ensure a systematic transparent and inclusive process for assessing partners’ selection and necessary modifications of process and criteria reflecting a greater emphasis on strategic partnerships.

Monitoring Service: Somalia Emergency and Development Assistance

Kimetrica field teams, deployed across South-Central Somalia, are providing monitoring information through Kimetrica’s web-service, allowing for near real time data transfer and information exchange.Monthly monitoring reports of emergency and development assistance programs are providing programme managers with information on the impact of current assistance efforts and recommendations on strategies for program improvement and expansion.

Contingency Planning Tools and Training

Roll-out and training of district level staff in contingency planning and disaster fund management. Kimetrica’s software team customised a version of our contingency planning software, Crisis Toolkit, to allow national and district line-ministry staff develop contingency plans and managecontingency funds. Training includes topics on contingency planning, early warning and hazard analysis, disaster management coordination, rapid assessments, and preparedness and rapid response planning.

Project Monitoring and Evaluation System

Developed a monitoring and evaluation system to assess whether programs are on track and achieving their intended results. The web-based system, based on our ki-metrics™ web-service, includes monitoring tools that are integrated into everyday program management. Monitoring includesinput supply, purchasing, partner reports, client registration, client monitoring, and evaluation and donor reporting. Evaluation and impact assessment tools for quarterly, mid-term, and final evaluations are included as simple to use modules.

Baseline Assessment: VUP 20/20 Pilot Project

Assessment of the impact of the Government of Rwanda’s Vision 2020 Umurenge (VUP 20/20) social protection pilot project. As the government’s flagship poverty reduction activity, the VUP programme targets 30 of the poorest districts with employment in public works, direct support, financial services and training. Kimetrica conducted household and focus group interviews to assess the impact of the pilot phase and inform the direction and extent of the programme’s role out in 2010. The assessment included interviews with 800 household beneficiaries and dozens of community focus group interviews.

Baseline Survey: Value Girls Program (Nyanza and Western provinces)

To establish baseline metrics for monitoring program performance and impact, Kimetrica’s survey team conducted individual and focus group surveys of targeted beneficiaries of the Value Girls Program. The program aims to improve the social and economic welfare of girls and young women between the ages of 18-24 by increasing their participation in producing and marketing a select number of high return agriculture products. The baseline survey and analysis established project impact measures and informed the development of the project monitoring and evaluation framework.

Survey Instruments and Methods: AGRA Baseline Surveys

Kimetrica’s monitoring and evaluation team developed survey instruments and methods for baseline surveys in 10 countries in Africa. The project included the development of survey tools to capture results-based metrics for measuring the impact of AGRA’s agriculture related interventions. Kimetrica’s survey team conducted pilot tests of instruments and liaised with AGRA staff and consultants on roll-out and survey implementation issues.

External Monitoring and Evaluation: DFID Cash Transfer OVC Programme

Developed a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system to assist the Government of Kenya and DFID in managing its cash-transfer program to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC). The CT-OVC program targets some of Kenya’s poorest households, which have been left highly vulnerable due to the health and social impact of HIV/AIDS. The program provides care givers with direct and regular cash payments to help support and improve the welfare of children living in the targeted household. Kimetrica’s M&E team designed a web-based system to manage program inputs and measure impact. The project includes: (1) the development of baseline measures, (2) the establishment of data collection methods and processes, (3) data management and reporting tools, (4) beneficiary complaint and grievance reporting; and (5) guidance and training material.

Food Security Assessment Tools: Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels Principle on food Security

In support of the EPFL’s Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) , Kimetrica developed guidelines and tools that farmers, biofuel producers, and environmental and social impact analysts can use to determine compliance with the RSB Principle on biofuel production impacts on local food security. The food security assessment tools are part of the Energy Center’s guideline for assessing biofuel impacts in all sectors. Future guidance may include web-based decision support and survey guidance, as well impact simulation modeling.

Monitoring and Evaluation Guidelines for Food Security

Kimetrica’s M&E team developed a comprehensive impact, outcome and output indicator matrix, data collection tools, and guidance material to improve and standardize Action Against Hunger’s (ACF) M&E processes. Deployed at the field level, the tools are intended to support project management and results reporting.

Feasibility and Impact Analysis: Increasing Small Holder Production through Structured Demand in TB, HIV/AIDS Treatment and OVC Programs

Working with UNAIDS, the George Washington Center for Global Health, and the National Institute for Public Health in Mexico, Kimetrica examined the feasibility and potential impact on farm incomes of supporting smallholder of providing market opportunities for farmers to supply food to TB, HIV treatment and OVC Programs. Kimetrica conducted case studies in six African countries to gain insight and practical knowledge of the potential benefits, costs, risks, and constraints of investing in smallholder supply chains for donor funded health and social protection programs. In addition, Kimetrica’s staff mapped potential partners in 20 African countries to identify current and potential collaborators, ranging from NGOs to farmer groups to health facilities that can manage procurement of food between small farmers and social protection programs.

Baseline Survey: Evaluating the Impact of Home-Based HIV Counseling and Testing in Kenya

Working with the Academic Model for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS (AMPATH), Kimetrica provided a comprehensive evaluation of the bio-medical, economic, and sexual behavior effects of providing home based testing. The study results, which included a survey of 3,000 households, provide critical input into the World Bank’s HIV/AIDS program, presenting strong evidence on the benefits of home-based counseling and testing for both treatment and prevention.

Evaluation and Strategic Planning: The World Bank’s Arid Lands Resource Management Project - Natural Resource Drought Management Component

Evaluation of the Arid Lands Resource Management Project’s Natural Resource Drought Management Component to determine the best opportunities for DANIDA development assistance. The evaluation included:(1) identification of ARLMP areas of strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement; (2) analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation and financial delivery mechanisms of the ALRMP in program districts; (3) recommendations on the future direction of DANIDA’s investments, given the continued relevance of the natural resource management component in the ALRMP and the expressed government interest for the integration of DANIDA’s support to the arid and semi-arid lands. Kimetrica’s analyses lead to the development of DANIDA’s support program.

International Household Survey Network Data Clinics

Technical assistance to government statistics offices through capacity development in conducting national surveys, managing data, data analysis, and dissemination. Kimetrica’s technical trainers provided regional and national level training, comprehensive microdata evaluation, and consultations in data processing systems, survey methods, analysis, indicator selection, and public dissemination policy.

Programme Review: Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Kenya

To guide in the roll-out of the cash transfer program, Kimetrica undertook a comprehensive analysis of the following: Project baseline data and its application to longer-term monitoring and evaluation; Management information system and its role in current management operations; Capacity of the Kenya Department of Children’s Services to implement a cost-effective and affordable internal monitoring system. The review informed project expansion and the development of the program’s monitoring and evaluation system.

Baseline Survey and Supply Chain Management Tools: Great Lakes Cassava Initiative in East and Central Africa

To better target project inputs and measure impact, Kimetrica’s survey staff conducted a baseline survey of over 9,000 households and 100s of communities in six East and Central African countries, including war affected areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The data collected established baseline measures on cassava yields and utilization patterns, targeting methods, yield impacts of cassava mosaic disease, and overall impact on food security. In addition to the baseline survey, Kimetrica developed a supply chain management system to help the FAO better manage the distribution of cassava mosaic disease tolerant material to farmers in East and Central Africa.

Enhancing Capacity for Disaster Risk Reduction

To help build capacity in implementing disaster risk reduction activities, Kimetrica developed multi-media training tools for Oxfam GB and its partners. The toolkit included modules on disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, and response and recovery. The multimedia content included workbooks and training CDs for trainees, facilitators, and videos taken from real-life situations to help emphasis content and increase learning.

Targeting Options for Social Protection

Following Kimetrica’s research on targeting of cash-based social protection projects in Zambia, Kimetrica developed targeting methods and tools for the roll-out of social protection support in Zambia. The project, which included training of Government and NGO staff, included the development of:

1. targeting simulation models,
2. cost and benefit metrics for different targeting options,
3. analytics of community based targeting versus other targeting methods,
4. and training in targeting methods and approaches.

The final deliverables provided the Government of Zambia and its partners with the means to plan and roll-out its national social protection program.

Microdata Management Toolkit Training

Training of national bureaus of statistics in microdata management. Kimetrica’s training staff provided hands on training to national staff in 15 African countries and in Sri Lanka, in improved methods for data capture, documentation, data storage, and dissemination of microdata and metadata related to national surveys, such as household and expenditure surveys, population census, and health surveys. The training included an introduction to OECD’s Microdata Management Toolkit, providing an easy-to-use system for survey data management.

Pilot Tools: Contingency Planning and Fund Management

Kimetrica’s early warning experts and software development team combined to create preliminary tools for collaborative disaster management. Consultations with government officials in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda lead to the development and piloting of contingency planning and emergency fund management tools, based on Kimetrica’s CrisisToolkit™ web-service application. The toolkit includes early warning and response triggers, scenario development and assessment, and reporting functions.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting System: Great Lakes Cassava Initiative

Kimetrica’s survey team conducted surveys of over 9,000 households in 6 countries to establish a monitoring, evaluation and reporting system for the Great Lakes Cassava Initiative. To facilitate M&E across multiple countries, Kimetrica’s software team established a web-based system to allow for the fast collection of time sensitive data at the farmer level. Combined with data collection tools to help track the spread and mitigation of cassava mosaic across the project area, the M&E system provided CRS and its partners with a near real time M&E system for project management and impact measurement.

Monitoring and Evaluation Study: Cash-Based Social Protection

The study examined cash-based social protection projects to inform scaling-up activities in Zambia. The study determined the costs and accuracy of alternative targeting approaches in Zambia and simulated the effects of scaling-up cash-based social protection activities on local economies. The work included a realistic cost-benefit estimate of the alternative targeting mechanisms, under different funding scenarios. The M&E study included a survey of 2,000 households to gain insight into patterns of poverty and other criteria for social protection targeting. Simulation tools were developed to provide decision makers with national and sub-national estimates of the total cost, targeting accuracy and efficiency based on different funding and decision scenarios.

Technical Assistance in Agricultural Relief Programming

Technical advisory services on strategies to strengthen agriculture relief activities. Focusing on East and Central Africa, the services included the development of strategic plans and funding proposals. Strategies for the expansion of cassava and sweet potato production were developed for South Sudan and the Great Lakes Region. In addition, contingency plans were established and integrated in the FAO regional advisors disaster management programme.

Tackling Food Insecurity in Kenya: A Report to the United Nation’s Horn of Africa Initiative

Kimetrica conducted an analysis of factors affecting food insecurity in Kenya, with particular focus placed on response mechanisms and processes undertaken by United Nation Organizations. The study was based on consultations with over 30 individuals and organizations in Kenya and a review of policy and project documentation. It provided an analysis of current practices and capabilities for dealing with food insecurity, focusing on acute or transient food insecurity. The report proposed changes to the current UN disaster response system, including methodological reforms to the needs assessment, coordination, funding, and implementation processes.

Farmer Cooperative & Trader Information System

Web-service application for capturing and managing real-time price and commodity information for farmers and farmer groups in Africa. The software application includes modules for capturing, storing, and disseminating information on agricultural prices and volumes to farmers and agricultural cooperatives in Africa. The service provides real time price and produce data, information for reporting at country and regional level, a platform for the real-time exchange of information between farmers and traders, and access to greater markets for farmer produce.

External Monitoring and Evaluation: Oxfam GB’s Drought Risk Reduction Programme in Northern Turkana District, Kenya

Independent evaluation of Oxfam GB’s social protection activity to inform program management and DFID’s country strategy. Kimetrica’s evaluation team assessed the program’s costs, technical performance, implementation capacity issues, beneficiary satisfaction, and the use of cash transfers by beneficiaries. The study made recommendations to DFID and Oxfam GB on ways to improve program management to enhance the performance and impact of social protection transfers.

Early Warning and Population Estimation: Tools for Improved Analysis and Response

Developed proof of concept software tools for estimating populations for early warning and disaster response. The piloted tools included modules for estimating populations in small areas by age and sex, establishing scenarios for tracking population displacement and refugee flows, and using satellite imagery of disaster affects - such as flooding - to estimate impacted populations.

Impact Survey: Relief and Rehabilitation Operations in the Horn of Africa

Following the United Nation’s multi-million dollar Horn of Africa relief effort in 2006, Kimetrica’s survey team undertook a multi-country study to assess the impact of emergency relief on vulnerable pastoral and agro-pastoral households in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. Conducting household and key informant interviews, Kimetrica analyzed emergency response impact in five core areas: (1) Agriculture inputs; (2) Land tenure; (3) HIV/AIDS support; (4) Livestock management; and (5) Livestock disease control. The study findings provided useful lessons to help FAO better address future emergency interventions.

Knowledge Management System: Indigenous Vegetation for the Rehabilitation of Degraded Rangelands in the Arid Zone of Africa

Kimetrica developed a knowledge management system for the capture and dissemination of biodiversity conservation and dry-land ecosystem restoration in arid and semi-arid zones of Africa. The project combined community-based indigenous knowledge, the findings of scientific research, and past practical experience to rehabilitate degraded ecosystems and conserve biodiversity within an internet based information system. The system facilitated an exchange of knowledge and experience and fostered the development of conservation models and best practices, which could be transferred elsewhere within the continent.

Monitoring and Evaluation System: Post Earthquake Recovery

Kimetrica’s M&E team developed an integrated M&E tool for managing Pakistan earthquake rehabilitation projects. The web-based service included data collection instruments, data input tables, data management and reporting functions. Full training and methodology modules allowed for easy adoption and partner participation.

Emergency Food Security Voucher System

Developed a software system for cash and food security voucher management for CRS’s emergency relief program in Eastern Kenya. The software included data collection formats to capture beneficiary and retailer information, reporting forms and project management controls to allow CRS to collect information on relief activities at the community level and run summary reports at the country level. Kimetrica’s training team provided training and training material for future expansion.

Landscaping Survey: The State of Global MicroInsurance

Developed database structure, questionnaires, data entry formats, and web-service software that included data entry, queries and reports, and mapping. Conducted client surveys to establish the database and data analysis needs, directing a team of database developers in creating the database structure and then integrating the database with powerful query, reporting and mapping functionality.

Information System: Web-Services for Pastoral Information

Supported the development of Oxfam GB’s regional program, through the development and management of a web-based survey and discussion forum, allowing regional experts to provide information on programs and data availability on pastoralism in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.