Mercy Corps has appointed IWORDS Consulting to conduct baseline and endline evaluations for their projects in North-East Nigeria on several occasions. A region that has been disproportionately affected by economic stagnation, climate change, environmental degradation, and the most severe humanitarian consequences due to a protracted armed conflict which has lasted for more than a decade.  

The most recent collaboration was in October 2020, when Mercy Corps commissioned IWORDS Consulting to undertake the baseline evaluation of the ‘Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity’, funded by USAID. This five-year intervention aims to facilitate economic recovery and growth of 90,000 households living in vulnerable conflict-affected areas by promoting systemic change in market systems through resilience-focused market systems development (MSD) approach and resilience-building.

IWORDS Consulting is always delighted to support processes that require a high level of expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods! Throughout the years, IWORDS has gained significant experience in mastering USAID methodologies. In particular, those methodologies proposed by USAID’s Office of Food For Peace (FFP) and Feed the Future (FtF), as well as those suggested by USAID for the measurement of resilience capacities of communities, markets, and systems.

The baseline’s main objective was to identify and measure key indicators of household, community, and market system resilience as a benchmark for midline and endline evaluations. Likewise, IWORDS was requested to explore relationships and links across the project’s indicators, respond to learning questions, and develop context-specific indices to better understand market system resilience in North-East Nigeria. 

Therefore, we applied a mixed methodology approach. On the one hand, the methodology used consisted of conducting a sample survey to collect quantitative baseline data. On the other hand, it consisted of collecting qualitative data (through desk review, key informant interviews, and focus groups discussions) to interpret, analyse, and contextualise the data derived from the survey. IWORDS analysed the results from the quantitative data through multifactorial analysis, Multiple Linear Regression models, and Nonlinear Probability Models—logit and probit. The results were disaggregated by market actor, sex, age, and state of residence. 

Furthermore, the baseline report results showed, through means and percentages, the links between market system and household resilience, as well as the main factors that contribute to strengthening resilience in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Apart from delivering baseline data for monitoring, evaluation, and learning, the baseline report presented recommendations to increase the return on investment for measures that improve stability, resilience, and the well-being of the target population. 

At IWORDS, we are passionate about generating evidence-based data that clients can use to make current and future improvements to programmes!

In 2020, IWORDS Global -through its IWORDS Consulting unit- was commissioned to evaluate these efforts, using a participatory approach.  Through interviews, a survey, and a reflection journal, the evaluation sought to reflect on the grant-making process and its immediate impact on youth engaged through it. It aimed to reflect on the successes and opportunities for improvement of the process and to make recommendations for future participatory grant-making processes with children and youth. Much like the Tar Kura initiative, the evaluation was committed to placing youth at the centre and, thus, included four young women from Sierra Leone as full members of the evaluation team. 

Learn more about Tar Kura and access the evaluation findings here.