Impact Assessment of Prerna Technical Support Program in the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission
The Prerna Technical Support Programme (PTSP) is a strategic partnership between Project Concern International (PCI) and Transforming Rural India Foundation (TRIF), which seeks to strengthen the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) machinery and community institutions. This partnership bolsters its poverty alleviation mandate while deepening and improving health & nutrition outcomes in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Sambodhi has been engaged to evaluate the program using a mixed methods design to assess the impact of the technical assistance provided to UPSRLM by the PTSP. The multi-method evaluation framework was designed in consultation with multiple stakeholders, primarily investigating whether PTSP has fostered existing or newer aspects of women empowerment. Sambodhi has been providing monitoring, learning, and evaluation support to the project covering around 8000 households and 7000 SHGs across the study geography.
Components of the project:
- Summative evaluation
Pre-post counterfactual design was developed using a mixed-methods approach, with a longitudinal panel of village organizations and cross-sectional surveys at the beneficiary level. The summative evaluation aims at measuring outcomes for quantifiable indicators such as health and nutrition behaviors, SHG performance, the performance of community institutions, and economic empowerment. The study will cover around 8000 households and 7000 SHGs in baseline and endline surveys.
- Process learning visits:
Multiple case-study designs were developed with the qualitative inquiry. The concurrent process learning visits aim to strengthen the causal link between PTSP’s input and the achieved results. The visits capture primary and secondary qualitative data from stakeholders, leveraged to investigate the fidelity and efficiency of PTSP mechanisms and key assumptions underlying PTSP’s strategies and implementation processes.
- Analysis of Project Management Information Systems
Secondary data sources have been supplementing the analysis of project MIS.
Sambodhi has been performing activities that include:
- initiating evaluation design for architecture and vetting by stakeholders,
- articulating the MLE plan via grant narrative, including budget estimations,
- conversing with PCI, TRIF, and UPSRLM teams to map COVID’s implications on PTSP strategy,
- finalizing tools for the baseline survey and applying for IRB approval, and
- conducting telephonic interviews for process learnings round 1 and drafting their reports.