For Save the Children International Nepal:
CREHSS conducted the final evaluation of the Abasar project implemented in Jajarkot district, which focused on three thematic areas: education, child protection, and child poverty. The overall purpose was to evaluate the performance of the project against its set goal, ambitions, and targets. The specific objectives were to: 1) determine the final results of the Abasar programme against the logical framework’s set targets, 2) assess the effectiveness of interventions in child poverty, education, and child protection, including the piloting of the graduation model for poverty reduction and child well-being, and 3) identify key lessons, good practices, challenges, and make recommendations for future interventions. The evaluation employed a cross-sectional study design with a concurrent mixed-method approach that combined both quantitative and qualitative data. On the quantitative side, the study surveyed 324 caregivers of 36-month-old children, 51 ECCD teachers, 158 caregivers, and 376 microenterprise/vocationally trained individuals. The qualitative component included 30 key informant interviews (KIIs) and 28 focus group discussions (FGDs) with stakeholders such as local-level chairpersons, teachers, and caregivers. Indicator-wise results from the quantitative survey were further supplemented with qualitative insights. In addition, the evaluation was guided by the OECD/DAC framework, applying the criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability to measure the extent to which the evaluation objectives were met.