Representatives of the Mastercard Foundation’s assessment team and the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) Nkabom Team have reviewed the implementation of the Nkabom Collaborative Project, with a particular focus on monitoring and evaluation, participant data quality, sampling methodology, and preparedness for the broader outcome assessment.
The meeting, held at the UESD Council Chamber, brought together members of the UESD Nkabom Team led by the Project Coordinator and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Edward Wiafe Debrah, including the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Dr. Andrews Taeyeli.
The Mastercard Foundation assessment team was represented by Mr. Frimpong Oware, Manager for Research, Evaluation and Learning, and Mr. Ernest Adu Owusu, Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (MER) Specialist. The team explained that Public Development Associates (PDA), contracted by the Mastercard Foundation, is supporting the assessment of the implementation and outcomes of its programmes, including the Nkabom Collaborative Project.
A major focus of the meeting was the Data Quality Assessment (DQA), which is intended to establish the completeness, consistency and reliability of participant information ahead of the broader outcome assessment.
The meeting also examined the UESD Nkabom participant database, which initially contained 148 records. Following data cleaning and the identification of participants who had benefited from more than one intervention, the number was reduced to 129 unique participant records. The exercise highlighted the importance of maintaining a reliable unique identification system to prevent double counting.
Another issue discussed was the need to complete the necessary institutional authorisation and formal communication before the assessment exercise proceeds. The assessment team emphasised the importance of following the required institutional procedures.
The assessment team commended UESD for the quality of its participant records, rating the overall database quality at approximately 99 per cent.
The review covered four major interventions-Rural Micro-Enterprise Starter-Enterprise Starter RUMES, E-START, Fish Processing Technology, and Compost Production training-with the assessment team observing that training information was consistently captured across the participant records.
On the way forward, the meeting, among other things, identified the need for the continued verification, cleaning, and updating of the UESD Nkabom participant database to ensure that records remain accurate, complete, and reliable. Further checks will be undertaken to identify and resolve potential duplicate records, with emphasis on reliable participant identification.