Mobilisation of the Poor – a means to Poverty Reduction? - Sida

Background to the final evaluation
As Sida support for CAP came to an end in 1998, a decision was made by Sida, in consultation
with RDTRI, to commission a final evaluation. In view of the long duration of the project and the
challenges of evaluating a project of this nature (see later in this chapter), the proposed evaluation
was carried out in two phases, CAP I and CAP II.
Assessments under CAP I were expected to both generate preliminary findings about CAP
outcomes and formulate guidelines for more rigorous investigations, including field research to be
carried out in CAP II.
CAP I was carried out from March to April 2000 by a team consisting of a sociologist and an
economist, both Sri Lankan. This involved a literature review, key informant interviews with
selected CAP leaders, and preliminary field visits to a number of CAP sites. The CAP I findings
were discussed in May 2000 with an audience consisting of RDTRI staff, various workers and
consultants associated with CAP, policymakers, researchers and representatives of Sida (Silva and
Gunatilake 2000). The findings, including recommendations for CAP II, were discussed both in
Sida/Stockholm and in Sri Lanka to determine a strategy for CAP II. Another workshop was
arranged in November 2000 in RDTRI Colombo, where an LFA-type exercise was conducted with
the participation of a consultant from Sweden to clarify the reasons for pursuing CAP II and to
decide what approaches would be used to make it relevant to the primary stakeholders, including
CAP members and leaders, RDTRI, and other relevant agencies in Sri Lanka and Sida.
CAP II was carried out from March to July 2001 by a team consisting of a sociologist,
microfinance/enterprise development specialist and a gender specialist, again all Sri Lankan. An
inception report outlining the scope, objectives and methodology of CAP II was discussed with
selected stakeholders, researchers and other interested parties in a workshop held in RDTRI in
April 2001 (see TOR, Annex 1). A similar workshop was held in Pilimatalawa RDTRI Centre in
April 2001 to secure the views of CAP beneficiaries about the issues to be investigated. Both CAP I
and II were conducted in a participatory manner taking into consideration the views of different
stakeholders at various stages of the evaluation from identifying the issues to be investigated to
analysing the findings. In keeping with this approach the preliminary findings of CAP II were
discussed with a group of different stakeholders, including some of the original CAP architects, in a
workshop held in RDTRI on July 23, 2001.
This report synthesises the findings of CAP II, taking into consideration the preliminary findings of
CAP I and the feedback received from various stakeholders at different consultative meetings.
Scope of CAP II
The overall aim of CAP II was to assess how successful CAP was in reaching the twin goals of
empowering the poor, including women, and poverty alleviation. While CAP must be assessed in its
proper historical and policy context (see Chapter Two), for logistics reasons this evaluation focuses
particularly on developments since 1987. This enables us to evaluate the progress made by CAP
during the time Sida was the primary donor. This covers the period during which the geographical
and population coverage of CAP rapidly expanded and poverty alleviation became an explicit
objective.
In particular this evaluation focuses on the mobilisation of the poor through a group process that
worked up from small groups formed through CAP interventions.
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MOBILISATION OF THE POOR – A MEANS TO POVERTY REDUCTION – Sida EVALUATION 02/08