McGovern-Dole Food for Education Project in Cote d’Ivoire
Since 1989, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire has been implementing a school feeding program in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to improve food security and access to quality education.
To continue supporting the school feeding program in seven priority regions, WFP mobilized McGovern-Dole funds from the United States Department of Agriculture in 2015 and again in 2021. The McGovern-Dole school feeding program aims to increase student enrollment; alleviate short-term hunger; improve student health and nutrition; improve literacy; and increase capacity of communities to support schools.
In 2021, WFP selected AIR to conduct a final evaluation of the first phase (2015–2021) and a baseline evaluation of the second phase (2021–2025) of its McGovern-Dole program in Cote d’Ivoire. The objectives of the two evaluations are to understand how the first phase of the program worked and what its outcomes were, delve deeply into understanding the mechanisms of observed changes, and offer actionable steps for program improvement during the second phase.
Evaluating the McGovern Dole Project in Cote d’Ivoire
AIR employed a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and impact of the McGovern-Dole program. The two evaluations included both treatment schools and comparison schools to compare the outcomes and determine which are attributable to the program.
AIR collected surveys from teachers, school administrators, canteen managers, students, and households, as well as student's early grade reading assessments. AIR also conducted focus group discussions with parents, school management committee members, and women’s production group members, as well as key informant interviews with WFP, government, partners, and other program stakeholders.
