Client: Save the Children

Baseline Survey: Impact Evaluation of the Voice and Action: Social Accountability for Improved Service Delivery (I-SAF) Project

Location

Cambodia. Location within country: Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu, Kampong Thom, Kampot, Koh Kong, Kratie, Mondulkiri, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Pursat, Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, Tboung Khmum (15 provinces)

Project Description

In order to enhance the accountability of service providers and local officials and, as a result, improve the quality of service delivery, the Cambodian government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and bilateral donors have – with assistance from the World Bank through the Voice and Action Program (VAP) – developed the Social Accountability Framework (SAF). Whereas evaluations of social accountability interventions in other contexts indicate that such interventions have been unsuccessful due to a failure to provide service providers and local officials with incentives to change their behavior, the design of the SAF builds on lessons from the body existing research by providing for coordinated interventions by both state and non-state actors.
The Voice and Action Program (VAP) Impact Evaluation (VAP-IE) will use a randomized controlled trial conducted across 42 districts in 15 provinces of Cambodia to determine whether the coordinated interventions mandated by SAF improve the quality of educational, health, and commune services provided to villagers in rural Cambodia and increase villagers’ engagement with local government. Evidence from the VAP-IE will be used by national authorities, NGOs, bilateral donors, and the World Bank to inform future funding and design decisions related to the National Decentralization Reform.

At the baseline, Angkor Research’s involvement in this large-scale, randomized control trial included instrument review/translation (with back-translation), primary CAPI data collection (tablet-based), data management, analysis and reporting to evaluate the effects of I-SAF on a range of household and service delivery indicators at the commune level. The sample is representative of the I-SAF program implementation areas, and covered 336 villages in 22 provinces of Cambodia. On the supply side, Angkor Research conducted interviews with 140 health centers, 168 commune councils, 168 primary schools, and 336 village chiefs (812 IDIs). 3,455 households were targeted for quantitative interviews, out of which 3,363 were completed (97.3% response rate). Data collection also included photos of local government offices, and GPS locations.

Impact Evaluation of the Voice and Action: Social Accountability for Improved Service Delivery (I-SAF) Project: Baseline Survey

REACT and FCF Baseline/ Shared Indicator Study

Location

Cambodia. Location within country: Phnom Penh, Kandal, Siem Reap, Battambang and Preah Sihanouk (5 provinces)

Project Description

Save the Children is overseeing two projects that contribute towards similar objectives related to family-based care: Responsive and Effective Child Welfare Systems Transformation (REACT) and the Family Care First (FCF).
REACT aims to both reintegrate children into family-based care, prevent family separation and establish gatekeeping to ensure the number of children in residential care safely decreases. Family Care First, facilitated by Save the Children, is a network of organizations working together to support children to live in safe, nurturing family-based care.

The aim of the Baseline/shared indicator study are to: 1. Establish the baseline for the REACT project indictors as identified in the M&E framework (see Annex 1), which will also become the common set of indicators for the FCF programme at large. 2. Inform the confirmation or adjustments of indicators and targets under REACT and FCF programming. 3. Provide and analyse data on the current situation for children and community members in target communities, which will constitute the basis to measure project performance over time. 4. Generate strategic evidence to contribute to the FCF Learning Agenda.

Angkor Research staff conducted a desk review, secondary data analysis, the research design, sampling methodology and selection, instrument design and translation, pre-testing of instruments, field staff recruitment and training, data collection/oversight, data management and quality control, data cleaning, coding analysis services for this survey with 400 households among general population and 125 with children/families receiving intensive case management services. Both surveys interview both one parent/caregiver and one child in each household. Data collection will be conducted in five provinces (Phnom Penh, Kandal, Battambang, Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk) in a total of 20 villages.

A desk review was conducted to response to 13 indicators and secondary data analysis was conducted with 1,200 children from partners cases management system to response to 8 indicators.