A very interesting topic indeed, many thanks to Eoghan for bringing it up.
I would like to add my contribution from Rwanda's experience with a specific project evaluation from agriculture sector in Rwanda, where people with disabilities have been included from project design, to implementation and evaluation.
In the agriculture sector specifically, social inclusion is a critical aspect and disabilities is a cross cutting issue in all delivery sectors in Rwanda according to the Social Protection Policy, and this means in all projects and programs cycle as well as all development interventions.
The 5-year Agriculture Transformation Strategy for Rwanda (PSTA 4) recognizes the importance of addressing the needs of all actors in the agriculture sector and enabling farmers and agribusinesses to realize their full potential. The PSTA 4 promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities into the agriculture sector, through measures such as adaptive technology and labour-saving technologies. Furthermore, the PSTA 4 addresses HIV/AIDS through improved food and nutrition security, labour-saving technologies as affected persons may have reduced physical capabilities
Similarly, the social protection sector (in line with the Social protection policy) is responsible for conducting needs assessment of poor and vulnerable households (Women headed HH, People With Disability, HIV Positive Heads of HH, Child Headed HH…) and working with the Agriculture sector (especially Ministry of Agriculture and Rwanda Agriculture Board, agriculture-focused CSOs and private sector organizations) to ensure social protection and inclusivity of beneficiaries are prioritized within the agriculture sector’s programs and projects.
A specific example of Project Evaluation in which People with disabilities have been included is;
The “Rwanda Private Sector Driven Agricultural Growth (PSDAG) Project" funded by USAID has been implemented in Rwanda with one of its objectives being a crosscutting objective on Social inclusion of gender, youth (defined as ages 18-35), and People with Disabilities (PWD).
Under the project Target group; PSDAG supports government agencies involved in investment promotion, PSDAG also strengthens private sector capacity and facilitates expanded investments for existing and new private sector entities (local and international businesses located in Rwanda).
PSDAG supports private entities which promote inclusive growth which demonstrate potential to benefit smallholder farmers, women’s economic empowerment, women’s leadership, and engaging youth and persons with disabilities (PWDs) and PSDAG has actively been involved in 15 districts in Rwanda.
The project had a performance evaluation in 2018 and made sure the process was socially inclusive for example an extract from the methodology section says;
“Between May 22, 2018 and June 4, 2018, the evaluation team conducted a total of 16 FGDs with 106 respondents out of a planned 120, or 88.4 percent. These were comprised of smallholder farmers belonging to activity-supported local farmer cooperatives, including representatives of other groups, including women, youth, and People with Disabilities (PWD). One major factor considered during the evaluation was to ensure a conducive environment for participation of all respondents specifically PWD.
Under the recommendation section, the evaluation team had this to say on social inclusion among others;
“Social Inclusion: In key informant interviews and focus group discussions, innovations or other approaches suggested by respondents to enhance the meaningful engagement of targeted beneficiary groups included among others:
· Promoting digital technologies, especially to improve engagement of youth; and Promoting access to existing financial services opportunities for all.
· USAID/Rwanda, and other donors should consider promoting pilot projects deploying these inclusive approaches with cooperatives seeking to increase the engagement of women, youth, and People with Disabilities.
While some progress has been made, the gaps are still many, most projects are considering people with disabilities at design stage, but very limited involvement in decision making and evaluation processes, som PWD have movement limitations to areas where for instance focus group discussions are being conducted, they have limited information on project status due to their limited participation in the projects and hence are left out during evaluations.
There is a need for more efforts among project managers and evaluators to support full participation of PWD in project evaluations, ensuring that we are leaving no one behind in the process.
RE: Addressing disability inclusion through evaluations in agriculture and rural development
Dear Eval Forward colleagues;
A very interesting topic indeed, many thanks to Eoghan for bringing it up.
I would like to add my contribution from Rwanda's experience with a specific project evaluation from agriculture sector in Rwanda, where people with disabilities have been included from project design, to implementation and evaluation.
In the agriculture sector specifically, social inclusion is a critical aspect and disabilities is a cross cutting issue in all delivery sectors in Rwanda according to the Social Protection Policy, and this means in all projects and programs cycle as well as all development interventions.
The 5-year Agriculture Transformation Strategy for Rwanda (PSTA 4) recognizes the importance of addressing the needs of all actors in the agriculture sector and enabling farmers and agribusinesses to realize their full potential. The PSTA 4 promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities into the agriculture sector, through measures such as adaptive technology and labour-saving technologies. Furthermore, the PSTA 4 addresses HIV/AIDS through improved food and nutrition security, labour-saving technologies as affected persons may have reduced physical capabilities
Similarly, the social protection sector (in line with the Social protection policy) is responsible for conducting needs assessment of poor and vulnerable households (Women headed HH, People With Disability, HIV Positive Heads of HH, Child Headed HH…) and working with the Agriculture sector (especially Ministry of Agriculture and Rwanda Agriculture Board, agriculture-focused CSOs and private sector organizations) to ensure social protection and inclusivity of beneficiaries are prioritized within the agriculture sector’s programs and projects.
A specific example of Project Evaluation in which People with disabilities have been included is;
The “Rwanda Private Sector Driven Agricultural Growth (PSDAG) Project" funded by USAID has been implemented in Rwanda with one of its objectives being a crosscutting objective on Social inclusion of gender, youth (defined as ages 18-35), and People with Disabilities (PWD).
Under the project Target group; PSDAG supports government agencies involved in investment promotion, PSDAG also strengthens private sector capacity and facilitates expanded investments for existing and new private sector entities (local and international businesses located in Rwanda).
PSDAG supports private entities which promote inclusive growth which demonstrate potential to benefit smallholder farmers, women’s economic empowerment, women’s leadership, and engaging youth and persons with disabilities (PWDs) and PSDAG has actively been involved in 15 districts in Rwanda.
The project had a performance evaluation in 2018 and made sure the process was socially inclusive for example an extract from the methodology section says;
“Between May 22, 2018 and June 4, 2018, the evaluation team conducted a total of 16 FGDs with 106 respondents out of a planned 120, or 88.4 percent. These were comprised of smallholder farmers belonging to activity-supported local farmer cooperatives, including representatives of other groups, including women, youth, and People with Disabilities (PWD). One major factor considered during the evaluation was to ensure a conducive environment for participation of all respondents specifically PWD.
Under the recommendation section, the evaluation team had this to say on social inclusion among others;
“Social Inclusion: In key informant interviews and focus group discussions, innovations or other approaches suggested by respondents to enhance the meaningful engagement of targeted beneficiary groups included among others:
· Promoting digital technologies, especially to improve engagement of youth; and Promoting access to existing financial services opportunities for all.
· USAID/Rwanda, and other donors should consider promoting pilot projects deploying these inclusive approaches with cooperatives seeking to increase the engagement of women, youth, and People with Disabilities.
While some progress has been made, the gaps are still many, most projects are considering people with disabilities at design stage, but very limited involvement in decision making and evaluation processes, som PWD have movement limitations to areas where for instance focus group discussions are being conducted, they have limited information on project status due to their limited participation in the projects and hence are left out during evaluations.
There is a need for more efforts among project managers and evaluators to support full participation of PWD in project evaluations, ensuring that we are leaving no one behind in the process.
A pleasant weekend,
Judith