THE SOCIAL WELFARE FUNDMIXED METHODS EVALUATION

Amelia Pittman & Nadia Sabat

CONTEXT

Yemen is among poorest countries in the Middle East with 17.5% of population under int’l poverty line

Troubled History Civil War Terrorism Arab Spring

Arab Spring Protesters in YemenSource: CNN

CONTEXT

In 1997, Social Welfare Fund (SWF) launches to help poor and vulnerable households in Yemen

In 2011, UNICEF launches pilot Social Protection Survey to monitor effect of Arab Spring crises in select governorates

Scale-up to National Social Protection Monitoring Survey (NSPMS) in all governorates

SOCIAL WELFARE FUND BENEFICIARIES

Main Category

Subcategory Definition

Economic Unemployed Men who are unemployed or employed with income below the cash assistance provided

Women without caretaker

Women who are widowed, divorced, or unmarried (if over the age of 18)

Social Disabled or severely ill

Individuals who are temporarily/permanently disabled/ill and unable to work

Elderly Men over the age of 60Women over the age of 65

Orphans Child without source of income or caretaker under the age of 18 (or between ages 18 and 25 if attending university) Eligible households

receive quarterly cash transfers through Yemen Post Offices

Between 1998 and 2006, SWF expanded to reach 1 million beneficiaries

Source: [Insert Source Here]

THEORY OF CHANGE

Explanation of the theory of change.

[Insert Diagram Here]

OBJECTIVES

Measure effect of SWF’s

unconditional cash transfers on coping strategies

Leverage NSPMS evaluation data

New design for

monitoring and

evaluation

Involve beneficiaries in re-design of surveys to empower and

foster engagement and investment in

evaluation processes and

outcomes

CENTRAL EVALUATION QUESTIONS

What is the effectiveness of SWF targeting strategy implementation?

What is the effect of SWF on household living conditions, education, maternal and child health, food security, work and income, and child protection?

Which development outcomes is SWF most effective to improve?

What are possible spillover effects of SWF? What is the seasonal variation of

expenditures?

EVALUATION DESIGN

NATIONAL SOCIAL PROTECTION MONITORING SURVEY

FOCUS GROUPS

RE-DESIGNED SURVEYS

INTERVIEWS

NATIONAL SOCIAL PROTECTION MONITORING SURVEY

FOCUS GROUPS

SURVEY RE-DESIGN

INTERVIEWS

MIXED METHODS ANALYSIS

THREATS TO VALIDITY

Internal Validity:

External Validity:

Statistical Validity:

Construct Validity:

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES

Poor road conditions Refusal to participate Security issues Conflicts of interest Poor respondent

recall Technology

malfunctions

Source: World for Travel

CONCLUSIONS

QUESTIONS