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CAMFED IMPACT REPORT
to operational ones is an iterative process involving
Camfed International, Camfed USA, Camfed national offices
and community constituencies.
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
Camfed’s monitoring and evaluation is thorough and
exact. Its goal is always to ensure that interventions
are based on reliable evidence of efficacy, and that its
program and policy development are responsive to
knowledge learned in the field.
Having developed to a stage of maturity where its
programs are producing significant change, Camfed was
able in 2008 to conduct major studies in Zambia and
Tanzania, and to do so in Zimbabwe in 2009. All are referred
to throughout this report; full studies are also planned
for Ghana and Malawi in 2010. This resource-intensive
research provides invaluable indicators of Camfed’s
impact in established partner schools compared with new
partner schools, and identifies priorities for future program
development.
The Camfed database, populated with accurate,
up-to-date information on each girl, is the tool which
makes regular monitoring and evaluation of Camfed’s
programs possible, as published in its annual Evidence of
Investment (EOI) reports and quarterly EOI updates. The
EOI reports focus on key performance indicators such
as: numbers of girls funded and geographical coverage;
numbers of Cama members and women-owned
businesses; numbers of children supported through local
philanthropy; and numbers and types of community
advocacy projects.
Training at schools around the data system has enabled
partner schools more effectively to track pupils’
attendance and performance, and to improve the quality
of information being provided to District Education
Officers.
In addition to these regular, database-derived reports,
Camfed also commissions external assessments
with partners. In partnership with Linklaters and the
Skoll Foundation, Camfed will publish a governance
blueprint for civil society organizations in 2010. The
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is
scheduled to undertake a study of Camfed’s Seed Money
Program in 2010; and an extensive cross-country study
was undertaken in 2006 by Dr Savina Ammassari in
collaboration with Martina Odonkor, Dr Bruce Imboela
and Dr Mufanani Khosa, as referenced throughout this
Impact Report.
As in all of Camfed’s operations, community involvement
is the driver behind each evaluation of program quality,
integrity and sustainability. Camfed’s M&E is reliant on
local stakeholders, who conduct much of the day-to-day
monitoring. Data collection is conducted by Camfed’s
large network of volunteer activists, including Community
Development Committees (CDCs), School Management
Committees (SMCs) and Cama members, supported by
training and regular field visits by Camfed national staff.
These volunteers are ideally placed to gather and help
interpret information from the field, and in so doing they
also build relationships within their communities. Their
regular reports to the national office are captured in the
Camfed program database.
This interactive and client-partnered method of datagathering
produces an extremely detailed and rich
picture that is more authentic, immediate, accurate, and
revealing of complexity than more typical ‘extractive’
methods. It also achieves enormous cost-efficiencies
and provides a sustainable M&E structure that can be
scaled-up with no loss in quality as Camfed’s program
develops.
Technology for monitoring and evaluation
Technology has an increasing role to play in Camfed’s
community-based monitoring and evaluation activities,
especially as its program grows across more districts
and countries. Camfed has pioneered innovative uses
of technology for M&E purposes, notably in its 2008/09
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