The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) is a mission-driven non-profit organisation dedicated to using evidence to transform people’s lives in low- and middle-income countries. 3ie collaborates with decision-makers in governments, foundations, NGOs, development and research organisations globally to meet their evidence need and facilitate the use of evidence in their work.

Role in Saamuhika Shakti

3ie is the external evaluation partner for Saamuhika Shakti and is conducting a mixed-methods evaluation to assess how the initiative impacts the lives of waste pickers and their families. The evaluation examines the effects of multiple implementation partners and their interventions on key outcomes for waste picker households, such as labour force participation, access to social security benefits, participation in collectives, access to WASH services, children’s education and health. 📖 Measuring the impact of the Saamuhika Shakti initiative

Evaluation Work

  • Partner and meta theory of change (ToC) : During Phase 1, 3ie developed theories of change (ToCs) for all implementation partners (except BBC Media Action and Social Alpha). These ToCs provided a diagrammatic representation of the project plans, mapping out pathways that connected activities to outcomes. The primary objective of this exercise was to deepen 3ie’s understanding of each intervention and validate how an intervention is structured as well as the outcomes it is likely to achieve. 
    3ie held working sessions with partners in March-April 2021 to brainstorm and finalise the ToCs. Furthermore, partner-level ToCs were synthesised to produce a meta-ToC for the Saamuhika Shakti initiative, focusing on key outcomes. 
  • Baseline report : Between 2021-22, 3ie collected baseline data from approximately 3,000 waste picker and non-waste picker households across 70 localities in Bengaluru. The baseline survey collected extensive information on various outcomes, including labour market, education, health, WASH, gender, income, collective participation and social and financial security. Key findings from this data were presented in the baseline report. 
  • Thematic papers : In addition to the baseline report, 3ie used the baseline data to analyse the short-term impact of  Saamuhika Shakti interventions. The results presented revealed that exposure to two and more programs increased waste pickers’ participation in community collectives, improved access to social security schemes and saw a rise in the number of savings accounts held. In addition, the team authored two thematic papers, one on gender differences in outcomes and another on female labour force participation.
  • Process evaluation : During Phase 1, 3ie conducted a process evaluation to assess the implementation of the collective impact approach under Saamuhika Shakti, as well as the overall program implementation and partner activities. The evaluation included interviews and focus group discussion with various stakeholders, including waste picker households, community resource persons (CRPs) and program managers from partner organisations. Key findings from the evaluation were shared with the backbone organisation, H&M Foundation and partner organisations, informing the design of Phase 2 of the program.

Impact

11,428

children (5,561 boys, 5,630 girls) reached through various educational and developmental initiatives

2,834

parents engaged in their children’s education and well-being

224

teachers trained to improve educational outcomes

1,092

children receive social entitlements like Aadhaar cards, bank accounts and government schemes

938

children in schools and Anganwadi centres

Collaborations

RESOURCES

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