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
How to Conduct a Trader Survey?
Guidelines and Tools
The purpose of this technical guidance sheet is to provide guidance to WFP Country Office and partner staff in conducting a simple trader survey with limited or no external technical support. For complex trader surveys, or in situations where local capacity is insufficient, experienced WFP staff in the...
Afghanistan Cash Transfer Evaluation: Evaluation of cash transfer components of two ACF projects in Samangan and Day Kundi provinces, Afghanistan
Report
ACF commissioned the evaluation of cash transfer components in two Food Security projects in Afghanistan. ACF was interested in understanding the effectiveness of the cash distribution methodology using the hawala system of moneychangers. Furthermore, ACF wanted to know whether specific targeting of women...
Uganda Cash Transfer Impact Evaluation: Livelihoods and economic recovery in Northern Uganda (Learn 1 & 2)
Report
Numerous evaluations have examined different aspects of the LEARN projects since their inception. This report is the first to focus on the impact of cash transfers on household-level food security and livelihoods. Previous reports suggested that it would take time for this impact to be measureable, since...
Evaluation Report Fresh Food Voucher – ACF Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Report
This report presents and discusses the results of a pilot study to deliver vouchers, which can be exchanged for fresh foods, to indigenous communities in rural areas of the Bolivian Chaco. This intervention is meant as an emergency measure as a result of the prolonged drought that had endangered the food...
Good Practice Review 11: Cash transfer programming in emergencies
Guidelines and Tools
The GPR is intended for humanitarian practitioners who plan and implement emergency responses – both those who are already familiar with cash-based interventions and those who are not. It synthesises cash transfer guidelines, highlights lessons from evaluations and adds practical examples drawn from...
Humanitarian Emergency Response Review
Report
This independent review into how the UK (through DFID) responds to humanitarian emergencies, considers how the UK should best respond to overseas emergencies and the role the UK should play in the international humanitarian system. It looks at the potential future humanitarian challenges and the...
The CALP Network 4th Global Learning Event: Global innovations and lessons learned from response in South and South-East Asia (Final report)
Report
The 4th CALP Network Global Learning Event was held in Bangkok, Thailand on the 16th and 17th February 2011, hosted by the CALP Network in partnership with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). This inter-agency event was designed to present the latest thinking...
The Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS)
Guidelines and Tools
A presentation giving insight to LEGS, discussing: Aims of LEGS Rationale of LEGS Development of LEGS Objectives and approaches PRIM LEGS training programme. Taken from the Cash Learning Partnership Global Learning Event Bangkok, 16-17 February 2011.
Key Challenges and Lessons Learned in Interagency Cash Coordination in Pakistan
Presentation
A presentation from the CALP Network’s former focal point Loreto Palmaera on ‘Key Challenges and Lessons Learned in Interagency Cash Coordination in Pakistan’
Cash and Vouchers in Emergencies
Report
This HPG discussion paper examines all aspects of using cash and vouchers to assist people in emergency situations. It provides a background to the literature and theory around cash and vouchers, looks at the current picture through selected examples and examines the decision making process on the...
CCT Programmes and Women’s Empowerment in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador
Report
Latin America’s efforts to alleviate poverty have resulted in reducing poverty in twelve countries, most strikingly in Mexico and Brazil. The adoption of Cash Transfer programmes in much of the region is credited with helping to bring this reduction about. These programmes are widely promoted as a cost...
Unconditional cash transfer in Emergency Lessons learned from Plan in Vietnam
Presentation
A presentation from the the CALP Network Global Learning Event, BKK 16-17 February 2011. Topics covered include: Implementation process Findings after intervention Strengths and weaknesses Lessons learned Presenter: Nguyen Trong Ninh – Plan in Vietnam
Evaluation and Review of the Use of Cash and Vouchers in Humanitarian Crises
Report
This report is the second of two reports commissioned by DG ECHO to support the development of a coherent policy regarding the use of cash and vouchers in humanitarian crises. The first report evaluated DG ECHO’s partners’ use of cash and vouchers. This second report reviews cash and voucher...
Cash Preparedness in Vietnam
Presentation
A presentation from the the CALP Network Global Learning Event, addressing Save the Children’s Preparedness in Vietnam Bangkok, February 16-17, 2011. Topics include: Emergency preparedness Cash intervention design Lessons learned
ATM cash assistance: Does it work?
Report
This 2-page article describes UNHCR’s cash assistance to almost 5,000 vulnerable Iraqi refugee families in Jordan. It looks at the key questions asked in UNHCR about implementing cash-based assistance, and highlights findings about cost-effectiveness and beneficiary well-being.
DFID Cash Transfers Literature Review
Report
This paper provides a synthesis of current global evidence on the impact of cash transfers in developing countries, and of what works in different contexts, or for different development objectives. Cash transfers are direct, regular and predictable non-contributory cash payments that help poor and...
Delivering Cash Through Cards – A Quick Delivery Guide (booklet)
Guidelines and Tools
A Quick Delivery Guide to delivering money through cards (magnetic stripe or smart cards). Prepared as a practical tool, this guide provides a brief synthesis of the necessary preconditions and advantages and disadvantages of using cheques. It also provides practical implementation tips. This version...
Determining the Value of Cash Transfers – Preliminary Insights from LIME
Report
In 2009, the multi donor funded Protracted Relief Programme (PRP) adopted LIME (Longitudinal approaches to Impact assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation) as the approach to be used both for establishing a PRP baseline and for on-going analysis of monitoring data in order to evaluate the effectiveness of...
Support to IDP Education and Pupils Transition from ABE to Formal School in Puntland
Report
This report discusses the findings and recommendations from the final evaluation of a pilot project that aimed at: (i) enabling 1,000 displaced and other vulnerable children in IDP settlements around Bossaso, Puntland, to access quality primary education and (ii) improving the learning environment in 10...
Helpdesk Research Report: Cash Transfers in Fragile/Conflict-Affected Environments
Report
In-kind assistance has traditionally dominated social protection programming in fragile and conflict-affected contexts (Holmes, 2009). In recent years, however, there has been a rise in the implementation of cash transfer schemes in such environments. These programmes have often been relatively small...