3. Evaluation Methodology
3.1 Sampling Frame
The sample was purposely drawn from The Sonder Project’ s beneficiary groups as well as those supporting and / or influencing them. These included community members, community leaders, current and former students, parents and guardians, school staff, as well as The Sonder project staff and trustees as per their involvement in both the WASH and EIP. A part of the respondents sampled for the student survey were randomly selected during their participation at the EIP camp. The Sonder Project staff proposed individuals for interviews and surveys, selecting communities and schools based on accessibility to allow the data collection team to reach the maximum number of participants within the allotted timeframe.
3.2 Evaluation Questions
Research questions were set under five areas: impact, relevance, effectiveness, sustainability and theory of change. All evaluation questions can be found below:
Impact How has the Sonder Project’ s WASH intervention changed the communities’ accessibility to water?
If so, for whom( gender, age, disability), to what extent( all / part of the water you need?), and in what circumstances( seasonality)?
How has this increased accessibility to water influenced the lives of different groups of people( gender, age, disability)?
To what extent is it easy to access The Sonder Project-supported water systems? To what extent has educational attainment changed due to The Sonder Project intervention? To what extent have students changed in their attitudes around civic responsibility? To what extent did students’ lives inside school change due to The Sonder Project intervention? To what extent did students’ lives outside school change due to The Sonder Project intervention? Were there any positive unintended effects of the intervention? Were there any negative unintended effects of the intervention? Relevance Were the areas in which water supplies were provided those with least / low access? How valuable were the results to participants from communities with improved water access?
How valuable were the results of participation by students / families of students within the sponsorship program?
To what extent does The Sonder Project’ s work overlap with other NGO / partner work in the same areas?
Effectiveness
What were the barriers and enablers that made the difference between successful and disappointing water-focused intervention implementation and results?
How could The Sonder Project attempt to overcome these barriers?
What were the barriers and enablers that made the difference between students being academically successful or not?
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