Monitoring and Evaluation
Most M&E challenges, such as a lack of sufficient investment and capacities, are not specific to CVA. But those that are relate primarily to monitoring outcomes for unrestricted transfers. The flexibility of cash transfers can make it difficult to determine appropriate outcome indicators, as they may involve a combination of sector-specific and cross-cutting indicators. At the same time, there are limitations on gathering accurate data on how cash transfers are spent.
Grand Bargain signatories have committed to ensuring relevant M&E mechanisms are in place for cash, and increasing understanding of the costs, benefits, impacts and risks of cash relative to other modalities. Building on this, the GB cash workstream has action points including the development of common outcome indicators for multipurpose cash, and metrics for analysing value for money. Systematic value for money analysis has been limited by factors including a lack of agreed upon approaches, the need for quality outcome data, and the intensive nature of the analysis.
Current priorities
As part of the Grand Bargain cash commitments, the CALP Network has co-led (with USAID and CRS) the development of Multipurpose Cash Outcome Indicators. The draft for testing is currently available in English, French and Spanish via the library.
Related initiatives
Featured content
Multipurpose Cash Outcome Indicators – Final Draft for Testing
Guidelines and Tools
Note that the MPC indicators have now been revised. Please click here to access the updated Multipurpose Outcome Indicators and Guidance, which is available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish. Multipurpose Cash Outcome Indicators – Final Draft for Testing Multipurpose cash (MPC) is a type of assistance intended to enable people to meet their basic needs through local...
Monitoring 4 CTP: Monitoring Guidance for CTP in Emergencies
Guidelines and Tools
This guidance provides a central resource to promote a common understanding of the most important monitoring considerations for humanitarian projects using cash transfer programming (CTP). The primary audience for this guidance is field-level practitioners, from organisations directly involved in the design, implementation, monitoring, and accountability of projects using cash and vouchers...
Cost-Efficiency Analysis of Basic Needs Programs: Best Practice Guidance for Humanitarian Agencies
Guidelines and Tools
The Efficiency, Effectiveness and Value for Money Sub-Workstream is pleased to share the final output on Cost-Efficiency Analysis of Basic Needs Programs: Best Practice Guidance for Humanitarian Agencies (attached).
Cost-efficiency analysis estimates the ratio of program costs to outputs created, allowing you to compare cost-per-output for programs which all produced the same output. Such...
Thematic lead
Latest
Cash Transfers for Food Security in Epidemics
Report
The report is divided into five chapters. The introduction provides a brief overview of the study’s objectives, data collection methods and a snapshot of the context in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The second chapter describes USAID/FFP’s response to the Ebola crisis with a particular focus on CTP....
Supporting markets in emergencies. Scoping study
Report
A review of recent humanitarian interventions that support local markets in emergency contexts revealed a limited scope and breadth of this type of activity. While many agencies show good creativity and understanding of market systems in emergencies, most activities are in the form of small grants to...
Early Lessons Learnt from Cash Transfer Interventions in Post Matthew Haiti
Report
This technical report has twofold purposes, firstly to describe the main international evidence on cash transfer programing pertinent for the Haitian post Matthew emergency context; and secondly, to document the main lessons that can be learnt from the UNDP post Matthew cash transfer intervention. The...
Responding to Drought in Kenya Using Cash and Vouchers: Six Key Questions from Previous Experience
Guidelines and Tools
the CALP Network reviewed previous reports on the use of cash/vouchers in drought responses in Kenya and identified 100 lessons, recommendations and observations which deserve consideration by those involved in cash programming today. We have brought these down to six key questions which all donors and...
NFI Market Assessment Report – Somalia
Report
The Shelter Cluster, through its regional coordinators rolled out NFI market assessments in six towns including Mogadishu, Kismayo, Bossaso, Baidoa and Dobley through a rapid mobile technology based market survey tool. The purpose of the survey was to establish where NFI markets exist and what items are...
Shock-Responsive Social Protection Systems Research: Literature Review (2nd Edition)
Report
DFID has commissioned research into Shock-Responsive Social Protection systems, to further understand the nature of the interaction between social protection, humanitarian and disaster risk management systems and ways in which long-term social protection systems can be scaled up to provide support in...
Food – Restricted Voucher or Unrestricted Voucher Cash? How to Best Support Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon?
Report
The World Food Programme (WFP) plays a pivotal role in the food security of Syrian refugees within the Syria +5 region. WFP periodically reviews its operational approach, so it is timely to consider what the best modality for the next phase of the response might be, including the pros and cons of...
A buffer against the drought
Report
The Government of Kenya in partnership with DFID undertake a long term social protection program(Hunger Safety Net Program) in Northern Kenya reaching out to poor households with bi monthly cash transfers. So much investment has been put in this program including pre-registration and carding of...
Karamoja Market Assessment
Report
A market assessment of the feasibility of cash transfers in the Karamoja region – Executive summary
2016/7 Winter Inter-Agency PDM Report
Report
Between August 2016 and March 2017, fourteen organizations provided more than 140,000 Syrian refugee households in Turkey with assistance to stay warm through the harsh winter season. Organizations delivered winter support to refugees in 52 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, primarily through restricted and...
Cash for Education: A global review of UNHCR programmes in refugee settings
Report
This review provides an overview of the use of cash assistance in 45 cash-related education programmes in 21 UNHCR operations. It highlights the key opportunities and challenges with the use of cash for education and provides key direction for future programming and related protection considerations....
Cash transfers for refugees. The economic and social effects of a programme in Jordan
Report
The world is now experiencing the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war, with around 21.35 million refugees reported in 2015 (UNHCR, 2016a). Those countries with the highest outflow of refugees – Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia in 2015 – are facing ongoing conflicts that are unlikely...
Effects of Unconditional Cash Transfers on the Outcome of Treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM): A Cluster-Randomised Trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Report
Cash transfer programs (CTPs) aim to strengthen financial security for vulnerable households. This potentially enables improvements in diet, hygiene, health service access and investment in food production or income generation.The effect of CTPs on the outcome of children already severely malnourished...
Enacting urban cash for work programmes in Lebanon in response to the Syrian refugee crisis
Guidelines and Tools
Humanitarian crises in cities require responses that reflect the urban context,address urban challenges, and provide urbanised solutions. This paper focuses on providing guidance on good practice in cash for work (CfW) programmes. Focusing on Lebanon and the Syrian refugee crisis, the paper provides nine...
Scaling-up CTP in Somalia: Reflecting on the 2017 Drought Response
Report
This report summarises discussions that took place during a half-day workshop in September 2017. It built on issues identified as needing action in May, as outlined in the ‘Looking back to move forward: Building on learning from 2011 to strengthen the 2017 drought response in Somalia learning report’.
Can Conditional Cash Transfers improve the uptake of nutrition interventions and household food security? Evidence from Odisha’s Mamata scheme
Report
There is considerable global evidence on the effectiveness of cash transfers in improving health and nutrition outcomes; however, the evidence from South Asia, particularly India, is limited. In the context of India where more than a third of children are undernourished, and where there is considerable...
Checking Back – Using Cash and Vouchers in Somalia: Recommendations from the 2011-12 Somalia Drought Response
Report
This paper brings together recommendations from some of the key reports and evaluations from the 2011 Somalia drought response. The process of preparing this paper involved reviewing 17 reports and identifying five that had recommendations which could be useful for all agencies involved the current...
Landscape Report: Mobile Money, Humanitarian Cash Transfers and Displaced Populations
Report
Over the past decade, natural disasters and complex emergencies have led to a sharp increase in the need for humanitarian assistance. By the end of 2015, an estimated 65.3 million people were forcibly displaced globally, due to conflict and persecution. That same year, natural disasters caused the...
Cash Transfer Programming: Lessons from northern Iraq
Report
In situations of conflict, disaster and protracted crisis, displaced persons not only face physical threats but are also confronted with the challenge of economic survival. High levels of general unemployment or legal barriers to labour market entry often restrict access to jobs and income, and...
The Financial Journey of Refugees Full Report
Report
This document details how refugees and migrants from the Middle East, South and Central Asia and East, West and North Africa finance their journeys and manage money along the way.