EVALUATION Takamol Mid-Term Performance Evaluation May 2017 This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared independently by Judy Benjamin, PhD, Evaluation Team Leader, Nikki Zimmerman, Nabila Alsyouf, PhD, Reham Hussain Younis. Evaluation Abstract Takamol Gender Program was designed to support USAID/Jordan’s Special Development Objective #4: Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Enhanced. This mid-term evaluation was designed to provide USAID with findings and recommendations to inform implementation. Six evaluation questions examined implementation across: effectiveness, sustainability, credibility, synergy and learning. A mixed-methods approach was utilized, collecting data and engaging a wide range of stakeholders through secondary data, quantitative survey, and qualitative interviews. Key findings and conclusions highlight that Takamol expanded social dialogue and raised gender awareness in Jordan. More effective interventions included social dialogue activities (Faces of Takamol, Slam Poetry, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaigns), King Abdullah II Award gender criteria, and integration of youth, among others. Within policy and advocacy, USG-funding stipulations and Takamol’s technical assistance strengthened the capacity of the Jordan National Commission for Women (JNCW) to an extent. Activities leveraging internal government mechanisms proved more effective and a promising avenue for gender mainstreaming. Less effective aspects of Takamol related to some elements of training, communication and follow-up. Takamol provided valuable trainings, but did not adequately tailor all trainings to participant levels. Inconsistent communication and follow-up also limited greater effectiveness of capacity building and partnerships. Related to synergy, successes were noted under two USAID DOs. External factors affecting Takamol’s performance included high turnover of government leadership, and limited coordination from USAID affecting synergy with IPs. Beyond the life of Takamol, the capacity of current strategic partners will likely affect sustainability. Takamol has established a high level of credibility to continue to address gender issues, but lessons learned highlight the need to focus and strategize to ensure activities are well connected, and support sustainability. MID-TERM EVALUATION TAKAMOL MID-TERM EVALUATION May 2017 Contracted under: AID 278-A-14-00001 USAID/Jordan Monitoring and Evaluation Support Project (MESP) Photo Source: Takamol Quarterly Report DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. CONTENTS Acronyms....................................................................................................................................... 6 Executive Summary...................................................................................................................... 8 Evaluation Purpose and Evaluation Questions......................................................................... 14 Evaluation Purpose......................................................................................................................................................14 Evaluation Questions..................................................................................................................................................14 Gender in the Jordanian Context .............................................................................................. 15 Project Background .................................................................................................................... 15 Evaluation Methods and Limitations......................................................................................... 18 Data Collection Methods..........................................................................................................................................19 Data Storage and Transfer........................................................................................................................................23 Study Limitations.........................................................................................................................................................23 Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations ......................................................................... 24 Evaluation Question 1 - Effectiveness....................................................................................................................24 Findings – Evaluation Question 1 – Effectiveness...........................................................................................24 Conclusions- Evaluation Question 1 - Effectiveness......................................................................................35 Recommendations – Evaluation Question 1 - Effectiveness ........................................................................37 Evaluation Question 2 – Synergy.............................................................................................................................37 Findings: Evaluation Question 2 – Synergy.......................................................................................................37 Conclusions – Evaluation Question 2 – Synergy.............................................................................................39 Recommendations – Evaluation Question 2 - Synergy..................................................................................40 Evaluation Question 3 – External Factors.............................................................................................................40 Findings: Evaluation Question 3 – External Factors.......................................................................................40 Conclusions: Evaluation Question 3 – External Factors...............................................................................41 Recommendations: Evaluation Question 3 – External Factors...................................................................42 Evaluation Question 4 – Sustainability ...................................................................................................................42 Findings: Evaluation Question 4 – Sustainability..............................................................................................43 Conclusions: Evaluation Question 4 – Sustainability......................................................................................48 Recommendations: Evaluation Question 4 – Sustainability..........................................................................49 Evaluation Question 5 - Credibility ........................................................................................................................49 Findings: Evaluation Question 5 – Credibility..................................................................................................49 Conclusions: Evaluation Question 5 – Credibility..........................................................................................50 Recommendations: Evaluation Question 5 – Credibility ..............................................................................50 Evaluation Question 6 – Learning ...........................................................................................................................50 Findings: Evaluation Question 6 – Learning......................................................................................................50 Conclusions: Evaluation Question 6 – Learning..............................................................................................52 Recommendations: Evaluation Question – Learning......................................................................................53 Annexes........................................................................................................................................ 54 Annex I: Evaluation Statement of Work................................................................................................................54 Annex II: Evaluation Team Composition...............................................................................................................56 Annex III: Data Collection Instruments.................................................................................................................57 Annex IV: Sources of Information...........................................................................................................................83 Annex V: Disclosure of Any Conflicts of Interest...............................................................................................93 Annex VI: Takamol Results Framework................................................................................................................94 ACRONYMS ADS Automated Directives System AOR Agreement Officer Representative BEST Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism CBO Community Based Organization CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CIS Civic Initiatives Support COP Chief of Party CSO Civil Society Organization DCOP Deputy Chief of Party DEC Development Experience Clearinghouse SDO4 Special Development Objective 4 (Gender) FGD Focus Group Discussion FHI Family Health International FY Fiscal Year GAT Gender Audit Team GBV Gender Based Violence GI Group Interview GOJ Government of Jordan ICRW International Committee Research on Women IFES International Foundation for Electoral Systems ILO International Labor Organization IP Implementing Partner IR Intermediate Results IREX International Research and Exchanges Board JCP Jordan Competitiveness Program JNCW Jordan National Commission for Women KaMP Knowledge Management Portal KII Key Informant Interview LENS Local Enterprise Support M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MESP Monitoring Evaluation Support Program MoPIC Ministry of Planning & International Cooperation MoPSD Ministry of Public Service & Development MSI Management Systems International NDI National Democratic Institute for International Affairs NGO Non-Governmental Organization ROLPAS Rule of Law and Public Accountability Strengthening Activity SDO Special Development Objective SIGI Sisterhood is Global International SOW Statement of Work SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (software package) UNDP United Nations Development Program USAID United States Agency for International Development TABLE OF TABLES Table 1: Takamol Components....................................................................................................................................16 Table 2: Stakeholder Sampling......................................................................................................................................21 Table 3: Sampling by Data Collection Method........................................................................................................21 Table 4: Quantitative Sampling by Intermediate Result ........................................................................................22 Table 5: 16 Days of Activism Campaigns...................................................................................................................26 Table 6: Sustainability Framework..............................................................................................................................43 Table 7: Key Takamol Strategic Partners and Activities.......................................................................................46 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1: Global Gender Gap Report 2016, World Economic Forum...............................................................15 Figure 2: Evaluation Timeline and Process Overview............................................................................................18 Figure 3: Quantitative Findings – Most and Least Effective Activities and Approaches................................27 Figure 4: Quantitative Findings – How effective was Takamol in raising gender as a national priority?...35 Figure 5: Quantitative Findings - Likelihood of Sustainability of Takamol’s Interventions............................44 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the last two decades, Jordan has made significant commitments to achieve gender equality and has witnessed progress in enhancing women’s status. Gender gaps between men and women have been reduced in education, health, political participation, and other areas. However, gaps still remain in ensuring equal economic and social opportunities for women. Against this backdrop, the Takamol Gender Program was designed as an overarching program to support USAID/Jordan’s Special Development Objective (SDO) #4: Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Enhanced. Under this objective, USAID Takamol is implementing activities to promote changes in discriminatory social norms and practices and enhance advocacy and policy reforms. USAID Takamol Activity is USAID’s flagship activity under SDO 4: a five-year cooperative agreement with the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), with a total value of $13,800,000 covering the performance period of May 1, 2014 through April 30, 2019. EVALUATION PURPOSE AND EVALUATION QUESTIONS The mid-term evaluation for Takamol Activity took place from February 2017 through April 2017. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide USAID with findings and strategic recommendations to benefit the remaining period of implementation. The six evaluation questions that examined IREX’s implementation of Takamol addressed five overarching themes: effectiveness, sustainability, credibility, synergy and learning. Specific questions included: Effectiveness 1. Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol activity, specifically whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality, and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment. a. Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so which ones; why, and why not? b. How has the Jordanian National Commission for Women’s (JNCW) capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol’s support and why? c. What impact did Takamol have on raising gender-issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? 2. Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission portfolio? Why, or why not? In what ways can they be improved? 3. What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance, and how? Sustainability: 4. Which interventions under Takamol, in case any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? a. Specifically assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? b. What needs to be done for interventions and results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? 5. To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender-support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5? Learning: 6. Based on the performance of Takamol to date, both in terms of effectiveness and sustainability, what are some key lessons learned, by component and sub-activities, that can inform the remainder of the activity? PROJECT BACKGROUND Takamol aims to promote changes in discriminatory social norms and practices and to enhance advocacy and policy reforms, and it includes three main components: 1) Expand Social Dialogue on Gender Equality; 2) Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment; and 3) Improve Women￾and Girl-Centered Services. However, the Mission decided not to implement activities under component three, and no interventions have taken place under that component. The development hypothesis of this Activity posits that as positive changes in discriminatory social norms and practices are promoted and advocacy and policy reforms for women’s issues are strengthened, female empowerment and gender equality will be enhanced. Combined with efforts to improve gender responsive services across USAID/Jordan’s portfolio, these advances will support the overarching strategic goal of promoting equality and improving prosperity. EVALUATION DESIGN, METHODS AND LIMITATIONS The evaluation design employed a mixed-methods approach and collected data through three primary avenues: desk review of secondary data; a quantitative phone survey with closed and open-ended questions; and qualitative interviews (key informant interviews (KIIs), small group interviews, and focus group discussions (FGD). Quantitative and qualitative methods were designed to complement each other and gauge stakeholder perspectives related to each evaluation question. Both qualitative and quantitative studies included a wide range of stakeholders and beneficiaries involved in or familiar with Takamol activities, such as USAID Implementing Partners (IPs) which were relevant to evaluation Question 2. Specifically, for the quantitative survey, the evaluation team used a non-probability sampling census. To capture any differences in opinion and perception across geographic areas, the evaluation team collected qualitative data in the three key areas of activity implementation: Amman, Irbid, and Karak. In total, the evaluation reached 143 individuals through qualitative interviews and focus group discussions, and 223 individuals through the quantitative telephone survey. Some data limitations were identified concerning sampling and data collection methods. Each sampling method within this study sought a broad representation of stakeholders. The types of stakeholders sampled between the qualitative and quantitative studies, however, exhibited limited overlap, which may have contributed to differences in findings from each method. Within the quantitative survey, limitations centered on potential bias toward people more naturally inclined to answer the phone and respond to surveys. Moreover, response rates were lower in cases of wrong numbers, particularly for women lawyers. Qualitative interviews allowed the evaluation team to dig deeper into perceptions; in general, most individuals felt comfortable expressing their opinions. However, the extent to which all individuals openly expressed all their opinions may have varied. Additionally, while every effort was made to interview all relevant key stakeholders, a few individuals and groups who may have provided further insight into Takamol’s effectiveness could not be reached. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS This executive summary shares highlighted conclusions for the top-level questions outlined above. Findings and conclusions for all of the questions and sub-questions are provided beginning on page 11. EVALUATION QUESTION 1- EFFECTIVENESS Takamol expanded social dialogue on gender equality both on national and community levels and raised gender awareness nationally through social media and social dialogue activities. Respondents emphasized that social dialogue and community outreach activities were the most effective in expanding social dialogue and raising gender awareness nationally. Specific activities mentioned as more effective, included: activities to raise gender awareness around elections, Slam Poetry, Faces of Takamol and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence Campaign. Part of the success of Takamol’s social dialogue activities appears to be in the type of actors it can bring to the table, as well as the size of events. Sustainability of these gains after Takamol closes, however, will rely on the capacity of partners to continue carrying on these activities. The combination of USAID funding stipulations and Takamol technical assistance strengthened JNCW capacity to an extent. The influx of funding from the Government of Jordan (GoJ) stemming from USAID stipulations, allowed JNCW to expand its operational capacity. Takamol’s technical assistance supported JNCW both technically and operationally. JNCW adopted several recommendations and analysis of existing laws from Takamol, providing JNCW with a stronger base for advocacy. While capacity was strengthened, JNCW noted the need for continued capacity buildings, such as a series of trainings specifically addressing JNCW needs. Policy and advocacy support utilizing internal government structures proved more effective and a promising avenue to further gender mainstreaming within the government. Gender professionals, JNCW key informants, and Gender Audit FGD all highlighted the importance of mainstreaming gender within the government. These respondents also emphasized the need to work within government structures to effectively bring about change. The King Abdullah II Award for Excellence emerged from the evaluation findings as an activity supported by Takamol that has already seen some effectiveness stemming from the fact that it is an internal government mechanism. From the Gender Audit FGD, two examples emerged of how participants were able to leverage the gender requirements now integrated within the Award to reach out for gender technical support, and integrate gender into strategic planning work. Takamol provided valuable training, but did not always adequately assess training needs and tailor trainings to participant knowledge levels, interests and backgrounds in many cases. Respondents appreciated trainings as they were opportunities to gain knowledge and skills. Women’s Leadership training is a positive example of this. However, participants found that trainings were not always tailored to participant knowledge levels. As a result, multiple categories of respondents found some training sessions to be basic, while others to be too advanced. Furthermore, findings from qualitative interviews emphasized their preference for practical over theoretical trainings, and participatory over lecture-based trainings. Inconsistent communication and follow-up left stakeholders wanting more to maximize the effectiveness of activities Respondents in several categories—IPs, research consortium members, partners, as well as Souk Takamol grantees—noted Takamol inconsistently followed up on trainings, contests, capacity building efforts and conferences, which left stakeholders wanting more to maximize the effectiveness of activities. EVALUATION QUESTION 2- SYNERGY Some successful synergies were achieved under two USAID Development Objectives. More successful synergies included: NDI and ROLPAS under the DO2 (Democracy, Rights, and Governance), as well as BEST, JCP and LENS (to some extent) under DO1 (Economic Development and Energy). This evaluation and the SDO4 performance evaluation highlighted a number of challenges and constraints, ranging from shared understanding of what synergy looks like for USAID, lack of overall synergy regarding gender within the USAID mission and across program platforms, and others. From qualitative interviews, however, there are clear opportunities to strengthen synergy. Success was most prominent when there were clear areas of common interest, tangible collaboration opportunities and clear added-value for Takamol’s work. Such was the case with NDI and activities around women’s participation in the electoral process. In this and other successful examples, such as ROLPAS, there was a clear role for Takamol to play and Takamol provided added-value. The synergy in those cases resulted in dynamic outcomes that helped each IP achieve their objectives. EVALUATION QUESTION 3- EXTERNAL FACTORS Local and regional security and economic situation affects gender as a priority. Growing regional insecurity, growing refugee populations, unemployment, and competition for jobs likely had an impact on women’s economic participation, and the extent to which gender is seen as a priority. High leadership turn-over and limited gender awareness within government ministries causes set￾backs in gender advancement. Incoming officials may be less gender aware and may not support the work of Takamol, and integration of gender issues into strategic planning, budgeting, and other areas of government. The environment that civil servants trained by Takamol return to is also often discouraging, which limits the extent to which a female civil servant can implement knowledge gained in trainings. EVALUATION QUESTION 4- SUSTAINABILITY Current strategic partnerships have capacity limitations that affect the likelihood of sustainability. Local ownership and demand, capacity of key stakeholders, and financing are essential elements of sustainability, and the importance placed on them within the sustainability framework utilized by the evaluation team was echoed by respondents and Takamol. Takamol has taken a good initial step by identifying key strategic partners and several “legacy tools” to support these actors; however, findings highlight that greater capacity building is needed by strategic partners in order to sustain activities. Some partners have demonstrated some level of adoption (Research Consortium, Gender Audit Teams) of activities envisioned for sustainability, which points to higher likelihood of sustainability. Particularly for government institutions, the likelihood of sustainability appears higher when support comes from established government mechanisms that will continue beyond Takamol to reinforce and enable utilization of skills gained (e.g. King Abdullah II Award). For Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the highest sustainability risk lies with Women’s and Youth Networks, launched in August and December 2016, which are envisioned to become CSOs or gender champions. These organizations have not received any organizational capacity building support and it cannot be assumed that networks have the leadership, skills and fundraising capacity to become a CSO at this time and carry on the work of Takamol as envisioned. EVALUATION QUESTION 4- CREDIBILITY Takamol has established a high level of credibility concerning gender issues in certain areas, primarily social dialogue around sensitive gender topics. Credibility stemmed from the reputation of individuals within Takamol’s senior management team, visibility, reputation, and Takamol’s ability to bring together key stakeholders to events. Takamol has not developed the same level of credibility with IPs and all organizations. For those IPs and organizations who were well aware of Takamol’s mandate and activities, perceptions of credibility were more varied and not at the same level of credibility. EVALUATION QUESTION 5- LEARNING Well-strategized, focused and connected activities that incentivize continued engagement and buy-in can support greater effectiveness. This lesson was primarily highlighted by Takamol in relation to social dialogue activities. In years one and two of implementation, social dialogue activities, such as Takamol Chats, were smaller scale and viewed as more disconnected from national campaigns. Likely stemming from Takamol’s shift to more connected activities designed to incentivize engagement, Takamol is currently known for being able to bring people to the table and reach large numbers of people through its online and offline social dialogue activities. Greater focus on gender mainstreaming and establishing mechanisms to support gender mainstreaming within government structures can enhance effectiveness and sustainability. Evaluation findings from multiple qualitative respondent categories highlighted the importance of increasing the reach of gender mainstreaming within government entities. As reported by participants in the Women’s Leadership trainings, for example, many returned to an unwelcoming and disempowering environment, limiting their ability to implement new knowledge and skills. Working within government structures and mechanisms, such as the King Abdullah II Award, can serve as a way to overcome hesitancy of civil servants and government officials to work with non-governmental actors, and support greater gender mainstreaming. Clear communication and follow-up can strengthen effectiveness and sustainability. In line with findings from qualitative respondents across various categories, clear communication and follow-up is often lacking, but can be a way to strengthen learning and skills practice from capacity building activities, increase awareness of Takamol’s mandate and activities, strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders, and support sustainability. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. USAID and Takamol should continue social media and social dialogue interventions to raise gender awareness. To ensure and increase effectiveness across Takamol interventions, the same social message development rigor and focused combination of online and offline interventions, as applied to the 16 Days of Advocacy Campaign, should be applied to other thematic work and activity-level campaigns. USAID should also design future Activities with this in mind. 2. Based on the success of the King Abdullah II Award, Takamol should focus on and strategize with government counterparts on internal government mechanisms to incentivize and strengthen gender mainstreaming within the government of Jordan. 3. USAID and Takamol should continue to work to strengthen the capacity of JNCW. As the lead national entity mandated to support gender related work in Jordan, its capacity will have implications on overall effectiveness and sustainability of gender-related interventions in Jordan. 4. Takamol should tailor training material to the needs and skill levels of the trainees, including more in-depth needs assessments, as well as focus on practical, participatory trainings where feasible. 5. Takamol should prioritize communication and follow-up into all staff work plans to strengthen the effectiveness of capacity building activities as well as partnerships. 6. USAID should provide greater facilitation between Takamol and IPs by inviting them to coordination meetings, and ensure that Takamol’s mandate is well understood by IPs. 7. Takamol and USAID should pursue relationships with USAID IPs that have complementary areas of implementation, with the objective of maximizing both Takamol’s and the IP’s successes. The synergy developed around common goals and interests can result in dynamic results if there is open communication, clear roles and responsibilities are outlined, and Takamol can provide added value. a. Possibilities for greater synergy could include CIS, to strengthen CSO capacity, as well as NDI and ROLPAS to develop capacity building initiatives designed to educate and assist newly elected female members of parliament to increase their effectiveness and address barriers to women’s economic and political participation. 8. Takamol, supported by a more active coordination role from USAID, should deepen collaboration with IP gender specialists to strengthen its credibility for gender support among all stakeholders. Such collaboration could include jointly developing technical materials or jointly leading conferences or other activities. 9. Takamol should expand gender awareness raising efforts within government ministries to target supervisors of trainees and higher ranking officials, to the extent possible. 10. Takamol and USAID should conduct a sustainability analysis and update the sustainability plan to focus and strategize the degree of sustainability envisioned for each intervention. This analysis should particularly focus on strategic partner capacity assessments and cost analysis of implementing activities to inform and strengthen the likelihood of sustainability. 11. With an eye on achieving further sustainability, Takamol should continue to strategize and focus implementation on the most effective activities, such as social dialogue, integration of youth, Women’s Leadership training, and support to the KAA award, and focus on strengthening partnerships to continue these activities into the future. EVALUATION PURPOSE AND EVALUATION QUESTIONS EVALUATION PURPOSE The purpose of this mid-term performance evaluation is to provide USAID with findings and strategic recommendations related to the effectiveness of Takamol’s interventions, primarily focused on the social dialogue, capacity building of civil society and government entities and policy advocacy and research support. The evaluation results will help inform USAID implementation decisions for not only Year 4 and 5 of Takamol’s programming, but also Takamol’s efforts in promoting long-term sustainable development through its partnerships and capacity building of local partners, such as the Jordan National Commission for Women (JNCW). The evaluation will explicitly answer the questions stated below. The evaluation will highlight, to the extent possible, demographic differences, e.g. sex, age, geography, socioeconomic status, and others as deemed relevant. EVALUATION QUESTIONS Effectiveness: 1. Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol activity, specifically whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality, and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment. a. Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so which ones; why, and why not? b. How has JNCW’s capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol’s support and why? c. What impact did Takamol have on raising gender-issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? 2. Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission portfolio? Why, or why not? In what ways can they be improved? 3. What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance, and how? Sustainability: 4. Which interventions under Takamol, in case any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? a. Specifically assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? b. What needs to be done for interventions and results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? 5. To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender-support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5?1 Learning: 6. Based on the performance of Takamol to date, both in terms of effectiveness and sustainability, what are some key lessons learned, by component and sub-activities, that can inform the remainder of the activity? 1 Question 5 was revised by the Mission to eliminate the service provision element. GENDER IN THE JORDANIAN CONTEXT This section describes the backdrop against which Takamol was designed and implemented. In the last two decades, Jordan has made significant commitments to the achievement of gender equality, and has witnessed some progress in enhancing women’s status. Gender gaps between men and women were reduced on several levels including education, health, and political participation. The Jordan Human Development Report, issued on February 4, 2016, showed significant improvements in gender disparities. As the result of political leadership, and the work of national and international organizations, several gender-related legislative changes and amendments took place concerning under￾age marriage, divorce, quotas in elections, and domestic violence, among other issues.2 However, gaps still remain in ensuring equal economic and social opportunities for women. According to the 2016 Gender Gap Index Report from the World Economic Forum, Jordan ranks 138 out of 144 countries worldwide on economic participation.3 While women are more represented in higher education, female unemployment stands at 46 percent compared to 23 percent for men. Furthermore, a concerning phenomenon related to conservatism and male youth has recently begun to emerge. A study from the Brookings institute in 2014 whose findings were echoed by interviews in this study, notes that a woman living in a household with her father or grandfather as head of household is more likely to be permitted to work outside the home than is the case of a woman living with her husband or brother as household head.4 Gender-based violence also remains an important issue. As revealed in the Demographic Health Survey 20125, there is a 30% prevalence rate in physical violence and a 9% prevalence rate of sexual violence in Jordan. PROJECT BACKGROUND Against this backdrop, this section describes the Activity background, including the purpose of its design, implementing partners, key components of the project and its development hypothesis, as well as key findings around the evolution of Takamol’s implementation model. The Takamol Gender Program was designed as an overarching program to support USAID/Jordan’s Special Development Objective (SDO) #4: Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Enhanced. Under this DO, USAID Takamol aims to: promote changes in discriminatory social norms and practices, enhance advocacy and policy reforms, and expand access to women and girl-centered services. Activities are implemented under three main components as illustrated below. However, activities under 2Jordan Human Development Report 2015, issued on February 4, 2016. 3Global Gender Gap Report, 2016, World Economic Forum, 4 Mayyada Abu Jaber, Lifting the Barriers for Economic Progress of Women in Jordan, Brookings Institution, September 2014 5 Department of Statistics [Jordan] and ICF International. 2013. Jordan Population and Family Health Survey 2012. Calverton, Maryland, USA: Department of Statistics and ICF International. Figure 1: Global Gender Gap Report 2016, World Economic Forum component three, related to expanding access to women-and girls-centered services, have not been implemented thus far based on the Mission’s decision not to move forward in this area at this time. Implementation was through a consortium led by International Research Exchange (IREX). Key partners supporting implementation of the project at the start, included: Al Jidara, focusing on a range of activities, Aya Consultancy, providing strategic advice and implementing government capacity and policy reform activities, as well as the International Center for Research on Women, supporting research consortium and related activities. Table 1: Takamol Components6 Component 1: Expanding Social Dialogue on Gender Equality 1.1 Increase awareness and outreach on gender equality and female empowerment 1.2 Integrate gender-sensitive messages in implementing partner events/materials 1.3 Facilitate dialogue Sessions with JNCW Component 2: Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment 2.1 Build capacity of GOJ and NGOs to strengthen mainstreaming of gender-equity principles 2.2 Strengthen capacity of USAID and implementing partners for gender mainstreaming 2.3 Support advocacy efforts for policy and legislative reforms 2.4 Conduct in-depth research and build capacity for research Component 3: Improve Women and Girl Centered Services 3.1 Provide improved services through projects under other DOs and fund opportunity targets Development Hypothesis7 According to Takamol’s Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (AMEP), the development hypothesis of this activity asserts that “as positive changes in discriminatory social norms and practices are promoted, and advocacy and policy reforms for women’s issues are strengthened, female empowerment and gender equality will be enhanced. Combined with efforts to improve gender-responsive services across USAID/Jordan’s portfolio, such actions will support the overarching strategic goal of promoting equal opportunity for women and improving their prosperity. Changes to reduce and eliminate discriminatory social norms and practices will be promoted as a result of social dialogue and community outreach supported by digital campaigns and intensive social media networking activities that raise awareness and influence attitudes. Furthermore, targeted advocacy efforts by CSOs and a strengthened JNCW will lead to laws and implementation of those laws that better reflect gender equity principles. Building the capacity of the GoJ in gender mainstreaming will also support this reform and will result in better enforcement of laws and regulations promoting gender equity. 6 These components were extracted from Takamol’s quarterly and annual reports, though the component under which certain activities were placed did shift from year to year in these reports. 7 Takamol Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, 2015. Lastly, by proactively identifying areas of need related to women- and girl-centered services, making recommendations for planned and ongoing USAID programs, and providing technical assistance to further their objectives, USAID Takamol will improve access to and use of these services as well as enhance the sense of self-efficacy among beneficiaries8. Takamol’s theory of change posits that by consolidating and disseminating resources, research, and learning on gender mainstreaming, USAID, its implementing partners, and other key stakeholders in Jordan will be better equipped to effectively incorporate gender into their programs and activities which will, in turn, lead to more equitable outcomes in the economic status, community and civic participation, and decision-making authority of women.” For the full results framework, see Annex VI. For a summary description of major Takamol activities, see Annex VII. Evolution of Takamol’s Implementation Model During Year 1, Takamol noted constraints related to turnover of key staff, including the chief of party, and challenges with a subcontractor. As a result, Takamol reported some setbacks and delays. Particularly under Component 1 (Social Dialogue), Takamol highlighted that defining the design and target groups to meet expectations and fulfill the vision of USAID was an initial challenge, noting the importance of establishing a balance between smaller, local community-based activities vis-à-vis larger national campaigns. Over the first two and a half years of implementation, Takamol implemented a wide range of activities. Under Component 1, Takamol began by engaging in numerous activities that gained little traction because they were largely disconnected ("hit and miss," according to one qualitative respondent) and did not stimulate the level of social dialogue it had targeted (Takamol Year 2 Work Plan). Takamol acknowledged this challenge (Takamol Year 2 Annual Report) and highlighted the need to focus on initiatives that involved continued engagement and beneficiary buy-in. According to Takamol, a key lesson learned at this time was the need to deepen and incentivize engagement with individuals, organizations, and society in general in gender activities. A hallmark activity that continued from year one, however, was the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence campaign, which spurred the creation of Takamol’s “Faces of Takamol” Facebook page, as well as other online and offline activities that evolved each year. In Year 2 and 3, online engagement, art forms, and activities that incentivized engagement gained in prominence. Community street art became an important new activity and one that engaged communities, particularly young people. Street art was utilized as means of depicting gender issues around various topics such as economics, political engagement, and gender-based violence, among others. Slam Poetry was also continued as a way to increase social dialogue around gender issues. Faces of Takamol also increased its reach, featuring personal stories, and in Year 3, the “Amend Your Proverb” activity was created for the 16 Days of Activism Campaign. Souk Takamol, a type of platform/marketplace to mobilize CSOs as community leaders, evolved out of a need to engage more at the community level. According to Takamol’s Implementation Model of Activity (2014-2017), initial meetings held with CSOs, along with the “Morning Talks” with women in the communities and organized sports and gender activities, guided Takamol to start Souk Takamol. In addition to being a marketplace, Souk Takamol became a platform for raising awareness about gender issues, engaging 8 The services component was not part of the base-period of the project; it was included in the award as a placeholder, should the Mission identify gaps across its portfolio in Jordan that it may wish to pursue under the Takamol activity. community members in social dialogue on gender, and identifying areas where support could be garnered for advocacy. Under component two, Takamol’s focus on policy and advocacy issues during the first two years of implementation included plotting gender gaps within governmental ministries and institutions and assessing existing policies on gender, organization, staffing, and indicators.9 Several series of trainings were also held, including Women’s Leadership training, Gender Audit Teams, and Gender Focal Points, among others. Work to strengthen JNCW’s capacity continued throughout each year, and efforts to introduce new gender sensitive criteria and indicators for the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence in Government Performance were ultimately adopted in 2017. Designated as a key partner/sub-contractor in Takamol’s original design and cooperative agreement, Aya Consultancy, was expected to lead gender mainstreaming in public entities and strengthen enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment10. However, the partnership did not meet expectations and was terminated in Year 3 by Takamol11. Key informant interviews (KIIs) revealed several core issues leading to the failed partnership, including poor communication between Takamol and Aya and lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities, both of which led to an early dissolution of the partnership. EVALUATION METHODS AND LIMITATIONS This section describes the overall methodology that was used to answer the evaluation questions. The evaluation used a mixed-methods approach to generate a robust body of evaluation data. The methods included an extensive review and analysis of secondary data, qualitative interviews, as well as a quantitative phone survey.12 Figure 2: Evaluation Timeline and Process Overview The evaluation work plan was officially approved by USAID on February 6, 2017 and the evaluation design report on March 8, 2017. Primary data collection for the qualitative study began on February 28, with the quantitative study beginning on April 2. Quantitative data collection was conducted by Mindset, a local data collection firm and subcontractor to MSI. As the quantitative study was requested by USAID after the initial evaluation design was completed, quantitative data collection began when the vast majority of qualitative interviews were already completed. Following this schedule, quantitative data analysis, including post-coding of open-ended responses, was only completed on April 13, immediately 9 Takamol Sustainability Plan during Year 4 and 5 of Takamol and Beyond 10 Takamol Implementation Model of Activity (2014-2017) 11 Takamol Annual Report Year 1 April 30, 2014, p. 23 12 Initially, the evaluation primarily focused on qualitative methods, but at the request of USAID, a quantitative survey was also included to gather data from a broad range of stakeholders. Secondary Data Review February 5-19 Data Collection Qualitative: Feb 28- March 28 Quantitative: April 2-13 Data Analysis March 29- April 30 Initial Findings & Conclusions USAID: April 18 Takamol: April 19 USAID Front Office: April 26 Co￾generation of Recs April 25 prior to the presentation of initial findings. This report incorporates the full analysis of all data streams as discussed in more detail below. In addition to the typical data collection and analysis process, the evaluation team presented initial findings to USAID, Takamol, and the USAID front office to gather additional insights and feedback on the initial findings prior to the final report. Furthermore, as a way to strengthen collaboration, learning, and adaption, the evaluation team, MSI technical specialists, and USAID collaboratively developed an initial set of actionable recommendations to inform the final report. DATA COLLECTION METHODS Secondary Data Sources The implementing partner provided the evaluation team with a full array of project documentation, including reports, work plans, activity deliverables, a sustainability plan, and other documents relevant to the activity. The evaluation team supplemented these documents with external gender-related resources, including key USAID documents, Government of Jordan policy documents, and gender assessments conducted by USAID and other entities, among others. A full list of activity documents reviewed is annexed to this document. Primary Data Collection Primary data collection was conducted through both qualitative and quantitative studies that included a wide range of stakeholders and beneficiaries involved in or familiar with Takamol activities, as well as other stakeholders, such as USAID Implementing Partners (IPs) relevant to evaluation Question 2. Quantitative Methodology: The purpose of the quantitative survey was to gauge stakeholder perspectives regarding effectiveness of Takamol activities and the relative effectiveness of different approaches, perspectives on the likelihood of sustainability of different Takamol interventions, Takamol’s credibility among stakeholders sampled, and identify key lessons learned. Data collection was conducted through a phone survey instrument developed in collaboration with MSI technical specialists, the evaluation team leader, and was reviewed by Mindset, a local data collection firm responsible for implementing the phone survey. The instrument contained a mix of closed and open-ended questions related to the evaluation questions, and integrated skip logic to streamline the implementation of the survey. Prompts were provided for some questions to limit the amount of interpretation of activity categories included in questions. Closed-ended questions utilized a four-point rating scale. Open ended-questions were post-coded after data collection concluded. To reduce the variation in respondent understanding of certain activity categories, prompts were provided before category-specific questions. All questions were shared in advance with USAID as well as Takamol staff to ensure the relevancy and appropriateness of the questions. Mindset recruited and trained experienced data collectors on March 27, with support from MSI technical specialists to ensure a full understanding of phone survey protocols, ethical considerations, and survey questions. Mindset translated all questions into Arabic, with quality assurance support provided by MSI technical specialists for the translation. A pre-test of the instrument was conducted on March 30. To ensure openness and comfort with the survey, each phone survey began with an introduction to the purpose of the survey, assurances about the confidentiality of responses, and explanation that respondents could end the survey at any time. In order to ensure the highest response rate, five attempts were made to reach individuals selected for the survey. The duration of each survey was 30 minutes on average. During data collection, Mindset set up a live dashboard to facilitate viewing and monitoring the data collection progress. Additional data quality assurance procedures included: daily and weekly meetings to discuss progress, identify and address challenges; call monitoring by an experienced supervisor (supervisors attended at least one call per enumerator per day); and 20% of respondents were called back to verify data from randomly selected questions or follow-up on any inconsistencies. In all research activities, Mindset adheres to the ICC/ESOMAR International Code on Market and Social Research standards. Qualitative Methodology: The qualitative aspect of this study used KIIs, small group interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs). The evaluation team convened FGDs with youth cohorts, young professionals, grantees, women networks, and gender audit teams, given the emphasis of these categories of people in Takamol’s programming. To capture any differences in opinion and perception across geographic areas, the evaluation team collected qualitative data in the three key areas of activity implementation: Amman, Irbid, and Karak. The team coordinated field visits with Takamol. For each type of interview, a set list of questions was developed for each stakeholder. Interview questions designed to respond to specific evaluation questions were adapted to the specific type of stakeholder and their involvement with Takamol. Where appropriate and needed, the team asked additional follow-up questions to clarify respondents’ answers or to probe deeper into specific issues. The team of interviewers took notes during interviews. Key informant interviews, group interviews, and focus group discussions were recorded when permitted and permission was granted. The interview recordings were used to check the accuracy of notes and in most cases were transcribed. The team conducted interviews and FGDs in the language preferred by respondents, either Arabic or English. Sampling: Under both the qualitative and quantitative samples, a balance between stakeholders and beneficiaries from Intermediate Result 1 and Intermediate Result 2 activities was sought. Qualitative sampling also included gender experts and USAID respondents familiar with Takamol who could provide insight related to the wider gender context in Jordan and specific evaluation questions. The quantitative survey utilized a non-probability sampling census (i.e. the total population of beneficiaries/stakeholders of Takamol, categorized based by implementation approaches; Intermediate Results and component categories). A total population of key Takamol beneficiaries / stakeholders was compiled based on contact lists provided by Takamol from their data base and categorized by component and type of beneficiaries / stakeholders. Once the sample was consolidated, it was grouped by broader implementation approach (IRs), and then by corresponding beneficiary sub-categories. Margins of error and integral difference were calculated for the sample on broader level group category and sub categories ensuring a minimum sample size is achieved.13 As outlined in the table below, a few stakeholder groups were sampled by both the quantitative and qualitative studies. Namely, these included: Youth Leaders and Networks, Souk Takamol Grantees, and Gender Focal Points, Women Leaders Network and Gender Professionals. 13 Overall, five working steps were incorporated in the sampling strategy of the quantitative survey: 1) Select the target population (Takamol Data Base), 2) Select the accessible population (consolidation and cleaning), 3) State the eligibility criteria (those who have participated in a Takamol activity and are not Takamol Employees/representatives), 4) Outline the sampling plan, and 5) recruit the sample (Mindset). Table 2: Stakeholder Sampling Intermediate Results Stakeholder Group Sampled14 Method IR 1: Social Dialogue on Gender Equality Expanded Youth Leaders & Networks FGD, Quantitative Survey Slam Poetry Participants FGD, Quantitative Survey National Women Leaders Network FGD, Quantitative Survey Women Leaders & Networks FGD Souk Takamol Grantees FGD, Quantitative Survey Fellows Quantitative Survey Gender Professionals KII, Quantitative Survey IR 2: Advocacy and Policy Reforms Enhanced JNCW KII GoJ: Ministers, Department Heads KII, Group Interviews GoJ: Gender Focal Points KII, Quantitative Survey GoJ: Gender Audit Team FGD, Quantitative Survey Female Founders & Funders Quantitative Survey Women Lawyers KII, Quantitative Survey Research Consortium Members KII IR 1, IR 2 and IR 4 Experts & Consultants15 KII, Quantitative Survey Takamol staff and partners (AYA, Al Jidara) KII USAID Implementing Partners KII, Group Interviews USAID staff KII In total, the evaluation reached 143 individuals through qualitative interviews/FGDs and 223 out of a potential 465 individuals through the quantitative survey. A summary of individuals reached by each data collection method is summarized below: Table 3: Sampling by Data Collection Method KIIs Group Interviews FGDs Surveys 29 Females; 5 Males 11 Groups 20 Females; 4 Males 11 FGDs 65 Females; 20 Males 223 Telephone Interviews 34 Individuals 24 Individuals 85 Individuals 223 Individuals The quantitative study achieved a 48% response rate, with a 16% refusal rate overall. Due to response rates, a higher percentage of respondents under IR 14 Some of the gender professionals and research consortium members were also associated with universities. Experts and consultants reached through the quantitative survey differ from gender professionals interviewed in the qualitative survey. 15 Experts and consultants reached through the quantitative survey differ from Gender Professionals interviewed in the qualitative survey. Table 4: Quantitative Sampling by Intermediate Result Component Category Type Target Sample Size Completed Surveys % of Respondents IR 1: Social Dialogue on Gender Equity Expanded Takamol Youth Leaders Network 126 79 35% National Women Leaders Network 98 54 24% Souk Takamol 1&2 Grantees 50 29 13% Fellows 26 10 4.5% Takamol Slam Poetry 16 8 4% IR 2: Advocacy and Policy Reforms Enhanced Gender Audit team 36 23 10% Gender Focal Point – Civil Service 46 17 8% Female Founders & Funders 20 1 0.4% Women Lawyers 25 1 0.4% IR 1, IR 2 and IR 4 Experts & Consultants 11 1 0.4% Grand Total 454 223 DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURES Data analysis began with a review of key activity documents and other secondary data. The team used a document review matrix, organized by evaluation key questions, to analyze secondary data. During qualitative interviews and FGDs, the evaluation team took handwritten notes and recorded the sessions with the permission of participants. The team then typed the handwritten notes and transcribed most of the recordings, which enabled coding and tallying data for analysis. The team tiered the data by first-, second-, and third-level coding. The evaluation team used content analysis and comparisons to analyze interview notes. Data were then triangulated with relevant secondary data to ensure the validity of the findings. Furthermore, data were also compared and analyzed with consideration to the quantitative findings. For the quantitative survey, responses were automatically tallied and graphically analyzed using an online dashboard. Once response data were cleaned and open-ended responses coded, further analysis was conducted. Additional analysis included: cross-tabulation of responses by category of respondent utilizing SPSS, content analysis of themes emerging form open-ended questions, and comparison with qualitative study findings. DATA STORAGE AND TRANSFER Hard copies of all secondary and qualitative interview data were stored in MSI offices in Amman. Soft copies were stored on the MSI (MESP) shared drive, and/or on an evaluation team-specific Dropbox. Both online file-sharing mechanisms were password protected and only available to relevant MSI staff and the evaluation team. Quantitative data was collected and stored on secure servers managed by Mindset, the local data collection firm. After the quantitative survey concluded, raw data was transferred to MSI and the evaluation team and stored on MSI’s secure servers. All data are available for transfer to USAID/Jordan upon request or at the completion of MESP. STUDY LIMITATIONS Sampling Strategies: Each method within this study sought a broad representation of stakeholders. Respondents sampled under both quantitative and qualitative methods were direct beneficiaries or stakeholders of Takamol, and should not be equated with perceptions of the general population. This may present a limitation in evaluating the effectiveness of social media and social dialogue effectiveness, as respondents were not always the target audience. Additionally, there was limited overlap between the qualitative and quantitative studies in the types of stakeholders sampled, which may have contributed to differences in findings from each method. Findings from the quantitative and qualitative studies should be analyzed according to the specific stakeholder groups they represent. Quantitative: While the telephone survey presented an opportunity to gauge the opinions and perceptions of a larger number of Takamol stakeholders, limitations exist. These limitations include: ● Potential bias as some types of individuals are more likely to answer the phone and respond to telephone surveys than others. ● Closed-ended questions limit the level of insight into certain areas, particularly with regard to understanding why a respondent answered in a certain way. Not every question included a follow-up, open-ended question. ● Response rates: o Short data collection period (11 days) may have limited the number of responses gathered. o Wrong numbers or no answers were more predominant in certain categories of respondents, particularly women lawyers. Higher response rates were achieved for certain stakeholders, such as Takamol Youth Leaders and National Women’s Leadership Network (both engaged through IR 1 activities). As a result, these groups and more generally IR 1 stakeholders, may be more represented in this aspect of the study. Qualitative: Qualitative interviews allowed the evaluation team to dig deeper into perceptions, and generally, most individuals seemed to feel comfortable expressing their opinions. However, the extent to which all individuals openly expressed all their opinions may have varied. Additionally, while every effort was made to interview all relevant key stakeholders, a few individuals and groups who may have provided further insight into Takamol’s effectiveness were not able to be reached. ● At JNCW, the group interview included the Secretary General who should be aware of the effectiveness of Takamol’s policy support, but an individual who worked closely with Takamol on policy support who could have provided more details was not present. ● Due to a change in leadership at the Ministry of Public Service and Development (MoPSD), the former Minister who had the most experience with Takamol around the Women’s Leadership Training (a prominent training) declined to be interviewed. ● The Women’s Union refused to be interviewed because they have a policy against working with foreign governments. ● Youth network members in Amman cancelled a scheduled FGD due to conflicts in their schedules, and it was not possible to reconvene. As a result, FGDs for youth network members were held in Irbid and al-Karak only. Areas for further study: An interesting finding from secondary reference documents16 notes that a woman living in a household with her father or grandfather as head of household is more likely to be permitted to work outside the home than is a woman living with her husband or brother as household head. This finding is consistent with respondents in KIIs, who noted that younger men have become more conservative and less permissive with women of the household. Deep analysis of this phenomenon is beyond the scope of this evaluation; however, this research could support Takamol to stay abreast of gender dynamics affecting its work as it has possible bearing on women’s level of economic participation. FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This evaluation focuses on themes of overall effectiveness (addressed in the first three evaluation questions); synergy; sustainability; credibility and lessons learned across five evaluation questions. EVALUATION QUESTION 1 - EFFECTIVENESS Findings – Evaluation Question 1 – Effectiveness Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol’s Activity specifically whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality; and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment. Question (1.a): Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so which ones; why, and why not? Evaluation Question 1 consists of three parts: a, b, and c. The evaluation treated each part as a separate question, however, all were inquiries about the effectiveness of Takamol’s interventions. The approach to answering evaluation Question 1.a used comparative analysis to learn which approaches were more successful (effective) than others in meeting objectives. The analysis is based on findings from close examination of all activity progress reports cross referenced with data collected from KIIs and from the quantitative survey. The findings are also separated by more effective and less effective activities under each component, followed by approaches that were cross-cutting. Component 1: Expanding Social Dialogue on Gender Equality More Effective Finding: Takamol expanded social dialogue on gender equality Findings on the effectiveness of specific types of interventions varied between quantitative and qualitative respondents, though social dialogue activities emerged as a common area of effectiveness. Takamol supported numerous activities 16 Mayyada Abu Jaber, Lifting the Barriers for Economic Progress of Women in Jordan, Brookings Institution, 9/2014. 58%of Takamol’s target population reported increased agreement that males and females should have equal access to social, economic, and political opportunities. (Takamol Quarterly Report, July-Sep 2016) to expand social dialogue on gender equality such as through Faces of Takamol’s Facebook17 page, Slam Poetry performances, media productions and community-focused projects like Souk Takamol small grants initiatives.18 Overall, Takamol reported over 2 million instances of engagement in online social dialogue and 9,857 participants in social dialogue sessions to promote gender equality and awareness as of September 30, 2016.19 Takamol also contributed to the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign in communities through a variety of activities and on-line. In particular, Faces of Takamol dialogue on GBV showed a substantial number of postings during the campaigns. During the 2015 campaign, the Faces of Takamol page recorded 70,020 likes out of a total of 138,016 likes across all Facebook platforms bringing the attention to the issue of GBV to a large number of people. During the 2016 campaign Takamol conducted a separate campaign from JNCW (discussed below), and focused its online efforts through “Amend Your Proverb” posts and videos on both Faces of Takamol and its own Takamol Facebook Page. Across both years, the Faces of Takamol page proved to be an effective platform, contributing to over 50% of likes across all Facebook platforms in 2015; in 2016 Faces of Takamol posts garnered more likes and reach per post, and the most shares overall when compared to Takamol’s 17 Takamol reported more than 31,000 Jordanians were engaged in conversations on gender issues on their Facebook page initiative, Faces of Takamol. 18 Reported by Takamol in Quarterly Progress Reports from 2014 through 2016. 19 Takamol, Quarter 10 Report: USAID Takamol-Gender Program, 26-27. organizational Facebook page posts.20 The below table summarizes the 2014-2016 campaigns. Particularly between the 2015 and 2016 campaigns, the Faces of Takamol page increased its reached, with posts in 2016 outperforming in terms of reach the Activity Facebook per individual posts. Table 5: 16 Days of Activism Campaigns 20 Data between these two campaigns was not directly comparable due to changes in how the data was reported by Takamol. In 2015, data was reported specific to the timeframe of the two week campaign, whereas in 2016, data was reported according to specific posts or across the three months Q1 FY2017. 21 Source: Takamol Social Media and M&E reports for 16 Days Campaigns. Existence of posts verified with snapshots of each post. The evaluation team did not have access to the administration portal to independently verify data for online reach. 2014 2015 2016 Primary Partner(s) Local network of partners JNCW, UN Women (including Dutch Embassy in Jordan, Network for Combating Violence Against Women) Souk Takamol Grantees (CBOs) Online Activities Social media posts of Jordanian women entrepreneurs (17 posts), Social dialogue debate, media stories Social media posts through Facebook, notably “Faces of Takamol” page (19 posts, 16 stories) Amend Your Proverb social media posts (77 total), videos (Facebook, YouTube), launch of Tashbeek online platform, photos and posts of ongoing social dialogue activities Online Reach21 Faces of Takamol Posts: 14,645 likes, 482 shares, 657 comments (total) Facebook Posts: 1,233 likes, 26,587 people reached, 43 shares; 34,000 Twitter impressions 138,016 Facebook likes (70,020 on Faces of Takamol) reported overall during campaign Amend your Proverb Posts: 17 Faces of Takamol, 60 Takamol Facebook Facebook Pages: 15,171 Likes, 2,404,178 people reached, 624,161 views, 19,046 shares Other sharing platforms: YouTube, Twitter Offline Activities 16 Human-scale posters of stories from Faces of Takamol, 3 Awareness raising theatre performances, Mural Launch of Souk Takamol, Slam Poetry, Women in Sports Campaign Launch, Second Forum for Jordanian Women, Murals, Children’s Play, Youth Awareness workshops, YouTube campaign, 137 billboards Souk Takamol Grantee activities, Slam Poetry, Youth Network member support, Women’s Leadership Network “Boot Camp” training Offline Reach 416 (405 at theatre performances, 11 Mural participants) Approximately 1,400 (based on data reported in Takamol reports) 2,299 (290 through slam poetry, 2,270 through souk Takamol grantees) Figure 3: Quantitative Findings – Most and Least Effective Activities and Approaches As figure 3 above illustrates, quantitative respondents rated training, community reach, and social dialogue as most effective.22 Open-ended responses revealed that respondents felt these activities were effective because they raised greater gender awareness, engaged communities and enabled dialogue both within communities as well as between activity participants, and because the topics themselves were important for society. Related to social dialogue and aspects of community reach, qualitative respondents generally echoed quantitative findings. Across multiple categories of respondents, social dialogue activities were more often highlighted as effective. Multiple categories of respondents stated that Takamol raised gender awareness, particularly around the election process, and helped bring gender issues to the forefront nationally. Furthermore, Takamol was seen to be effective at bringing people to the table, able to facilitate dialogue around taboo subjects that were previously not able to be discussed. It is important to note beyond effective aspects, qualitative and quantitative (within open-ended responses) respondents also mentioning less effective aspects of Takamol activities as well. These less effective aspects are discussed further below. 22 In the quantitative phone survey, prompts were provided to describe what is meant by each category. The assessment team’s understanding of “social dialogue” was that it encompassed any communication activity involving social partners that intended to influence the development of social related issues. Social media is understood as a broad term that encompasses social dialogue and is generally regarded as a vehicle for communication. The definition of social media is generally accepted as the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. On the other hand, social networking, also referred to as “social dialogue”, is a social structure comprised of people who are joined by common interests. Training Community Reach Social Dialogue Policy Reform Advocacy Unsure/ Do not know/ Cannot recall Social Media Other No Response 8% 7% 8% 9% 14% 36% 10% 3% 5% 24% 22% 21% 14% 9% 5% 2% 1% 0% Participants were asked to identify Takamol'sleast and most effective activities or approaches. Activities that were identified as most effective included training, community reach, and social dialogue. Activities identified as least effective included advocacy and social media, though 40 percent of participants were either unsure or did not respond. Of those who responded to the survey, 82% were exposed to at least two activities (52% had participated in four or more activities). The youth leader network respondents constitute the largest respondent category in the survey at 35%, followed by the Women’s Leaders Network at 24%. The type of Takamol activities the respondents were exposed to fell largely under trainings, and Souk Takamol (grantees). Gender Audit team and Gender Focal Points, for example, comprised 18 percent of survey respondents whose participation in Takamol activities was mostly through trainings. Finding: Slam Poetry, Faces of Takamol and 16 Days Campaigns against gender violence were seen as most effective, but messaging risked being misunderstood in some interventions. Specific activities often mentioned by respondents as more effective included Slam Poetry (more so by youth respondents), Faces of Takamol, and 16 Days Campaigns Against Gender Violence. JNCW lauded Takamol by saying, “Takamol has done excellent work with outreach, communication approach messaging reaching local [communities] and youth.” Related to the Faces of Takamol, one IP stated, “People like it, and people read it.” Overall, social media and social dialogue were seen to convey appropriate messages. However, some respondents, (two gender experts; FGD Karak women’s network) identified some messages that risked being misunderstood. One expert noted that Takamol had not always “gotten the gender messages right,” and at times social media images conveyed wrong impressions. Takamol demonstrated a detailed message testing process for messages utilized during the 16 Days Campaign, but the same process did not appear to be employed for other activities where social messaging was developed. Finding: Takamol successfully integrated youth into activities. Youth (boys and girls), and men are important demographics to increase effectiveness of gender activities in Jordan (secondary data, USAID, multiple categories of qualitative respondents), and Takamol integrated these demographics into their activities. Several community-based activities attracted youth, and Takamol identified some of the participants as “community-based champions and partners.” Takamol went on to facilitate the formation of a Youth Network in an attempt to widen the engagement of this important demographic. Men and boys were also brought into gender dialogue through Souk Takamol, Proverbs and Slam Poetry, as well as other activities. While involved, respondents in KIIs noted that more focus on engaging men and boys would strengthen Takamol’s efforts to expand social dialogue on gender equality (3 of 5 KIIs gender experts; 4 of 5 FGDs grantees). Less Effective From the quantitative survey, findings around which activities were least effective were mixed, with the largest percent of respondents (35 percent indicating they did not know or were unsure which activity was least effective. No one activity stood out to respondents as the least effective. (Only 5 percent of respondents to the question around “most effective” activities responded “I don’t know” or “Unsure.”) Finding: Small-scale disconnected social dialogue activities were perceived as less effective and less sustainable. During the first two years, several activities deemed less successful by Takamol were phased out, including: “Morning Talks,” and gender and sports activities. Takamol Chat, an initiative that gathered youth in two different geographic locations over video conferencing to discuss gender-related topics within the context of their own communities, was also discontinued because it did not provide long-term engagement with community members. According to Takamol, the value of the Takamol Chat dialogues was that they provided insight into community specific gender issues, but there was no mechanism to support implementation of the ideas that came from the Chats which created tension among the youth participants.23 In terms of reach, these activities were limited, drawing Souk Takamol 23 As noted in Implementation Model of Activity (2014-2017) “Takamol has done excellent work with outreach, communication approach messaging reaching local [communities] and youth.” –JNCW group interview evolved to meet that gap, engaging between 10-40 individuals at a time. Additionally, the topics and content varied between being participant driven (Morning Talks, Men’s Talks) or determined in part or full by Takamol (Takamol Chat). From reports and interviews, the content connection between other activities and campaigns was unclear. While Takamol viewed this as a period of experimentation, from qualitative interviews the overall fluctuation and experimentation of activities had an impact on perceptions of Takamol as an Activity. From the perspective of gender professionals and research consortium members, Takamol is engaged in many activities with starts and stops. There was a perceived lack of continuity and cohesion across activities. Component 2: Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment More Effective Finding: Women’s Leadership Training seen as successful by participants, but their workplace environment remains largely disempowering. One of the more successful trainings noted in qualitative interviews, in the eyes of the participants, was the Women’s Leadership training. Takamol worked alongside MoPSD and financed the Women’s Leadership 100-hour training program for civil service women. This was a high profile training to build skills and management knowledge to help women civil service employees advance in their careers, and was administered through the MoPSD. According to Takamol and USAID, the Ministry took the decision to control and manage the training program to have ownership by the GoJ. Takamol noted to the evaluation team that it was not able to maintain quality control over the training, numbers reached remain low compared to the number of women in government overall,, and some women who were targeted were about to retire thus limiting the effectiveness of the training. However, Takamol continues to report the success of the training in their Performance Reports to USAID and training implementation by MoPSD is included in Takamol’s sustainability plan. Despite concerns over the quality of the training material and targeting, FDG training participants viewed the Women’s Leadership Training very positively. According to participants, the sessions were useful, new knowledge was gained, and participants felt empowered both during and to some extent after the training. According to the FGD, trainees no longer felt alone in dealing with issues of gender discrimination and disparities in their Departments and Ministries; the training was a good networking opportunity. After the training, several positive changes were noted: one trainee was viewed differently in their offices because of the training, another was able to conduct an annual performance review which she could not before, and another highlighted how it improved her personal ability to tackle and deal with issues that arise. However, the FGD participants also noted that not enough time was devoted to many of the subjects, such as gender, and there were varying levels of knowledge of certain topics. Additionally, while participants may have personally benefited from the training, it did not change the environment in which they work. According to one participant, her boss frequently made sarcastic comments that she was now, “empowered.” Others noted jealousy or fear that a participant would be promoted over those that did not attend, with many emphasizing the continued prominence of “wasta,” the use of connections, to obtain promotions. Finding: Changes in King Abdullah II Award criteria has begun to effect wider change. Takamol supported King Abdullah II Center to revise the criteria for the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence in Government Performance and Transparency to include gender-sensitive criteria and indicators, as well as improve the Government 2 Customer form and Mystery Shopper form to strengthen gender equity in the work place. The recommended changes were reviewed by the Center’s Board of Directors and adopted on February 20, 2017 (Takamol KII, Gender Audit FGD). As a result, one Gender Audit FGD participant noted that this requirement gave them cause to request gender technical support through their Minister. Another FGD participant noted that her manager was more receptive to integrating gender into strategy development because it was mandatory for the award. Cross-Cutting Approaches Finding: Training opportunities were valued, but were not always adequately tailored to participant needs. Takamol trainings were generally received with enthusiasm, as respondents/trainees saw them as opportunities to acquire new information and improve their skills. Training was rated as most effective by quantitative respondents, with 82% of quantitative respondents who were familiar with trainings thought they were either very successful or somewhat successful. Comments about the quality of Takamol trainings from qualitative interviews ranged from very good to poor (FGDs and KIIs). A recurring complaint from respondents related to the level of training not being appropriate for the knowledge or skill levels of the participants. As a result, trainings did not always meet expectations. As an example, some participants in the Gender Audit Team FGD noted that the first part of a training on gender concepts “was very boring,” because they already knew the material, whereas half of the participants did not understand statistics, which also limited the amount of learning in the second half of the training. According to one participant, “There has to be a separation according to levels. There has to be a pre-form [pre-test] for the attendants in order to know their level.” Echoing this sentiment, Women’s Network FGDs highlighted that not all sessions of the large Women’s Network boot camp training at the Dead Sea were useful for women, as some were more knowledgeable than others on certain topics. One youth who participated in the National Youth Leaders Network boot camp training, also commented that the level of training content did not meet their needs; they expected it to be more advanced. While Takamol conducts pre/post tests to measure changes in knowledge, no evidence of a detailed training needs assessment to assess trainee levels prior to training design was found by the evaluation team. Along these same lines, Women and Youth Network FGDs focused on issues related to training topics, adaptation of training to the backgrounds of participants, and training methods. This sentiment was particularly related to the large scale Youth Network and Women’s Network boot camp trainings. Women’s Network FGDs felt topics such as social media tools were more appropriate to youth than to women, and that training dialogues and themes did not always resonate with women. For example, the Women Leaders Network training was seen to focus too heavily on CSOs with agricultural or other production/small business goals. A head of an assembly, for example, had little relation to cheese production, a topic of dialogue. Youth who attended their network’s boot camp training did not feel participant backgrounds were taken into consideration, particularly for Youth from al-Karak. Youth also did not like the aspect of training that pushed them to raise funds for project ideas on the street/in the community during the training as it made some, particularly girls, feel uncomfortable. For another type of training, a member of the research consortium was disappointed with the content of the training they participated in; she expected it would “dig-in more about specialized gender trainers, give more details about gender, and legal concepts.” Finding: Trainer quality varied and limited training effectiveness in some cases. The quality and skills of Takamol trainers were rated from excellent to very poor, according to KIIs and FGDs with trainees and institutions overseeing trainings. Primarily, training critiques focused on communication style, trainer attitudes, and training approach (lecture vs. participatory approaches).24 A FGD with a women’s network in Karak noted that they were not encouraged to speak. The youth network FGDs 24 Some issues were specific to certain trainers, such as attitude, perceived subject-matter knowledge of the trainer, and language related to foreign trainers and trainings conducted in English. were the most critical about the quality of Takamol’s Youth Network boot camp training. Youth in Irbid and Karak felt their skills were not capitalized on. They felt their views were not listened to or considered valuable. A participatory approach to training was preferred over lecture styles. Similarly, two female FGD participants in the Women’s Economic Empowerment Conference said “we had only 5 minutes to participate or ask a question at the Women’s Empowerment Conference. The major part of time was for lecturers. “This [FGD] is the first time we speak freely in this session.” Trainers were more often lauded when the training was practical and there was a high level of clear communication between the training and participants. This type of positive exchange was highlighted, for example, during a qualitative research skills training for a research consortium. “It was very beneficial because there was a high level of communication and the language was simple between the training and the participants, whereas the previous training’s language was too sophisticated and in a foreign language.” (Gender Professional) Gender training and support to IPs was also less successful. Takamol reported challenges in providing support in terms of advocacy and gender training on female empowerment for USAID IPs because most (7 of 11 IPs) did not avail themselves of gender training offered by Takamol. From the IP perspective, IPs noted that Takamol’s mandate was not clear, and awareness of training opportunities from Takamol was minimal. (See evaluation Question 4 - Synergy for further discussion.) Finding: Inconsistent communication and follow-up left stakeholders wanting more to maximize the effectiveness of activities. Respondents in several categories—IPs, research consortium members, partners, as well as grantees—noted Takamol inconsistently followed up on trainings, contests, capacity building efforts and conferences, which left stakeholders wanting more to maximize the effectiveness of activities. Focus groups with grantees outside of Amman who had participated in Souk Takamol reported disappointments about Takamol’s lack of follow￾up and difficulty in contacting them with questions and for instructions. Participants in the Women’s and Youth Network boot camp trainings in the Dead Sea also expressed dissatisfaction with Takamol’s lack of follow￾up. Focus Group participants noted that excitement and hope was built up among participants but after the conference was over they heard nothing further. Their comments included: “my relationship with Takamol ended after the conference because there was no communication”; another said “I expected more from Takamol, to have more follow-up and a smart way to deal with each other. I didn’t implement my initiative with Takamol because I was not well aware of the procedure.” Youth Network FGD participants agreed there was limited understanding around the post￾training plan, and no follow-up to trainings. One participant noted: “The presentations opened our minds to many things, but when we did the presentation and saw proposals for projects saying we would start in one month, nobody called us.” Quantitative respondents viewed follow-up differently, with 78% stating that follow-up occurred. The operational definition of follow-up for quantitative respondents is not known, however, as 82% of quantitative respondents were involved in two or more activities, there is potential that additional activities may have been perceived as a type of follow-up. It is clear from findings above, that qualitative respondents emphasized the need for deeper follow-up to support implementation of new skills or knowledge, communication on outcomes of past activities, and awareness of Takamol procedures. “The [Dead Sea] training was intensive, there is no way to ask or speak about anything. The trainer was talking quickly and treating women in a way not to speak; you are no one and I know everything.” Women’s Network FGD, Karak “When we invite [Takamol] they tell us they can’t come. [They] only ask for a list of names.” – Grantees FGD According to Takamol, follow-up is conducted via emails, phone calls and meetings with strategic partners; Whatsapp messages and Takamol Facebook pages are utilized to make announcements of ongoing activities; major reports are circulated among stakeholders and partners, and other materials developed through Takamol are posted on USAID’s knowledge sharing platform KaMP. According to a KII, the only evidence collected of structured in-person follow-up with grantees and other activity participants took place as part of M&E staff follow-up, as opposed to technical staff follow-up. Challenges in in-person follow-up noted by a KII, “If staff was available, we would go out to the field. If it is only a short activity, they [would] give only the registration [activity attendance sheets].”(Takamol KII in reference to grantees) Finding: Poor communication damaged some partnerships. When examining partnerships, 53 percent of quantitative respondents viewed Takamol partnerships as “very relevant” and 26 percent “somewhat relevant.” Along these same lines, a USAID KII positively noted how Takamol was able to bring people to the table. According to one Takamol KII, Takamol learned that beyond bringing people to the table, grantees, for example, needed to become partners and involved in other activities. However, qualitative findings revealed that challenges related to communication and follow-up described above damaged some relationships with existing and potential partners. Specifically, a potential grant recipient cited a lack of feedback on unsuccessful proposals. One Souk Takamol grantee noted that because of communication issues, they would not continue their partnership with Takamol. Additionally, a research consortium member perceived their ideas to be utilized by Takamol without sufficient acknowledgement of their efforts and the source of the project idea. Similarly, youth in FGDs expected follow-up around their projects developed during the Youth Network boot camp training, but said they knew nothing of what became of the projects they developed. While no evidence of implementation of Youth developed projects was evident, the lack of communication led youth to question whether their project ideas were taken by Takamol to implement without them. Furthermore, early communication and engagement between Takamol and MOPIC led to a perception and expectation within MOPIC that it would be a key partner for Takamol. However, poor communication with MoPIC following an invitation to partner with Takamol adversely affected the relationship. Other respondents highlighted the desire for greater partnership in the delivery of workshops and trainings. For example, some research consortium members were disappointed that their roles were more “cosmetic” than participatory. They were invited to conferences as guests rather than participants. (2 of 8 consortium members). “Takamol did not make clear to members the role of the research consortium and communication was very poor” (Research Consortium). Members felt they could have had a greater impact on strengthening advocacy for female empowerment had they been given a larger role. Similarly, Youth in FGDs in both Irbid and Karak, highlighted that they felt they had skills to contribute, but were not integrated into the design or delivery of trainings. Several IPs also noted their desire to more fully partner with Takamol in the design and delivery of gender trainings, but this did not materialize. Question 1.b) How has JNCW’s capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol’s support and why? To address Part b of Question 1, the team conducted interviews with JNCW management and staff to learn about the effectiveness of Takamol’s capacity building activities toward enhancing JNCW’s ability to pursue its mandate. The evaluation linked those findings with data extracted from activity documents and reports. This sub-question relates to effectiveness under Takamol Component 2, and is addressed in a similar fashion to Question 1.a, focusing on more and less effective activities. Background: JNCW was established in 1992 as a semi-government organization with support from the Jordanian royal family, specifically Her Royal Highness Princess Basma. JNCW struggled along with insufficient funding, low capacity and without consistent strong leadership—without specific direction and clear objectives. However, JNCW has recognition nationally and is known as a steward of women’s interests and gender rights in Jordan. JNCW’s mandate is to support the mainstreaming of gender equality in all policy areas. JNCW developed the National Strategy for Women in 1993. A key highlight of JNCW efforts was the ratification by Jordan of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Finding: USAID funding stipulations enabled JNCW to hire new staff and expand its operational capacity. Following USAID exerting its influence as a key donor and integrating funding for JNCW in USAID’s support to the government, JNCW received a substantial funding increase enabling them to hire additional staff and improve their operational capacity. As noted by JNCW’s secretary general, with newly hired staff JNCW is now better positioned to pursue their mandate on their own as a policy focused entity and decrease dependence on and association with foreign donors. The identification with foreign donors, US government in particular, became a growing issue for JNCW as it affected their credibility with some women’s organizations and other agencies. This concern was also mentioned by two gender professionals who noted that JNCW wanted to stand on their own and depend less on donors. The issue of USAID logo branding was mentioned by senior JNCW staff. At one point, JNCW requested a waiver regarding branding requirements, but they did not receive one. JNCW’s concern about branding and linkage to an international donor was confirmed in a KII with USAID staff. More effective Finding: Takamol’s support to JNCW strengthened JNCW’s capacity to an extent. Takamol provided support to JNCW on policy and policy change campaigns. Takamol acted as a “shadow agency” to JNCW on policy matters and assisted their advocacy efforts for gender equitable legal and regulatory reform.25 According to senior JNCW staff, Takamol’s efforts contributed to building their capacity, more so in the area of policy than in operations. As noted by one respondent, before Takamol JNCW was more like a committee than an institution. By September 30, 2016 (Y3 Q2), Takamol reported supporting 46 laws, policies or procedures. Notably, Takamol contributed to Jordan 2025 Strategy by supporting JNCW’s efforts on the Strategy and worked with JNCW to revise position papers on draft penal law and provided amendments to enhance it. In total, Takamol supported 65 policy papers, laws and procedures during the period covered by this evaluation, 9 of which have been adopted by JNCW to use for advocacy, and one (that was jointly worked on by Takamol and JNCW) of which was adopted by the government (Article 4: Jobs will be allocated to the spouses and children of military personnel who were injured in the line of duty).Takamol also contributed to JNCW’s capacity to archive and digitize the legacies and history of JNCW’s work. Takamol supported JNCW administratively related to strengthening its capacity to focus on and promote a wider array of policy and law amendments, and designed and disseminated a tool for JNCW staff to be able to assess and better understand gender concepts. Less effective Finding: JNCW was supported through trainings, but expected a JNCW-specific series of capacity building trainings. Staff participated in outside trainings by Takamol, but only one operational capacity building training on monitoring and evaluation was provided directly to JNCW, according to senior 25 USAID Takamol Implementation Model of Activity (2014-2017) JNCW staff. Despite this training, JNCW reported it still sees M&E as weak point in its institution. In particular, JNCW highlighted their need to establish their M&E system in coordination with MoPIC to avoid developing a parallel system, design measurement systems around social attitudes, and work on conducting baseline surveys. JNCW staff were invited and involved in Takamol trainings, such as through the Community of Practice; however, JNCW management expressed expectations for a series of capacity building trainings specifically tailored to JNCW’s operational and technical needs. While Takamol reported they were not requested to conduct such extensive trainings, JNCW was disappointed that the trainings were not more extensive. Finding: A lack of coordination and communication on annual plans resulted in missed opportunities. JNCW mentioned during a KII with senior staff that coordination with Takamol could be improved. “We used to share our broad goals with each other and we used to meet monthly. There needs to be more structure. We find out after the fact what the other is doing. We were supposed to work on a communication strategy but didn’t.” Takamol also did not follow-up with regular monthly meetings with JNCW. Communication fell off which led to gaps in knowing about various important events and activities. Takamol reported challenges in coordinating with JNCW, but these comments suggest that there were missed opportunities to build JNCW’s capacity in several areas. Finding: Limited involvement of JNCW in the Gender Audit Training was a lost opportunity to strengthen institutional accountability within GOJ. There were also issues noted with Takamol’s initiative for the Gender Audit program training. JNCW felt “side-lined” by the consultant who, noted a senior staff. According to the KII, the relationship was not positive, and the outcomes of the training could have been strengthened had JNCW been integrated with a focus on institutionalization. JNCW believed its role could have enhanced accountability in implementing gender audits and addressing audit findings, especially for Ministries who do not want to take responsibility for these changes. To Takamol’s credit, JNCW noted that Takamol is now making efforts to go back and work jointly with the government to further develop the role of gender audit trainees and gender focal points. Finding: Differences in campaign approaches between Takamol and JNCW limited synergy on the 16 Days Campaign. Takamol engaged in the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence” utilizing multiple means of communication and engagement to raise awareness country-wide about GBV. JNCW lauded Takamol’s work, but noted challenges with working on the campaign together. As noted in KII with senior JNCW staff, “We tried to work on campaigning together but it was difficult. Takamol had an approach and JNCW had an approach. It didn’t work out but even so we both had good campaigns.” Possibly related to this, Takamol reported that JNCW has recently begun to want to work more independently, and “stand on its own” on certain activities and issues. Question 1.c): What impact did Takamol have on raising gender issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? The evaluation extracted data to answer Question (1.c) from project activity reports, from KIIs and quantitative survey data. Finding: Takamol raised gender awareness nationally. Takamol engaged youth, women, men, communities, CSOs and government entities in a variety of large and small-scale activities to raise gender awareness. According to one gender professional, “Takamol put gender on the map in Jordan.” While measuring the degree of penetration of gender awareness messages was beyond the scope of the evaluation, the evaluation team found evidence in both quantitative and qualitative responses that Takamol raised gender issues nationally by publicizing previously taboo topics, thereby opening gender topics to wider discussion. According to quantitative respondents, the vast majority of respondents, 92%, perceived Takamol to be either somewhat or very effective in raising gender as a priority in Jordan. For qualitative respondents, the effectiveness of Takamol’s activities was linked to raising gender issues nationally. As highlighted in findings above, several social dialogue activities that engaged large number of people (e.g. 16 Days Campaign, Souk Takamol, Faces of Takamol) and contributed to raising gender as a national priority. Work with the government, particularly related to the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence, and to some extent Gender Audit/Focal Point training and MoPSD training also contributed to raising gender issues as a greater priority than before. Challenges remain, however, with qualitative respondents emphasizing the need to mainstream gender within the government, build capacity and engage parliament (especially women members of parliament), and focus on sustainability of Takamol’s media and outreach efforts. Conclusions- Evaluation Question 1 - Effectiveness Takamol expanded social dialogue on gender equality both on national and community levels and raised gender awareness nationally through social media and social dialogue activities. Both qualitative and quantitative respondents emphasized that social dialogue and community outreach activities were the most effective in expanding social dialogue and raising gender awareness nationally, according to respondent perceptions. While the level of penetration of gender awareness messaging was beyond the scope of the evaluation, specific activities mentioned by respondents as more effective, included: activities to raise gender awareness around elections, Slam Poetry, Faces of Takamol and the 16 Days Campaign. Part of the success of Takamol’s social dialogue activities appears to be in the type of actors it can bring to the table, as well as the size of events. Sustainability of these gains after Takamol closes, however, is in question and will rely on the strength and capacity of partners to continue carrying on these activities. Despite successes, social media messaging did not always achieve intended results. Within social media messaging, there is always a risk of social messages being misunderstood. Within the 16 days campaign, Takamol provided evidence of a detailed message testing method. However, this same method was not applied to all social messaging utilized by the Activity. There are opportunities for further learning on how, and the extent to which, the rigor and strategies applied to the 16 Days of Activism Campaign can be applied to Takamol activity-level campaigns Each year, the 16 Days Campaign is a prominent national campaign and Takamol intervention that combines both online and offline activities under a single thematic banner. Online reach is high, and offline (community-based) reach has grown across the three campaigns. Takamol implements other smaller campaigns throughout the year, focusing on various themes online, while working on similar or Very effective Somewhat effective Somewhat ineffective Not effective at all 49% 43% 6% 2% Figure 4: Quantitative Findings – How effective was Takamol in raising gender as a national priority? other themes offline. Current evidence highlights the 16 Days Campaign as one of the more effective social dialogue/media campaigns, but the rigor in developing the content and the approach appears does not appear to be applied for all campaigns. While the international and national nature of the 16 Days of Activism campaign may be a factor in its success, there are opportunities for further learning on how the strategies applied to the 16 Days Campaign can be applied to Takamol activity-level campaigns and other work, such as around elections, legislative reform, youth engagement, and others. The combination of USAID funding stipulations and Takamol technical assistance strengthened JNCW capacity to an extent. The influx of funding from the GoJ stemming from USAID stipulations, allowed JNCW to expand its operational capacity. Takamol’s technical assistance supported JNCW both technically and operationally. JNCW adopted several recommendations and analysis of existing laws from Takamol, providing JNCW with a stronger base for advocacy. While capacity was strengthened, JNCW noted the need for continued capacity buildings, such as a series of trainings specifically addressing JNCW needs. Policy and advocacy support utilizing internal government structures proved more effective and a promising avenue to further gender mainstreaming within the government. Gender professionals, JNCW key informants, and Gender Audit FGD all highlighted the importance of mainstreaming gender within the government. These qualitative respondents also emphasized the need to work within government structures to effectively bring about change. The King Abdullah II Award for Excellence emerged from the evaluation findings as an activity supported by Takamol that has already seen some effectiveness stemming from the fact that it is an internal government mechanism. From the Gender Audit FGD, two examples emerged of how participants were able to leverage the gender requirements now integrated within the Award to reach out for gender technical support, and integrate gender into strategic planning work. Takamol provided valuable training, but did not always adequately assess training needs and tailor trainings to participant knowledge levels, interests and backgrounds in many cases. Respondents viewed trainings as useful as they were opportunities to gain knowledge and skills. However, multiple categories of participants found that trainings were not tailored to participant knowledge levels. As a result, multiple categories of respondents found some training sessions to be basic, while others to be too advanced. Furthermore, findings from qualitative interviews emphasized their preference for practical over theoretical trainings, and participatory over lecture-based trainings. Inconsistent communication and follow-up left stakeholders wanting more to maximize the effectiveness of activities. Respondents in several categories—IPs, research consortium members, partners, as well as grantees— noted Takamol inconsistently followed up on trainings, contests, capacity building efforts and conferences, which left stakeholders wanting more to maximize the effectiveness of activities. EVALUATION QUESTION 2 – SYNERGY Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission portfolio? Why, or why not? In what ways can they be improved? To answer this question, the evaluation team relied on qualitative data from Mission and IP KIIs and group interviews, focusing identifying both on barriers as well as enablers to synergy. Findings: Evaluation Question 2 – Synergy One of the original hallmarks of the Takamol design was that it would “take the lead in donor coordination and… be responsible for getting the donor and implementing partners together for complementary work and sharing of experiences.”26 As the only gender-specific Activity of USAID and the main component of the Special Development Objective 4 (SDO4) Pillar, the expectation was for Takamol to be the go-to source for gender training for partners in the Portfolio as well as for USAID staff and beneficiaries of Takamol’s Activity. 26 Cooperative Agreement No. AID-278-A-14-00000, USAID/Jordan Gender Program, Attachment B- Project Description, 15. Recommendations – Evaluation Question 1 - Effectiveness 1. USAID and Takamol should continue social media and social dialogue interventions to raise gender awareness. To ensure and increase effectiveness across Takamol interventions, the same social message development rigor and focused combination of online and offline interventions, as applied to the 16 Days of Advocacy Campaign, should be applied to other thematic work and activity-level campaigns. USAID should also design future Activities with this in mind. 2. Based on the success of the King Abdullah II Award, Takamol should focus on and strategize with government counterparts on internal government mechanisms to incentivize and strengthen gender mainstreaming within the government of Jordan. 3. USAID and Takamol should continue to work to strengthen the capacity of JNCW. As the lead national entity mandated to support gender related work in Jordan, its capacity will have implications on overall effectiveness and sustainability of gender-related interventions in Jordan. 4. Takamol should consistently tailor training material to the needs and skill levels of the trainees. a. Takamol should conduct a needs assessment of the level of knowledge among participants before trainings, and tailor training and other capacity building efforts to these levels. Takamol should also gear their trainings toward practical implementation of theoretical concepts, and integrate more participatory methods to more effectively engage participants and support learning. 5. Takamol should prioritize communication and follow-up into all staff work plans to strengthen the effectiveness of capacity building activities as well as partnerships. Finding: A limited number of successful synergies were formed where Takamol had clear added￾value. Through qualitative interviews, respondents confirmed a limited number of successful synergies with USAID Activities in two DOs. More successful synergies included: NDI and ROLPAS under the DO 2 (Democracy, Rights, and Governance), as well as BEST, JCP and LENS (to some extent) under DO1 (Economic Development and Energy). Takamol management felt they had built synergies with the IPs who wanted it, and expressed an interest in developing more relationships partnerships in other sectors such as water, energy, health and civil society (Takamol COP KII). What seemed to direct efforts of synergy most were the common objectives of the implementers. For example, with NDI, according to both NDI and Takamol, NDI benefitted from Takamol’s gender expertise in their community initiatives to engage women and increase participation in the election process. ROLPAS had a similar view and lacking a designated gender specialist within their Activity used Takamol as their gender resource. Other elements supporting successful synergy highlighted by respondents centered on relationships between COPs, as well as the absence of gender expertise within an IP, which presented a need for Takamol’s expertise. Finding: USAID coordination did not meet expectations of Takamol or IPs. IPs, when asked about synergy within the USAID Portfolio expressed the view that direction should come from USAID about where gender fits into IP programs. There was also an expectation from Takamol, as well as from other IPs, that USAID would provide substantive coordination. Ultimately, the level of USAID coordination did not meet these expectations. Soon after launching Takamol, USAID held a meeting of IPs to introduce the new gender program, but after a few initial meetings Takamol was no longer invited to sector specific coordination meetings even though as one program officer noted, “Takamol is crosscutting”. From the perspective of USAID respondents, as a cross-cutting Activity, it was unclear the extent to which Takamol should be integrated across the DOs. For sector coordination meetings, the feeling was that if Takamol was invited to one, it would have to be invited to all, and this seemed untenable. According to Takamol, this lack of coordination also contributed to hesitation in developing partnerships with some local NGOs who were strategic partners of other IPs. Finding: Internal USAID constraints and challenges were barriers to synergy. Shedding further light on internal constraints and challenges within USAID are initial findings, conclusions and recommendations from the USAID SDO4 evaluation, which overlapped with the Takamol mid-term evaluation timeframe. The SDO4 evaluation highlighted the importance and uniqueness of the USAID/Jordan SDO4, noting it is only one of two USAID missions to have elevated gender to the DO level. In implementing this new approach, the SDO4 evaluation team found examples of synergy, but identified several critical challenges. First, there was no shared definition of synergy, what synergy may look like for different program and DO contexts, and lack of a clear overarching strategy for implementation. Secondly, While USAID encourages integrated programing in principle (particularly in strategic planning and in the form of collaboration, learning and adapting), many systems and processes (budgeting, reporting, and implementation) do not create an environment that encourages or requires USAID staff to work across technical sectors. This creates management challenges for any crosscutting development issue, whether it is a DO or addressed as a crosscutting issue.27 These management challenges included: a lack of clear roles and responsibilities, lack of clarity regarding the management and reporting structure, uncertainty about the extent to which gender is a priority for USAID/Jordan, SDO4 capacity (varied experiences of SDO4 team members, lack of dedicated gender 27 USAID (prepared by MSI), Special Development Objective 4 Performance Evaluation, Draft Report, March 2017, 12-13. As a cross-cutting Activity, it was unclear the extent to which Takamol should be integrated across the DOs. –USAID KII experts), and time devoted to SDO4 responsibilities by team members. Finding: Limited awareness of Takamol’s mandate and activities among stakeholders. At the IP level, the Takamol mid-term evaluation team learned from respondents that a number of actors were not aware of Takamol’s mandate, activities or approaches (4/11 IPs interviewed; 32/36 FGD participants; 1/8 research consortium institutions). One IP also noted that while they were aware of the initial mandate and activities, changes to the program plan and mandate were not well communicated. Other IPs echoed the lack of communication from Takamol. Several IPs unaware of Takamol’s activities, such as training for IPs, did express interest in attending trainings. USAID also seemed unaware that Takamol’s mandate was not well known by all IPs. Finding: Factors, such as unwillingness to participate in training, a lack of understanding of Takamol’s technical approaches, critiques around the quality of approaches, and level of partnership, were barriers to synergy. Some unwillingness to participate in Takamol activities also emerged through interviews. Some IPs felt they had their own gender specialists and agenda and did not need to work with Takamol, and others did not avail themselves for the gender training. Takamol staff expressed the view that IPs seemed protective about their work, and in general wanted to take credit for what they do and were therefore reluctant to share in activities initiated by Takamol. Some IPs, however, questioned Takamol’s understanding of gender, and wanted to know more about their approaches. In one video about caregivers released by Takamol, a concern for Takamol’s consideration of privacy was raised, and concerns over the integration of a rights-based approach in Souk Takamol was also raised. Souk Takamol was given as an example where Takamol did not show a good understanding of gender around that activity (gender professional 1/5; IP 1/11). One IP noted that they were unaware of Takamol’s understanding of gender stemming from staff turnover within Takamol and limited communication with IPs. Additionally, one IP, echoed by other non-IP actors, felt that Takamol did not see them as partners. Takamol would invite them to activities, but not ask them to participate in the design and delivery of activities. Their expertise was not capitalized on. Furthermore, several IPs were at times frustrated by the lack of communication, coordination, and follow-up from Takamol (4/11 IPs). Conclusions – Evaluation Question 2 – Synergy Some successful synergies were achieved under two USAID Development Objectives. This evaluation and the SDO4 performance evaluation highlighted a number of challenges and constraints, ranging from shared understanding of what synergy looks like for USAID, IPs and in different sector contexts, lack of overall synergy regarding gender within the USAID mission and across program platforms, USAID/Jordan management challenges, unclear roles and responsibilities with regard to integrating and managing gender integration (within USAID, between USAID and Takamol, and among IPs), communication, and coordination, among others. From qualitative interviews, however, there are clear opportunities to strengthen synergy. As evidenced by examples of successful collaboration with IPs, synergy was most prominent when there were clear areas of common interest, tangible collaboration opportunities and clear added-value for Takamol’s work. Such was the case with NDI and activities around women’s participation in the electoral process. In this and other successful examples, such as ROLPAS, there was a clear role for Takamol to play and Takamol provided added-value. The synergy in those cases resulted in dynamic outcomes that helped each IP achieve their objectives. USAID did not meet expectations of Takamol and IPs in its role as a coordinator, limiting greater opportunities for synergy. USAID has an important role to play in coordination between IPs. Direction was expected and should come from USAID about where gender fits into IP programs. Regular platforms, such as partner coordination meetings, are good avenues to capitalize on opportunities for coordination. Takamol was not consistently invited, and this was a lost opportunity. Opportunities for synergy were also limited by internal USAID lack of clarity around the definition, vision and strategy to achieve synergy. EVALUATION QUESTION 3 – EXTERNAL FACTORS What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance and how? To answer this question, the evaluation team integrated qualitative and secondary data, as well as findings from other evaluation questions. Findings: Evaluation Question 3 – External Factors Finding: Internal Takamol and USAID staff turnover slowed implementation in Year 1 and II. Staff turnover and management within Takamol and at USAID have also affected the project. As noted in the project description section, Year 1 staff turnover gave Takamol a slow start (KII Takamol). There were changes in the Chief of Party and Component Leads. Turnover and shifts in program management and AORs also occurred within the USAID mission resulting in inconsistent levels of coordination and oversight to Takamol’s activities. Finding: USAID coordination did not meet expectations, limiting opportunities for synergy with other IPs. As detailed above under evaluation Question 2, Takamol, as well as other IPs, expected USAID to provide substantive coordination, but this did not materialize. For one USAID respondent it was unclear the extent to which Takamol should be integrated across the DOs. For sector coordination meetings, the feeling from USAID was that if Takamol was invited to one, it would have to be invited to Recommendations – Evaluation Question 2 - Synergy 6. USAID should provide greater facilitation between Takamol and IPs by inviting them to coordination meetings, and ensure that Takamol’s mandate is well understood by IPs. 7. Takamol and USAID should pursue relationships with USAID IPs that have complementary areas of implementation, with the objective of maximizing both Takamol’s and the IP’s successes. The synergy developed around common goals and interests can result in dynamic results if there is open communication, clear roles and responsibilities are outlined, and Takamol can provide added value. a. Possibilities for greater synergy could include CIS, to strengthen CSO capacity, as well as NDI and ROLPAS to develop capacity building initiatives designed to educate and assist newly elected female members of parliament to increase their effectiveness and address barriers to women’s economic and political participation. 8. Takamol, supported by a more active coordination role from USAID, should deepen collaboration with IP gender specialists to strengthen its credibility for gender support among all stakeholders. Such collaboration could include jointly developing technical materials or jointly leading conferences or other activities. all, and this seemed untenable. According to Takamol, this lack of synergy also contributed to hesitation in developing partnerships with some local NGOs who were strategic partners of other IPs. Finding: Government of Jordan granting mechanisms interrupted grant implementation. Furthermore, Takamol also identified challenges related to Government of Jordan granting mechanisms. According to Takamol, despite attempts by USAID to facilitate an umbrella approval through MoPIC for all USAID Takamol grants, implementation through Souk Takamol grantees was interrupted several times by the Ministry of Social Development, requesting that grantees apply for approval through the specific Ministries with which grantees were registered. Finding: High government turnover and political will slows efforts around gender mainstreaming and other gender-related programming within the GoJ. Since the early 2000s, women in government institutions have become more visible, involved in mid and higher level meetings, and gained greater responsibilities (KII IP).28 However, internal support within government ministries remains a challenge to strengthening advocacy and policy for female empowerment. Ministers change frequently; one official may be supportive of gender issues and facilitate advancements for women, the successor may be opposed and undo the previous gains. Women trained in the Women’s Leadership Program also highlighted a gap in gender awareness and understanding among their superiors. While the women’s leadership program was a positive experience, the working environment was not always a conducive environment for trainees to put their gender training into practice. Finding: Low capacity of women in parliament is a barrier to greater legislative change. Related to Takamol’s efforts under Component 2 and activities geared toward increasing women’s political participation, a range of qualitative study respondents cited limited capacity of women in legislative roles, and the need for capacity building for women lawyers and new female MPs (IPs, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Arab Women’s League Network). Getting women elected is the first step, but respondents state more is needed to enable women, especially those without previous training, to be more effective in their roles (IP KII). According to one respondent, “The political leadership in Jordan is supportive, people and civil society organizations are doing their best, but the problem lies in this category that is located between the top and the base.” (Experts Committee) Finding: local and regional factors present challenges to all IPs. External factors and challenges include the society-wide economic situation which has affected all projects, including Takamol. According to the ILO, “the labor market effects of the Syrian refugee crisis on Jordan range from a fall in average wage levels, lower employment opportunities and harsh working conditions, to rising child labor and an expansion of the informal labor market.”29 Qualitative study respondents echoed this reality, and expressed concern that the influx of refugees may also contribute to a rise in gender based violence. Furthermore, respondents across several categories stated that regional insecurity and poverty are often prioritized over gender concerns (2 resource consortiums, FGD, Grantees). Conclusions: Evaluation Question 3 – External Factors High leadership turn-over and limited gender awareness within government ministries causes set￾backs in gender advancement. Incoming officials may be less gender aware and may not support the work of Takamol, and integration of gender issues into strategic planning, budgeting, and other areas of government. The environment 28 Previously, women in the Ministry of Justice, for example, were the clerks, but now more women judges and lawyers work in the judiciary system. The number of female applicants at universities and law schools are also significantly more than male applicants (KII IP). 29 “ILO Response to Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan,” International Labor Organization, accessed 5.16.2017. that civil servants trained by Takamol return to is also often discouraging, which limits the extent to which a female civil servant can implement knowledge gained in trainings. Lack of coordination from USAID and limited synergy across the USAID portfolio limited some potential partnerships. Limited synergy across the Mission portfolio limited the ability of Takamol to form some partnerships and effectively support IPs as envisioned by Takamol’s design. Coordination from USAID did not meet expectations of Takamol and IPs. Local and regional security and economic situation affects gender as a priority. Growing regional insecurity, growing refugee populations, unemployment, and competition for jobs likely had an impact on women’s economic participation, and the extent to which gender is seen as a priority. Low capacity of newly elected female Members of Parliament limits the effectiveness of women’s political participation and presents an opportunity for Takamol to strengthen its legislative support. Qualitative respondents across multiple categories highlighted the limited capacity of incoming female Members of Parliament. Strengthening their capacity within parliament is an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of Takamol and JNCW’s legislative support. Legislation is also a great opportunity to more sustainably address women’s economic and political participation barriers. EVALUATION QUESTION 4 – SUSTAINABILITY Which interventions under Takamol, in case any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? a. Specifically assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? b. What needs to be done for interventions and results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? To answer this question, the evaluation team primarily focused on sub-questions a and b around Takamol’s approach, as the focus and quality of the approach can provide the greatest insight into which interventions can be expected to sustain over time. Therefore, the likelihood of sustainability will be assessed on Takamol’s approach and capacity of key actors to carry on activities. In line with ADS 201, the evaluation team views sustainability as, “the ability of a local system to produce desired outcomes over time. Programs contribute to sustainability when they strengthen the system’s ability to produce valued results and to be both resilient and adaptive in the face of changing Recommendations: Evaluation Question 3 – External Factors 9. Takamol should expand gender awareness raising efforts within government ministries to target supervisors of trainees and higher ranking officials, to the extent possible. circumstances.”30 From this lens, sustainability of results such as social dialogue around gender issues and continued advocacy and enforcement of women’s empowerment, stems from the ability of key actors to continue the work Takamol has started. To further help frame findings and draw conclusions, the evaluation team has utilized a sustainability framework outlined in the 2011 USAID Project Design Guidelines. Key elements within this definition include local ownership and demand; skills, capacity and effectiveness of local institutions and stakeholders; financing; and conflict, security and crises.31 Overarching questions used to analyze the likelihood of sustainability include: Did Takamol effectively support local ownership and demand? Did Takamol effectively build the capacity of key institutions to maintain activities and sustain activity outcomes? Table 5 further details key questions under each element relevant to Takamol. Notably, when asked about sustainability, quantitative and qualitative respondents mentioned many of the elements below and other sub-elements embedded in these concepts, adding validity to this framework. Table 6: Sustainability Framework32 Element Key Considerations Local ownership and demand Is there demonstrable local demand and ownership, where a broad segment of the community acknowledges that to ensure women’s empowerment efforts continue after Takamol ends they must assume a stake in ensuring that social dialogue, enforcement and advocacy for women’s empowerment continue? Are there local partners that can act as champions to continue enhancing women’s empowerment and gender equity into the future? Local institutional effectiveness: skills and capacity (government, civil society, private sector) How will USAID Takamol work to build up the skills and capacity of local stakeholders whose involvement will be critical for maintaining and expanding gender awareness, mainstreaming, and other gains after the Activity ends? How can USAID Takamol nurture effective institutions – governmental, civil society, and private sector – to analyze, implement, evaluate and learn from activities related to women’s empowerment and gender equity? Financing How will USAID Takamol ensure that relevant activities or services are gradually tied to sustainable financing models, either through private-sector participation or through sustainable, publicly-managed arrangements and government processes? Conflict, Crises, Security How can USAID Takamol enhance resilience of communities to potential negative effects of conflict, crises and security on women’s empowerment and gender equity? Findings: Evaluation Question 4 – Sustainability a. Specifically assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? 30 USAID ADS 201, revised 5-17-2017, 156. 31 Sub-categories drawn from 32 Adapted from USAID, Project Design Guidance, 2011. b. What needs to be done for interventions and results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? Finding: Takamol has developed a sustainability plan with important elements, but remains broad, capturing most activities. In the first two years of implementation, Takamol experimented and implemented a wide variety of activities, some of which were intentionally short-lived. In looking at life beyond the project, Takamol developed its approach to sustainability in Year 3 with a plan aiming to “achieve the highest level of positive engagement (on and offline) at the community, national and policy making levels.”33 Overall, the sustainability plan includes most major activities currently implemented by Takamol, and includes aspects such as local ownership and demand, as well as skills and capacity of local institutions. The plan focuses on key “legacy tools” such as a Slam Poetry manual, Souk Takamol manual, training manuals, and others, as well as a range of strategic partners at the community, government, and USAID levels identified to continue carrying out relevant Takamol activities. Capacity building is also cross-cutting feature, primarily focusing on continued training on key topics (campaign design and implementation, gender training, research training, and others) for current and strategic stakeholders through the end of the project. Additionally, Takamol highlights the Gender Community of Practice as a key forum for USAID to maintain in order to continue gender focused capacity building efforts after the Takamol concludes. Finding: Scale, effectiveness and cross-cutting approaches to programming are perceived to influence sustainability. In looking at the likelihood of sustainability, quantitative respondents provided broadly positive views of the sustainability of Takamol’s efforts, with 46% of respondents viewing Takamol’s efforts as very sustainable. Respondents conveyed a wide range of reasons behind their perceptions, the greatest proportion, 25%, citing the effectiveness of Takamol objectives, activities, and messages as the reason for perceived sustainability. Other themes important for assessing Takamol’s approach to sustainability mentioned by respondents in either a positive or negative light, included: clear goals and strategies, financing, reach of activities (online and offline), community trust and local partnerships, relationships, subject matter and trainer expertise, and follow-up. Quantitative respondents also mentioned reach (across all governorates) as a factor related to their views on the likelihood of sustainability.34 Figure 5: Quantitative Findings - Likelihood of Sustainability of Takamol’s Interventions Finding: More is needed at the government, policy, civil society and Takamol activity levels to strengthen the likelihood of sustainability. Through qualitative interviews, effectiveness, particularly around expanding social dialogue, also emerged as an important link to sustainability. Takamol is widely 33 USAID Takamol, Sustainability Plan during Year 4 and 5 of USAID Takamol and Beyond,” 1. 34 Determining the exact level of penetration of social messages and gender awareness into society, however, was beyond the scope of this evaluation. Very sustainable Somewhat sustainable Somewhat unsustainable Not sustainable at all Don’t know regarded as a project that put gender on the table and opened up topics that were previously not addressed or even discussed, including gender-based violence. However, to sustain Takamol’s efforts, qualitative respondents widely agree more is needed at the government, policy, civil society and the Takamol Activity levels. Qualitative respondents also highlighted the importance of many of the same themes related to Takamol’s approaches mentioned by quantitative respondents, namely: clear goals, funding, partnerships and relationships, training and capacity building quality, and the need for follow-up. A gender professional stressed that advocacy must be conducted in a more organized way, and advocacy efforts must be intensified to become more sustainable. One IP echoed this sentiment and stressed that gender messages must penetrate into society to have sustainability. Takamol Approaches to Sustainability In assessing sustainability, the evaluation team analyzed findings according to the major elements and related sub-questions within the sustainability framework. Institutional Effectiveness and Enabling Legal Environment through Legislation and Policy Support Finding: Adoption and passage of policies and laws proved to be opportunities for sustainability. At the policy and legislative level, JNCW and gender professionals emphasized women’s economic and legal empowerment as key areas to help sustain gender empowerment. Through work with JNCW thus far, Takamol’s annual reports demonstrate it has provided policy papers, analysis and commentary on numerous laws through a gender lens. To further support legislative changes beyond Takamol, multiple categories of qualitative respondents highlighted the need to build the capacity of new female members of parliament. On the policy side, a major challenge cited by multiple qualitative respondents is how to push the government to do its work in the area and mainstream gender throughout the government (JNCW, Gender professional). Finding: Changes in King Abdullah II Award criteria has begun to effect wider change; work within government structures seen as an opportunity for effectiveness and sustainability. As noted above under evaluation Question 1, the high turnover in Ministry leadership was noted as a threat to sustainability. As a way to strengthen sustainability, Gender Audit FGD participants highlighted the need to work within government structures and resources as there is sensitivity and hesitation around relying on external actors for support. One successful application of gender mainstreaming was attributed to work with the King Abdullah II Award (KAA). Changes supported through this award were viewed as more effective and sustainable as the KAA is a government requirement for Ministries. Local Ownership and Demand Finding: Strategic partners vary in their limitations and capacity. Strategic partners – government institutions (JNCW, MoPSD), networks (Youth, Women, Gender Focal Point), local CSOs – currently serve as a primary method in Takamol’s sustainability plan to ensure social dialogue and advocacy continues after the Takamol concludes. Respondents suggested a variety of national/local organizations “Advocacy without support and structures gets nowhere. Advocacy alone is not sustainable.” -KII to assume Takamol’s work in relevant areas, however there are limitations. Grantees demonstrated pride in their work and plan to continue their activities beyond Takamol support, but several also noted their desire for greater capacity building opportunities to improve their work. Respondents in multiple categories highlighted limitations around local CSO capacity, activity implementation quality, monitoring and evaluation, funding, and overall effectiveness of CSO activities. One grantee noted that some local associations do not understand their role in civil society. Youth who worked within CSOs and one gender professional also raised questions whether some organizations were engaging in activities just to receive funding. Within government institutions, JNCW sees itself as a natural focal entity for gender and work with the government, but it still struggles to situate itself as the main “go-to” institution for civil society and other actors. As noted under evaluation Question 1, JNCW had hoped for a series of trainings to strengthen its overall capacity to fulfil its mandate. To better support sustainability, JNCW also highlighted the need to have a sustainability plan to guide its efforts. Furthermore, respondents also highlighted the need to target parliamentarians, emphasizing the need for a change in mindset and gender training (Gender Expert, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs). Table 7: Key Takamol Strategic Partners and Activities35 Key Strategic Partner Activities Expected to Sustain Associated Takamol “Legacy Tool” Pool of Slam Poets (envisioned to grow into a CSO) Slam Poetry36 Slam Poetry Manual USAID/USAID IPs Souk Takamol approach Gender Community of Practice (USAID) Souk Takamol Manual TOT Gender Training Manual CSOs Souk Takamol Facebook Page Tashbeek online networking platform Advocacy (in conjunction with JNCW) Souk Takamol Facebook Page, Tashbeek Online Platform Youth and Women’s Networks (envisioned to grow into national CSOs; individuals are also envisioned to become champions) Small-scale gender related projects, local and national advocacy Social media networks (Whatsapp) None- Access given to online networking platforms MoPSD Women’s Leadership Training None- recommends to establish a review board for training selection and materials Gender Audit Teams/ Gender Focal Points Gender Audits, Gender Mainstreaming and support for Ministries, KAA amended criteria Gender Audit Teams Toolkit JNCW Gender Focal Points Network, Advocacy, Public Awareness Campaigns Toolkits: social message development, communications, social media networking Research Consortium Policy Papers, research studies, establishment of university gender units Research Toolkit TBD (Takamol plans to organize a workshop to sensitize and determine interest of potential strategic partners) Digital Social Dialogue Tools: Tashbeek online platform, Faces of Takamol Al Urdon Manuals on their use 35 This table represents a high level summary of Takamol’s sustainability plan. 36 Since the sustainability plan was developed, Slam Poetry was reportedly ended as an activity. Capacity Building Finding: Capacity building efforts and follow-up have fallen short in enabling many strategic partners to implement new skills and knowledge. In line with the sustainability framework, capacity building is a cross-cutting feature of the sustainability plan, focusing primarily on training during the project. Some qualitative respondents stated that trainings were the most likely elements of Takamol to have sustainable results (FGD Gender Focal Points); others (research consortium, 2/8) noted that research could support sustainable results. Some trainees from the Research Consortium, for example, have already begun to apply their learning by thinking about their work through a gender lens. Other respondents cited the need for greater support. As noted under evaluation Question 1, respondents highlighted the need to tailor training to participant knowledge levels to a greater degree and consider the method of training (participatory over lecture style) that is most effective to enable participants to put their trainings into practice. According to a Gender Audit Focus Group discussion, the training they received was useful, but has not been enough to carry out their responsibilities on their own. To overcome this challenge, the respondents recommended other mechanisms to continue capacity building support, such as a training-of-trainers model to serve as an on-going internal resource for civil servants after Takamol concludes. Qualitative respondents also felt that post-training follow-up from Takamol was critical for learning and sustainability but largely absent. For example, Youth and Women Leaders Networks boot camp trainings (Dead Sea trainings), had expected follow-up to help encourage and implement their new knowledge and project ideas developed during the workshop. Furthermore, while the importance of capacity building was highlighted by most respondent categories, one gender professional emphasized that training is not enough; there needs to be a focus on changing mindsets. Finding: CSO capacity to take on envisioned roles is unclear. With regard to CSO capacity building, Takamol reports document some engagement in trainings with CSOs and Networks and that Takamol envisions these networks to become national level CSOs (Takamol Sustainability Plan). However, according to secondary and primary data sources, capacity building has focused on the implementation of specific activities related to gender. Capacity building has not focused on organizational capacity to effectively and efficiently carry out activities or sustain a CSO. Some coordination with CIS, a USAID civil society capacity building project, was noted in relation to Souk Takamol grantees, whereby CSOs supported by CIS were supported through Souk Takamol. However, no capacity building support for Youth and Women’s Networks have yet begun, beyond the initial boot-camp trainings. This element of CSO capacity building was not a focus of the evaluation, and deeper analysis of existing CSO capacity or the capacity of Networks envisioned to become CSOs should be the focus of future studies. Financing Finding: Financing considerations and activity costing models for strategic partners is lacking. As mentioned above, funding and financial support is mentioned by both qualitative and quantitative respondents in relation to the likelihood of sustainability. The element of financial and human resources, particularly around a strategic partner’s ability to fund activities they are expected to carry forward, is not touched upon in the sustainability plan. Core activity costing models were not mentioned in the sustainability plan. “Follow-up and training trainers will result in sustainability.”- Grantee Conflict, crisis, security External factors such as conflict, crisis, and security, and how to support the resilience of strategic partners who may be more affected by local and regional dynamics was not addressed in the sustainability plan. For more information regarding current external factors affecting the Takamol implementation, see evaluation Question 3. Conclusions: Evaluation Question 4 – Sustainability Analysis as to why certain activities should and can be sustained is not evident. Takamol is widely regarded as a project that put gender on the table and opened up topics that were previously not addressed or even discussed. Currently, Takamol’s sustainability plan and approach focuses on sustaining the current impact of most major activities to achieve the highest level of positive engagement at multiple levels within Jordan. Each activity to be sustained includes a list of actions to be taken by Takamol, but the analysis and criteria behind the decision on which activities should be sustained and the vision for sustainability for each activity is not detailed. Current strategic partnerships have capacity limitations that affect the likelihood of sustainability. Local ownership and demand as well as capacity of key stakeholders are essential elements of sustainability, and the importance placed on them within the sustainability framework utilized by the evaluation team was also echoed by respondents and Takamol. Takamol has taken a good initial step by identifying key strategic partners and several “legacy tools” to support these actors and others to continue social dialogue, policy and advocacy activities after Takamol concludes. However, the likelihood of sustainability is greater for those activities where the strategic partner has greater organizational or institutional capacity. Findings highlight that greater capacity building is needed by the primary strategic partners in order to sustain activities. Some partners have demonstrated some level of adoption (Research Consortium, Gender Audit Teams) of activities envisioned for sustainability. This may indicate that activities associated with these strategic partners may be more sustainable than others. However, while each partner has appreciated training opportunities, respondents highlight more is needed to improve the effectiveness of trainings, including post-training mentoring and coaching. Particularly for government institutions, the likelihood of sustainability is also influenced by where support comes from (internal or external government sources) and mechanisms to reinforce and enable utilization of skills gained (e.g. King Abdullah II Award). For CSOs, some may already be high functioning and others may be supported by other organizations such as USAID CIS. Youth and Women’s Networks which are envisioned to potentially become CSOs, however, have not received any organizational capacity building support and it cannot be assumed that networks have the leadership, skills and fundraising capacity to become a CSO at this time and carry on the work of Takamol as envisioned. Based on current evidence, the likelihood of sustainability is lower for activities associated with Youth and Women’s Network. However, greater analysis on current CSO and Youth and Women’s Network capacities is needed. Financing and the cost of another entity to implement Takamol’s activities has not been considered within the sustainability plan. All activities have associated costs, human or financial, but the analysis and cost model associated with activities envisioned to be sustained have not been considered in the sustainability plan. While important for all strategic partners, particularly for CSOs, cost is a critical factor that can undermine sustainability. EVALUATION QUESTION 5 - CREDIBILITY To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5? The focus of this evaluation question shifted to examining to what extent Takamol has established credibility on the ground to be respected as a source as a gender “change agent” or thought leader. This was originally intended to address Takamol’s perceived credibility to take on the provisioning of services for gender based violence survivors. However, that element, component 3, was eliminated and the question revised by the Mission to now focus on Takamol’s overall credibility to address sensitive gender issues, particularly around policy formation. The evaluation approached answering this question by examining the level of Takamol’s credibility as perceived on the ground by key gender actors, including JNCW management, gender professionals, government staff, officials, members of the Experts Committee, Takamol’s partners Al Jidara and Aya, USAID implementing partners and USAID Mission staff. Findings: Evaluation Question 5 – Credibility Finding: Takamol has a high level of visibility and has developed credibility in certain areas, stemming from multiple sources. Respondents report Takamol has a high level of visibility and has developed credibility in certain areas, particularly around gender and social media, as well as its ability to facilitate dialogue around sensitive gender topics. Respondents also noted that credibility stemmed from individuals within Takamol, with two respondents tying credibility to the reputation of senior leadership who are Jordanians and well known in the field. According to JNCW, “People trust Takamol… People see the team as Jordanian, not as a foreign team. [It] makes people think that the development is closer to the Jordanian culture.” The credibility and trust in networks facilitated by Takamol (e.g. Youth Networks, Women’s Networks) were also seen to lend credibility to Takamol. One respondent also stated that credibility also stemmed from Takamol’s ability to bring relevant people to the table and to their events (USAID). For others, Takamol’s credibility stemmed from the perception that Takamol speaks about topics and implements activities, or “does what it says” (gender expert, gender professional), as well as the quality of its activities. Research consortium members (10/11) also noted that Takamol has gained sufficient credibility to address sensitive gender issues. At the grassroots level, one local CSO saw Takamol as credible due to its visibility and funding levels. Recommendations: Evaluation Question 4 – Sustainability 10. Takamol and USAID should conduct a sustainability analysis and update the action plan to focus and strategize the degree of sustainability envisioned for each activity. This analysis should particularly focus on strategic partner capacity assessments and cost analysis of implementing activities to inform and strengthen the likelihood of sustainability. 11. With an eye on achieving further sustainability, Takamol should continue to strategize and focus implementation on the most effective activities, such as social dialogue, integration of youth, Women’s Leadership training, and support to the KAA award, and focus on strengthening partnerships to continue these activities into the future. Finding: Takamol’s credibility with IPs is more limited. Some respondents had more mixed perceptions of credibility. IPs with good working relationships saw Takamol as a credible entity for gender support (3/11 IPs), while others either didn’t know (4/11) or had negative views (1/11). IPs with gender specialists were more likely to critique the technical side of Takamol’s gender work, and many IPs were unclear about Takamol’s mandate, which may have played into perceptions of credibility. Respondents perceive that Takamol’s work has value, however they fall short in consistently developing and maintaining good working relationships and partnerships. In some instances, these issues were linked with perceptions around Takamol’s credibility.37 Conclusions: Evaluation Question 5 – Credibility Takamol has established a high level of credibility concerning gender issues in certain areas, primarily social dialogue around sensitive gender topics. Credibility stemmed from the reputation of individuals within Takamol’s senior management team, visibility, and Takamol’s ability to bring together key stakeholders to events. Takamol has not developed the same level of credibility with every organization, particularly some IPs. EVALUATION QUESTION 6 – LEARNING Based on the performance of Takamol to date, both in terms of effectiveness and sustainability, what are some key lessons learned, by component and sub-activities, that can inform the remainder of the activity? To answer this question, lessons were extracted from previous evaluation questions, as well as all data sources within this evaluation. Lessons learned are divided by component, with the addition of cross￾cutting lessons learned. Findings: Evaluation Question 6 – Learning This question is overarching for all evaluation questions. Lessons learned from the evaluation are drawn from all key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Activity performance reports provided material from which to triangulate findings from the qualitative research methods. The Takamol Activity 37 This sentiment was echoed from other non-IP groups. Those who reported poor communication and follow-up from Takamol, especially around project ideas, also spoke about trust and relationship issues with Takamol. Recommendations: Evaluation Question 5 – Credibility ❖ Takamol, supported by a more active coordination role from USAID, should deepen collaboration with IP gender specialists to strengthen its credibility for gender support among all stakeholders. Such collaboration could include jointly developing technical materials or jointly leading conferences or other activities. (Evaluation Question 2 Recommendation) performance reports mention lessons learned infrequently. The quantitative survey did not address lessons learned. Component 1: Expanding Social Dialogue on Gender Equality Finding: Single, disconnected social dialogue activities are less effective. Focusing and limiting the variety and type of social dialogue activities implemented was an important lessons learned for Takamol in Years 1 and II of implementation. According to Takamol’s Year 1 and II Annual Reports, after discussions with USAID, Takamol assessed its on-going activities and based on lessons learned, “began shifting its focus away from single, disconnected activities and investing more heavily in initiatives that incentivize continued engagement and beneficiary buy-in.”38 Some examples of activities phased out include Takamol Chats and sports and gender. A greater focus was also placed on developing creative tools to engage youth. Supporting one aspect of this lesson learned, qualitative respondents in multiple categories often tied effectiveness of social dialogue activities to the scale and visibility of activities. Finding: Broadening the discussion through social dialogue about gender based violence has opened the door to discuss a previously taboo topic. This finding and lesson learned was noted by a representative of the Arab Network for Civic Education (ANHRE). Opening the discussion of sexual harassment may lead to more advocacy to introduce laws to address GBV. Further, by raising awareness about GBV and building knowledge may help get at the root causes of the behavior in Jordanian society. Takamol funded ANHRE to pursue research on this issue.39 Component 2: Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment Finding: Working within government structures can strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of gender mainstreaming and policy change. Evaluation findings from multiple qualitative respondent categories highlighted the importance of increasing the reach of gender mainstreaming within government entities. As reported by participants in the Women’s Leadership trainings, for example, many returned to an unwelcoming and disempowering environment, limiting their ability to implement new knowledge and skills. Working within government structures to support gender mainstreaming and implementation of new skills, such as Gender Auditing, was highlighted by gender professionals and the Gender Audit FGD as important to increase effectiveness and sustainability of interventions. A more successful example that emerged from evaluation findings was the example of the King Abdullah II Award. According to Gender Audit FGD participants, at least two participants were able to implement new skills because gender was integrated into the award criteria and ministries are required to participate. Finding: Partnership with IPs with shared goals, can enhance effectiveness. Takamol found that collaboration with other organizations on projects related to the elections was productive. For example, Takamol provided support to SIGI for their activities associated with their “Eye on Women in Elections” project which monitored the election process to ensure women’s participation. SIGI and Takamol discussed sharing their elections monitoring report with the Independent Elections Commission so that it might inform their gender strategy. 38 Takamol Year II Annual Report, 30 Sep 2016. 39 Takamol Quarterly Performance Report 9 July 2016 Cross-cutting Learning Finding: Effective communication and follow-up is linked to effectiveness and sustainability. Effective communication and follow-up was seen by multiple categories of respondents as critical to strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of activities and partnerships. Qualitative respondents highlighted this as an area for improvement related to: trainees’ ability to implement their new skills, awareness of Takamol’s mandate and activities by IPs and other stakeholders, as well as the quality of partnerships. Partnerships and the capacity of partners emerged from findings around sustainability. Takamol’s sustainability plan focuses on handover of activities and “legacy tools” to key strategic partners to enhance sustainability of Takamol’s activities. Findings under effectiveness, however, highlighted gaps in communication and follow-up that have affected some partnerships. Moreover, no evidence of a specific analysis of partner capacities (financial, human capacity, etc.) was found. Finding: Documentation of challenges and lessons learned can support effectiveness and learning. Challenges and on-going lessons learned were not well documented in Takamol quarterly and annual reports. Through interviews, many challenges were discussed outside of reports either internally or with the USAID AOR. The establishment of the Learning Lab is expected to enhance Takamol’s work and contribute to spreading gender information throughout the country and region. The Learning Lab is expected to improve knowledge sharing and collaboration with other USAID implementing partners. Conclusions: Evaluation Question 6 – Learning Well-strategized, focused and connected activities that incentivize continued engagement and buy-in can support greater effectiveness. This lesson was primarily highlighted by Takamol in relation to social dialogue activities. In Years I and II of implementation, social dialogue activities, such as Takamol Chat, were smaller scale and more disconnected from national campaigns. Likely stemming from Takamol’s shift to more connected activities designed to incentive engagement, Takamol is currently known for being able to bring people to the table and reach large numbers of people through its online and offline social dialogue activities. Greater focus on gender mainstreaming and establishing mechanisms to support gender mainstreaming within government structures can enhance effectiveness and sustainability. Evaluation findings from multiple qualitative respondent categories highlighted the importance of increasing the reach of gender mainstreaming within government entities. As reported by participants in the Women’s Leadership trainings, for example, many returned to an unwelcoming and disempowering environment, limiting their ability to implement new knowledge and skills. Working within government structures and mechanisms, such as the King Abdullah II Award, can serve as a way to overcome hesitancy of civil servants and government officials to work with non-governmental actors, and support greater gender mainstreaming. Clear communication and follow-up can strengthen effectiveness and sustainability. In line with findings from qualitative respondents across various categories, clear communication and follow-up is often lacking, but can be a way to strengthen learning and skills practice from capacity building activities, increase awareness of Takamol’s mandate and activities, strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders, and support sustainability. Recommendations: Evaluation Question – Learning ❖ Takamol should integrate prioritize communication and follow-up into all staff work plans to strengthen the effectiveness of capacity building activities as well as partnerships. (Evaluation Question 1 Recommendation) ❖ Takamol should focus on and strategize with government counterparts to establish internal government mechanisms to incentivize and strengthen gender mainstreaming within the government of Jordan. (Evaluation Question 1 Recommendation) ANNEXES ANNEX I: EVALUATION STATEMENT OF WORK USAID Takamol Mid-Term Performance Evaluation Statement of Work (SOW) INTRODUCTION USAID/Jordan requires an external mid-term performance evaluation of the USAID Takamol Activity, which is a five-year cooperative agreement with International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), with a total value of $13,800,000 covering the performance period of May 1, 2014 – April 30, 2019. I. BACKGROUND AND ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION In analyzing gender equality and female empowerment in Jordan, the dichotomies are stark: multi-degreed, well-traveled women of West Amman live side-by-side with women whose male relatives rarely allow them to leave home unaccompanied; the Constitution40 mandates equality for all citizens while other laws restrict women’s employment options; Jordan lifted its reservation to the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women on freedom of movement and residence but left male dominance on family matters; statistics show more women than men enrolled in university but under 15 percent participate in the workforce due to factors including unconducive workplaces, poor transportation options, and pressure to conform to the norm of the “good woman” who prioritizes home and family. Newer trends are also disturbing: younger men, although afforded a broader world view via the internet, replacing their fathers as even more conservative “guardians” of their sisters; one of Jordan’s two shelters for gender-based violence victims reported 913 beneficiaries in 2013, up from 299 in 2007; and educated women battling depression, unable to put their intellectual capital to work for lack of “suitable” opportunities. USAID Takamol was developed to try to overcome the challenges that impede female empowerment and gender equality in Jordan. The activity works with community members to raise awareness and promote attitude-shifting dialogue on gender equality while supporting partners in civil society and government to make specific improvements in conditions for women. This approach from both the demand and the supply sides is underpinned by the program’s role as a focal point for resources, research, and learning on gender mainstreaming serving USAID, its partners, and Jordan broadly. 40 The World Bank’s 2013 Country Gender Assessment: Economic Participation, Agency and Access to Justice in Jordan; the 2012 Woman and Man in Jordan: A Statistical Portrait, produced by the Jordanian Department of Statistics and KVINFO; and USAID 2012 Gender Assessment provide comprehensive compilations of data and analysis of gender trends in the law, economy, social life, and political participation. Details of the activity to be evaluated: Development Objective: USAID/Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Enhanced Activity Title: USAID – Takamol Award Number: AID-278-A-14-00001 Award Dates: May 1, 2014 –April 30, 2019 Funding: $13,800,000 Implementing Partner: International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) AOR: Talar Karakashian II. PURPOSE OF THE EVALUATION The purpose of this evaluation is to provide USAID with findings and strategic recommendations related to the effectiveness of the Activity’s interventions, mainly the social dialogue, capacity building of civil society and government entities and policy advocacy and research support. The evaluation results will help inform USAID’s implementation decisions for not only Year 4 and 5 of Takamol’s programming but also Takamol’s efforts in promoting long-term sustainable development through its partnerships and capacity building of local partners such as the Jordan National Commission for Women (JNCW). III. OBJECTIVES AND THEORY OF CHANGE USAID Takamol’s goal is to empower Jordanian women to engage more fully in their communities; improve media coverage of gender issues; strengthen legislation and develop more effective public services with monitored verification; and, support continuous, research-informed social dialogue on gender issues as they arise. Finally, JNCW, as USAID Takamol’s primary counterpart, will be able to work directly as a recipient with USAID, as it strives to fulfill its role to achieve the National Strategy for Women in Jordan, and to advance the status of Jordanian women across all social spectrums. Below are Takamol’s three main objectives; however, component three has not yet been implemented thus far. Component 1: Expanding Social Dialogue on Gender Equality 1.1 Increase awareness and outreach on gender equality and female empowerment 1.2 Integrate gender-sensitive messages in implementing partner events/materials 1.3 Facilitate Dialogue Sessions with JNCW Component 2: Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment 2.1 Build capacity of GOJ and NGOs to strengthen mainstreaming of gender￾equity principles 2.2 Strengthen capacity of USAID and implementing partners for gender mainstreaming 2.3 Support advocacy efforts for policy and legislative reforms 2.4 Conduct in-depth research and build capacity for research Component 3: Improve Women- and Girl-Centered Services 3.1 Provide improved services through projects under other DOs and fund opportunity targets ANNEX II: EVALUATION TEAM COMPOSITION Evaluation Team Members and Designated Tasks Judy A. Benjamin, PhD. Team Leader, will be responsible for team organization, scheduling, and primary liaison with the USAID Mission staff regarding technical aspects of the evaluation. She will have overall responsibility for the preparation and submission of the final report with substantial input from the other team members. The other team members will report to her on evaluation issues. Dr. Benjamin will take the lead in preparing the project schedule and work plan, and will work closely with the other team members to determine information requirements, develop key questions, conduct interviews, and gather other relevant information. She will also lead the team’s effort to prepare and deliver a presentation on the team’s response to the evaluation questions, as well as the findings, conclusions and recommendations for future action at the team’s final meeting with USAID/Jordan. Dr. Benjamin will also supervise the preparation of the final report, and will ensure the quality of its contents. Upon receiving USAID’s comments on the final draft report, she will be responsible for making any final corrections and improvements, and the submission of the final version to USAID. Nabila AlSyouf, PhD, Jordanian Gender Specialist. Dr. AlSyouf holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Jordan. She is a freelance consultant focusing on gender, women’s empowerment and reproductive health. Dr. AlSyouf conducted several field researches for governmental and non￾governmental organizations exploring the impact of empowerment programs on women and local communities with Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, IPPF, and Care/Jordan. Reham Hussain Younis, Research Coordinator. Ms. Younis holds a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies from the University of Jordan, Amman Jordan. Ms. Younis brings to the team experience in research, gender and youth studies which include work with the British Council, Jordanian Center for Social Research, Strategic Studies Center, Friends of Woman Workers Association, and The Microfund for Woman Association and youth volunteerism among others. ANNEX III: DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS Respondent Date Organization Interviewer: Position/Role: Male Female Key Informant Interview (KII) – GENDER PROFESSIONALS Introduction: Good morning/afternoon. Thank you for allowing us to interview you. On behalf of MSI, we are conducting a mid-term evaluation of the USAID funded Activity called Takamol. Your comments are confidential. What you say will not be attributed to you by name. However, if we wish to quote you we will ask your permission in advance. To ensure accurate note taking we record interviews. Do we have your permission to record this interview? Thank you. Evaluation Question #1: Effectiveness Key Questions 1. Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol activity, specifically, whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? a) Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so, which ones and why, and why not? b) What impact did Takamol have on raising gender-issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? c) How has JNCW's capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol's support and why? 1.11.1 What is your relationship with the Takamol project? 1.21.2 Takamol has been working on expanding Social Dialogue through several activities: Souk Takamol, Tashbeek, Ana Usharek, Murals, Campaigns, Children’s plays, etc. How effective has Takamol’s approach been in terms of achieving their outcomes? 1.31.3 Did Takamol strengthen enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? Please explain. 1.41.4 What are Takamol’s most successful activities or approaches, In terms of strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? Why do you think so? 1.51.5 What activities and approaches have been less successful than others? What were the reasons? 1.61.6 What lessons can be learned from Takamol's interventions? (probe: successful and less successful ones) 1.71.7 Did Takamol have an impact on raising gender issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? If yes, please elaborate and give examples 1.81.8 JNCW is one of Takamol’s main implementing partners. Did Takamol’s support affect JNCW capacity to pursue their mandate? If yes, how? Evaluation Question #2: (FOR GENDER PROFESSIONALS: omit this question) Effectiveness Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission Portfolio? Why or why not? In what ways can they be improved? Evaluation Question #3: Effectiveness What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance, and how? 3.1 Were there any external factors in the social, political or economic context in Jordan that challenged gender programming? 3.2 How did those factors affect Takamol’s performance, if at all? 3.3 Based on what you know about Takamol’s activities, what challenges have they faced? In your view what lessons did Takamol learn from dealing with the challenges? 3.4 To your knowledge, did Takamol encounter any resistance from communities or organizations/government institutions about raising gender issues? Please explain. Evaluation Question #4: Sustainability Which interventions under Takamol, if any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? (a) Specifically, assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? (b) What needs to be done for interventions & results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? 4.1 What have been Takamol’s most sustainable interventions so far? What makes them sustainable? 4.2 When Takamol ends, which institutions might potentially continue their work on Social Dialogue, Advocacy and Women Empowerment? Why? If none currently have the capacity, should new actors be considered? 4.3 Have you been involved in any of Takamol’s trainings? If so, did the training material contribute to sustained gender knowledge? How so? (Probe: trainings for government, youth, leadership, awareness raising, etc. in terms of retaining learning) 4.4 Regarding Takamol’s gender training and messaging via social dialogue, policy reform, advocacy and women empowerment programs, what lessons can be learned about sustainability? Evaluation Question #5: Services To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender-support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5? 5.1 Has Takamol gained sufficient credibility on the ground in terms of addressing sensitive gender issues, GBV and women’s empowerment, to engage in policy formation and awareness raising for women? Please discuss. 5.2 What kind of policies need to be put in place to set the stage for establishing service centers for GBV survivors? 5.3 What organizations or groups have the credibility to advance GBV strategy? 5.4 What could Takamol and USAID do differently in terms of policy formation and service provision for women? 5.5 What key policy areas should be formulated for Takamol programming in this regard for the future? Evaluation Question #6: omit this question – Lessons Learned included in above questions Learning Key lessons learned to be gathered for Components 1 & 2 and their sub activities, in terms of effectiveness and sustainability with the objective of informing the remainder of the Activity. Component 1: Expanding Social Dialogue on Gender Equity Component 2: Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment Is there anything else you would like to add? Respondent Date Organization Interviewer: Position/Role: Male Female Key Informant Interview (KII) – GOJ Staff – (not senior ministry staff) Introduction: Good morning/afternoon. Thank you for allowing us to interview you. On behalf of MSI, we are conducting a mid-term evaluation of the USAID funded Activity called Takamol. Your comments are confidential. What you say will not be attributed to you by name. However, if we wish to quote you we will ask your permission in advance. To ensure accurate note taking we record interviews. Do we have your permission to record this interview? Thank you. Evaluation Question #1: Effectiveness Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol activity, specifically, whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? d) Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so, which ones and why and why not? e) What impact did Takamol have on raising gender-issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? f) How has JNCW's capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol's support and why? 1.1 How familiar are you with Takamol project? (if not, go to supplemental questions) 1.2 How effective has Takamol been in terms of achieving their outcomes, particularly related to expanding social dialogue on gender equality? 1.3 How did Takamol strengthen enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? Please explain. 1.4 In terms of social dialogue on gender and strengthening enforcement & advocacy for female empowerment, what are Takamol’s most successful activities or approaches? Why do you think so? (Probe: activities and strategic approaches) 1.5 What about activities and approaches that have been less successful than others? What were some of the reasons? (probe for details; how and why) 1.6 What lessons can be learned from Takamol’s successful and less successful interventions? 1.7 Did Takamol have an impact on raising gender issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? If yes, please elaborate and give examples. Evaluation Question #2: Effectiveness Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission Portfolio? Why or why not? In what ways can they be improved? 2.1 How might synergies/cooperation with other USAID activities impact the effectiveness of Takamol? If so, please explain (Probes: Did you have any opportunities to cooperate with other USAID projects while working with Takamol? Did Takamol open up other opportunities or link you with other USAID projects?) 2.2 In terms of capacity building interventions with the GOJ, have those efforts been successful? Or not as successful as anticipated? Please give examples. 2.3 Would you please identify any changes that have occurred within the Ministry as a response to gender mainstreaming program? Evaluation Question #3: Effectiveness What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance, and how? 3.1 Were there any external factors that affected Takamol’s performance? If so, please describe and explain how. 3.2 Did Takamol encounter any resistance from government institutions about raising gender issues? If so, please explain the reasons and if Takamol was able to resolve the issues. Evaluation Question #4: Sustainability Which interventions under Takamol, if any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? a) Specifically, assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? b) What needs to be done for interventions & results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? 4.1 When Takamol ends, which institutions might potentially continue the work? Why? If none have the capacity currently, should new actors be considered? 4.2 Regarding gender training and messaging via social dialogue, policy reform, advocacy for women empowerment program, what lessons can be learned about sustainability? 4.3 Have the trainings offered by Takamol advanced your position within the ministry? If so, how? 4.4 Were there any trainings provided by Takamol that were not well received (or useful)? Please describe. 4.5 What additional training by Takamol would be most useful in your area? Why? 4.6 What have been Takamol’s most sustainable interventions so far? What makes them sustainable? Evaluation Question #5: Service To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender-support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5? 5.1 Has Takamol gained sufficient credibility on the ground in terms of addressing sensitive gender issues, GBV and women’s empowerment, to engage in policy formation and awareness raising for women? Please discuss. Is there anything else you would like to add? Respondent Date Organization Interviewer: Position/Role: Male Female Key Informant Interview (KII) –JNCW Senior Management Introduction: Good morning/afternoon. Thank you for allowing us to interview you. On behalf of MSI, we are conducting a mid-term evaluation of the USAID funded Activity called Takamol. Your comments are confidential. What you say will not be attributed to you by name. However, if we wish to quote you we will ask your permission in advance. To ensure accurate note taking we record interviews. Do we have your permission to record this interview? Thank you. Evaluation Question #1: Effectiveness Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol activity, specifically, whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? g) Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so, which ones and why, and why not? h) What impact did Takamol have on raising gender-issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? i) How has JNCW's capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol's support and why? 1.1 Please tell us about your relationship with Takamol. 1.2 Have the roles and responsibilities between Takamol and JNCW been well defined? Please comment. 1.3 Are the expectations from Takamol being met? Please describe. 1.4 What about JNCW’s activities and approaches under Takamol’s support? Which have been the most successful? And the less successful? What were the reasons in both cases? 1.5 To what extent did Takamol help JNCW raise gender issues as national priorities among key stakeholders? (Probe: policy making, organizational needs, capacity, communication, fund raising?) 1.6 Takamol has been working on expanding Social Dialogue through several activities: Souk Takamol, Tashbeek, Ana Usharek, Murals, Campaigns, Children’s plays, etc. How effective has Takamol’s approach been in terms of achieving their outcomes? What are their most successful activities/approaches? 1.7 How did Takamol strengthen enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? Please explain. 1.8 What lessons can be learned from Takamol’s interventions? (Probe: both for successful and less successful) 1.9 Did Takamol’s support to JNCW affect the capacity to pursue its mandate? If yes, how? Please give examples. 2.0 What would have improved Takamol’s support to JNCW? Evaluation Question #2: This questions for senior management of JNCW only. Effectiveness Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission Portfolio? Why or why not? In what ways can they be improved? 2.01 Has Takamol established linkages between JNCW and other USAID activities? If so, please explain (probe: why or why not). 2.02 Could those synergies (relationships) strengthen JNCW’s work? If so, please explain. Evaluation Question #3: Effectiveness What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance, and how? 3.1 What are the main constraints and challenges JNCW faces in prioritizing gender issues and related activities among stakeholders? 3.2 Were there any external factors that affected Takamol’s performance? If so, please describe and explain how. Evaluation Question #4: Sustainability Which interventions under Takamol, if any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? c) Specifically, assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? d) What needs to be done for interventions & results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? 4.1 Regarding Takamol training, which trainings were the most sustainable and why? (Probe: trainings for government, youth, leadership, awareness raising, etc. in terms of retaining learning) What makes them sustainable? 4.2 What about work on advocacy, policy reform, social dialogue—has Takamol contributed to JNCW’s work in these areas? If so, how? 4.3 What are key lessons learned about increasing sustainability? How can sustainability be improved? 4.4 When Takamol ends which institutions/entities might potentially continue the work? Should new actors be considered? (Probe for details). Evaluation Question #5: Credibility To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender-support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5? 5.01 Has Takamol gained sufficient credibility on the ground in terms of addressing sensitive gender issues, GBV and women’s empowerment, to engage in policy formation and awareness raising for women? Please discuss. 5.02 Can you provide examples of Takamol’s credibility? Evaluation Question #6: (answers to this questions will come from analysis of above questions) Learning Key lessons learned to be gathered for Components 1 & 2 and their sub activities, in terms of effectiveness and sustainability with the objective of informing the remainder of the Activity. Component 1: Expanding Social Dialogue on Gender Equity Component 2: Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment Is there anything else you would like to add? Respondent Date Organization Interviewer: Position/Role: Male Female Key Informant Interview (KII) –JNCW STAFF (not for SG) Introduction: Good morning/afternoon. Thank you for allowing us to interview you. On behalf of MSI, we are conducting a mid-term evaluation of the USAID funded Activity called Takamol. Your comments are confidential. What you say will not be attributed to you by name. However, if we wish to quote you we will ask your permission in advance. To ensure accurate note taking we record interviews. Do we have your permission to record this interview? Thank you. Evaluation Question #1: Effectiveness Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol activity, specifically, whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? j) Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so, which ones and why, and why not? k) What impact did Takamol have on raising gender-issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? l) How has JNCW's capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol's support and why? m) How has JNCW's capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol's support and why? 1.1 Please tell us what has been your relationship with Takamol? 1.2 Have the roles and responsibilities between Takamol and JNCW been well defined? Please comment. 1.3 Are the responsibilities and expectations being met? Please describe. 1.4 What about JNCW’s activities and approaches under Takamol’s support? Please comment about the most successful ones? And the less successful? What were the reasons? 1.5 To what extent did Takamol help JNCW raise gender issues as national priorities among key stakeholders? (Probe: policy making, organizational needs, capacity, communication, fund raising?) 1.6 Takamol has been working on expanding Social Dialogue through several activities: Souk Takamol, Tashbeek, Ana Usharek, Murals, Campaigns, Children’s plays, etc. How effective has Takamol’s approach been in terms of achieving their outcomes? What are their most successful activities/approaches? 1.7 How did Takamol strengthen enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? Please explain. 1.8 What lessons can be learned from Takamol’s interventions? (Probe: both for successful and less successful) 1.9 Did Takamol’s support to JNCW affect the capacity to pursue its mandate? If yes, how? Evaluation Question #2: Omit this question Effectiveness Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission Portfolio? Why or why not? In what ways can they be improved? Evaluation Question #3: Effectiveness What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance, and how? 3.1 What are the main constraints and challenges JNCW faces in prioritizing gender issues and related activities among stakeholders? 3.2 Were there any external factors that affected Takamol’s performance? If so, please describe and explain how. Evaluation Question #4: Sustainability Which interventions under Takamol, if any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? e) Specifically, assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? f) What needs to be done for interventions & results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? 4.1 Regarding Takamol training, which trainings were the most sustainable and why? (Probe: trainings for government, youth, leadership, awareness raising, etc. in terms of retaining learning) 4.2 What about work on advocacy, policy reform, social dialogue—has Takamol contributed to JNCW’s work in these areas? If so, how? 4.3 What are key lessons learned about increasing sustainability? Evaluation Question #5: Omit this question Services To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender-support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5? Evaluation Question #6: Learning Key lessons learned to be gathered for Components 1 & 2 and their sub activities, in terms of effectiveness and sustainability with the objective of informing the remainder of the Activity. Component 1: Expanding Social Dialogue on Gender Equity Component 2: Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment Is there anything else you would like to add? Respondent Date Organization Interviewer: Position/Role: Male Female Key Informant Interview (KII) Research Consortium Introduction: Good morning/afternoon. Thank you for allowing us to interview you. On behalf of MSI, we are conducting a mid-term evaluation of the USAID funded Activity called Takamol. Your comments are confidential. What you say will not be attributed to you by name. However, if we wish to quote you we will ask your permission in advance. To ensure accurate note taking we record interviews. Do we have your permission to record this interview? Thank you. Evaluation Question #1: Effectiveness Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol activity, specifically, whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? n) Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so, which ones and why and why not? o) What impact did Takamol have on raising gender-issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? p) How has JNCW's capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol's support and why? 1.1 What is your relationship with the Takamol project? (probe: for how long) , 00a What is the name of your project and its main activity? 00b What has been the result (impact) of your organization’s grant? Briefly how has it made a difference? Has your grant activities raised gender issues? If so, how? Describe gender issues. 00c To what extent, if any, did Takamol’s grant bring changes within your organization in terms of gender awareness and/or changed attitudes and behaviors? Please explain. 00d Have you received proposals from governmental or non-governmental organizations to conduct research on gender? (for research centers only) 1.2 How effective has Takamol been in terms of achieving their outcomes, particularly related to expanding social dialogue on gender equality? 1.3 Did Takamol strengthen enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? Please explain. 1.4 From a Research perspective, what are Takamol’s most successful activities or approaches, In terms of strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? Why do you think so? 1.5 What about activities and approaches that have been less successful than others? What were some of the reasons? 1.6 What lessons can be learned from Takamol's interventions? 1.7 Did Takamol have an impact on raising gender issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? If yes, please elaborate and give examples 00e Have you been involved in any of Takamol’s training? If so, did the training material contribute to sustained gender knowledge? How so? (Probe: trainings for government, youth, leadership, awareness raising, etc. in terms of retaining learning) 00f Did the training have an impact on you (your project or community)? Discuss & mention type of training. 00g Was there any follow-up to the trainings? Mentoring? Please explain 00h What would have made it better? Evaluation Question #2: Effectiveness Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission Portfolio? Why or why not? In what ways can they be improved? 2.1 Did you build new links with other local or international NGOs through Takamol? Evaluation Question #3: Effectiveness What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance, and how? 3.1 Were there any external factors that affected Takamol’s /your performance? If so, please explain. 3.2 Based on what you know about Takamol’s activities, what challenges they have faced? In your view what lessons did Takamol learn from dealing with the challenges? 3.3 To your knowledge, did your project encounter any resistance from communities or other organizations/government institutions about raising gender issues? Please explain. Evaluation Question #4: Sustainability Which interventions under Takamol, if any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? g) Specifically, assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? h) What needs to be done for interventions & results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? 4.1 What have been Takamol’s most sustainable interventions so far? What makes them sustainable? What lessons can be learned about sustainability? 4.2 When Takamol ends, which institutions might potentially continue the work? Why? If none currently have the capacity, should new actors be considered? 4.3 Regarding Takamol’s messaging via social dialogue, what lessons can be learned about sustainability? Evaluation Question #5: Services To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender-support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5? 5.1 Has Takamol gained sufficient credibility to address women’s empowerment and sensitive gender issues, such as gender- based violence (GBV), to engage in policy formation? (Please discuss). 5.2 PLACE HOLDER* 5.3 What kind of policies need to be put in place to set the stage for establishing service centers for GBV survivors? 5.4 What organizations or groups have the credibility to advance this strategy? Evaluation Question #6: Learning Key lessons learned to be gathered for Components 1 & 2 and their sub activities, in terms of effectiveness and sustainability with the objective of informing the remainder of the Activity. Component 1: Expanding Social Dialogue on Gender Equity Component 2: Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment Is there anything else you would like to add? Can you recommend anyone else for us to interview? *Place holders: to maintain numbering on tally sheets Respondent Date Organization Interviewer: Position/Role: Male Female Key Informant Interview (KII) –STAFF Takamol (revised) Introduction: Good morning/afternoon. Thank you for allowing us to interview you. On behalf of MSI, we are conducting a mid-term evaluation of the USAID funded Activity called Takamol. Your comments are confidential. What you say will not be attributed to you by name. However, if we wish to quote you we will ask your permission in advance. To ensure accurate note taking we record interviews. Do we have your permission to record this interview? Thank you. Evaluation Question #1: Effectiveness Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol activity, specifically, whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? q) Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so, which ones and why and why not? r) What impact did Takamol have on raising gender-issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? s) How has JNCW's capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol's support and why? 1.1 What is your position with Takamol? And how long you’ve been in that position? 1.2 How did Takamol go about planning, implementing and assessing the work? 1.3 What kind of adaptions were made to respond to lessons learned and changes on the ground? 1.4 How did working with different partners affect Takamol’s work and approaches? 1.5 How was the experience of working with Aya? What were the challenges? Benefits? 1.6 How effective has Takamol been in terms of achieving outcomes, particularly related to expanding social dialogue on gender equality? Please give examples 1.7 To what extent did Takamol have an impact on raising gender issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? 1.8 How did Takamol strengthen enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? Please explain. 1.9 In terms of expanding social dialogue on gender what are Takamol’s most successful activities or approaches? Why do you think so? (Probe for strategic approaches and specific activities) 1.9 What about activities and approaches that have been less successful than others? What the reasons? (probe for details; how and why) 1.10 What lessons have been learned from successful and less successful interventions? 1.11 Did Takamol’s support to JNCW affect their capacity to pursue its mandate? If yes, how? 1.12 Did Takamol have an impact on raising gender issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? Please elaborate and give examples. Evaluation Question #2: Effectiveness Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission Portfolio? Why or why not? In what ways can they be improved? 2.1 Has Takamol built partnerships/collaboration with other activities across USAID Portfolio? If so, please explain (probe: why or why not). 2.2 In what ways could Takamol improve collaboration with other USAID projects? 2.3 How might linkages with other USAID activities impact the effectiveness of Takamol? If so, please explain. Evaluation Question #3: Effectiveness What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance, and how? 3.1 Were there any external factors that affected Takamol’s performance? If so, please describe and explain how. 3.2 What were some of the challenges that Takamol faced? What lessons were learned from dealing with the challenges? 3.3 Did Takamol encounter any resistance from communities or other organizations/government institutions about raising gender issues? Please explain. Evaluation Question #4: Sustainability Which interventions under Takamol, if any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? i) Specifically, assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? j) What needs to be done for interventions & results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? 4.1 What have been Takamol’s most sustainable interventions so far? What makes them sustainable? 4.2 What about Takamol programming approaches and Learning? 4.3 When Takamol ends, which institutions/entities might potentially continue the work? Why? If none currently have the capacity, should new actors be considered? 4.4 Regarding Takamol training, which trainings were the most sustainable and why? (Probe: trainings for government, youth, leadership, awareness raising, etc. in terms of retaining learning) 4.5 What about work on advocacy, policy reform, social dialogue, etc. 4.6 What are key lessons learned about ways of increasing sustainability? Evaluation Question #5: Services To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender-support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5? 5.1 What policy/social dialogue issues should be pursued /focused on in year 4 and 5. 5.2 Are there instances whereby communities request services from Takamol? (Probe: would that be an indication of credibility?) Is there anything else you would like to add? Thank you. Respondent Date Organization Interviewer: Position/Role: Male Female Key Informant Interview (KII) Al Jidara/AYA Introduction: Good morning/afternoon. Thank you for allowing us to interview you. On behalf of MSI, we are conducting a mid-term evaluation of the USAID funded Activity called Takamol. Your comments are confidential. What you say will not be attributed to you by name. However, if we wish to quote you we will ask your permission in advance. To ensure accurate note taking we record interviews. Do we have your permission to record this interview? Thank you. Evaluation Question #1: Effectiveness Critically assess the overall effectiveness of Takamol activity, specifically, whether and how did the project achieve its intended outcomes for the two components: 1) expanding social dialogue on gender equality and 2) strengthening enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? t) Were certain project activities and/or approaches more successful than others, and if so, which ones and why and why not? u) What impact did Takamol have on raising gender-issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? v) How has JNCW's capacity to pursue its mandate been affected as a result of Takamol's support and why? 1.1 Please describe Al Jidara’s partnership with Takamol. What is your role with Al Jidara and your length of service? 1.2 How effective has Takamol been in terms of achieving their outcomes, particularly related to expanding social dialogue on gender equality? 1.3 How did Takamol strengthen enforcement and advocacy for female empowerment? Please explain. 1.4 As a partner, and going back to the beginning of the Takamol project, would you have done anything differently, and if so, what? 1.5 What about activities and approaches that have been less successful than others? What were some of the reasons? (probe for details; how and why) 1.6 What lessons can be learned from Takamol’s intervention (or your partnership with Takamol)? 1.7 Did Takamol have an impact on raising gender issues as a national priority among key stakeholders? If yes, please elaborate and give examples. Evaluation Question #2 Has Takamol built synergies with other activities across the Mission Portfolio? Why or why not? In what ways can they be improved? 2.2 In terms of capacity building interventions, have those efforts been successful? Or not as successful as anticipated? Please give examples. Evaluation Question #3: Effectiveness What external factors and challenges influenced Takamol’s performance, and how? 3.1 Did Takamol encounter any resistance about raising gender issues? If so, please explain the reasons and if Takamol was able to resolve the issues. Evaluation Question #4: Sustainability Which interventions under Takamol, if any, can be expected to sustain over time? Why and how? k) Specifically, assess Takamol’s approach to programming and how it relates to the likelihood of sustainability? l) What needs to be done for interventions & results to become sustainable? Are there any existing institutions that could potentially continue the work of Takamol or should new actors be considered? 4.1 When Takamol ends, which institutions might potentially continue the work? Why? If none have the capacity currently, should new actors be considered? Evaluation Question #5: DO NOT ASK THIS QUESTION OF AL JIDARA Services To what extent has Takamol positioned itself as a credible source for gender-support that would allow it to now focus on more critical priority areas in years 4 and 5? Is there anything else you would like to add? Quantitative Survey Instrument Hello, my name is ……… and I work for MINDSET, a research firm based in Amman. We are contacting you on behalf of USAID as part of a mid-term evaluation of the USAID’s Takamol project. This will be a phone survey aiming at examining and understanding your appraisal of the overall effectiveness of Takamol’s work and their different approaches, as well as relevant challenges and opportunities faced by them. We would also like to gauge your views regarding the overall gender context in Jordan, key issues, priorities and the status of gender equity. The information you provide is confidential, and only the aggregate results of this survey will be reported to USAID. Can you spare about 20 minutes to answer a few questions? You may refuse to answer any question we may ask you and can tell us to stop the survey at any time of your preference. Yes/No IF NO: Interviewer to Ask and Record the next suitable time and date. When is a more suitable time and date for you? Next Suitable Time: Next Suitable Date: Do you have any questions at this stage? Are you interested in giving us your valuable insight? May we proceed with the survey now? Yes/No IF NO: Thank you very much for your time and consideration. IF YES: Thank you, we greatly appreciate you agreeing to participate in this study and thank you for your time and consideration. Survey Administration Details Name of interviewer Date of interview Day of interview Interview Start time Interview End time Phone number Name of respondent Gender of respondent Respondent Category PRE-CODED We would like to ask you some background personal information that will help us in our evaluation of USAID Takamol. Section 100: Demographics 101) Age: ___________________________ (SINGLE RESPONSE- OPEN-ENDED, PRE CODE and POST CODE) – Do not read 1 Less than 18 years of age- Thank respondent and end interview 2 18-21 3 22-25 4 26-30 5 31-40 6 41-50 7 51-60 8 Over 60 years of age 102) In which governorate, do you live? (SINGLE RESPONSE- PRE CODED) 1 Amman 2 Zarqa 3 Irbid 4 Mafraq 5 Balqa 6 Jerash 7 Ajloun 8 Madaba 9 Karak 10 Tafileh 11 Maan 12 Aqaba 103) In which city, do you live? (OPEN ENDED - VERBATIM)- Sub district level ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 104) Did you participate in a TAKAMOL initiative and/or engagement? INTERVIEWER IF NO SKIP TO Q602 1 Yes 2 No 105) In which governorate did you participate in Takamol Initiative and/or Engagement (MULTIPLE RESPONSE- PRE-CODE)- Do not read 1 Amman 2 Zarqa 3 Irbid 4 Mafraq 5 Balqa 6 Jerash 7 Ajloun 8 Madaba 9 Karak 10 Tafileh 11 Maan 12 Aqaba 106) In which city did you participate in the Takamol engagement? (OPEN ENDED- VERBATIM)- MULTIPLE RESPONSE (Matching with Q105) sub- district ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 200: Exposure and Perceptions of TAKAMOL Initiatives 201) How long have you have been familiar with Takamol? (SINGLE RESPONSE- PRE-CODED) INTERVIWER NOT TO PROMPT- Do not read 1 Since Takamol been launched in 2014 2 2-3 years 3 1-2 years 4 Less than 1 year 202) How did you first become engaged with a Takamol’s activity? (Single Response- PRE AND POST CODED)- HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT TAKAMOL? INTERVIWER NOT TO PROMPT- Do not read unless respondent having difficulty remembering 1 Through training courses 2 Through social media campaigns 3 Through advertising efforts 4 Through community outreach efforts 5 Through social dialogue 6 Through advocacy work 7 Through policy reform work 8 Through Conferences 9 Through Workshops 10 Through family and friends 11 Through work 12 Through word of mouth 13 Other, please specify 203) When did you first participate in any of Takamol’s activities? (SINGLE RESPONSE- PRE￾CODED) INTERVIWER NOT TO PROMPT- Do not read 1 Since Takamol been launched in 2014 2 2-3 years 3 1-2 years 4 Less than 1 year 204) Through which of Takamol’s activities did you first PARTICIPATE? INTERVIEWER to check first response (SINGLE RESPONSE – PRE AND POST CODED)- INTERVIEWER Do not read 1 Takamol’s training courses 2 Takamol’s social media platforms including social media networks 3 Takamol’s Community activities 4 Takamol’s social dialogue sessions 5 Takamol’s advocacy work 6 Takamol’s policy reform work 7 Through Takamol’s Conferences 8 Through Takamol’s Workshops 9 Other, please specify 205) What other of Takamol’s activities did you participate in? INTERVIWER- check all that applies? (MULTIPLE RESPONSE- PRE AND POST CODED)- INTERVIWER PROMPTANSWER 1 Takamol’s training courses 2 Takamol’s social media platforms including social media networks 3 Takamol’s Community activities 4 Takamol’s social dialogue sessions 5 Takamol’s advocacy work 6 Takamol’s policy reform work 7 Through Takamol’s Conferences 8 Through Takamol’s Workshops 9 Other: Specify------------------------------------- 206) When was the last time you participated in any of Takamol’s activities? (SINGLE RESPONSE￾PRE-CODED) INTERVIEWER Do not read 1 Since Takamol been launched in 2014 2 2-3 years 3 1-2 years 4 8 months -1 year ago 5 4-8 months ago 6 1-4 months ago 207) When it comes to your engagement with Takamol, how many activities organized by Takamol have you participated in? (SINGLE RESPONSE- PRE-CODED) INTERVIWER NOT TO PROMPT ANSWER 1 I participated in one key initiative 2 I participated in two initiatives 3 I participated in three initiatives 4 I participated in four or more initiatives 5 Refused to answer/ Don’t Know/ Cannot recall (DO NOT READ) Definition and examples to be read by interviewer to respondent as follows: Now, we are going to talk about social dialogue, and by social dialogue we mean activities implemented by Takamol such as dialogue sessions, social media platforms such as Faces of Takamol, digital and physical networks such as Souk Takamol network members, Youth and Women Leaders Networks, etc. 301) When it comes to your familiarity with the social dialogue work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very familiar, 3 somewhat familiar, 2 somewhat unfamiliar,1 completely unfamiliar, would you say that you are: (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 Very familiar Somewhat familiar Somewhat unfamiliar Completely unfamiliar- SKIP TO Q303 302) How would you rate the success of social dialogue work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very successful, 3 somewhat successful, 2 somewhat unsuccessful,1 completely unsuccessful? (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 99 Very successful Somewhat successfulSomewhat unsuccessful Completely unsuccessful Do not know (Do not read) Definition and examples to be read by interviewer to respondent as follows: Now, we are going to talk about community reach, and by community reach we mean activities implemented by Takamol such as conferences, cultural activities, grants based initiatives, Takamol stories, slam poetry competition, street art murals, programs with universities and school students etc. 303) When it comes to your familiarity with the community reach work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very familiar, 3 somewhat familiar, 2 somewhat unfamiliar,1 completely unfamiliar, would you say that you are: (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 Very familiar Somewhat familiar Somewhat unfamiliar Completely unfamiliar- SKIP TO Q 305 304) How would you rate the success of community reach work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very successful, 3 somewhat successful, 2 somewhat unsuccessful,1 completely unsuccessful? (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 99 Very successful Somewhat successfulSomewhat unsuccessful Completely unsuccessful Do not know (Do not read) Definition and examples to be read by interviewer to respondent as follows: Now, we are going to talk about social media, and by social media we mean activities implemented by Takamol such as 1)Takamol Al Urdon Digital Imitative, 2)Faces of Takamol,3) Tashbeek online platform, bl3aks,Amend Your Proverb Campaign(مثلك صحح ( etc. 305) When it comes to your familiarity with the social media work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very familiar, 3 somewhat familiar, 2 somewhat unfamiliar,1 completely unfamiliar, would you say that you are: (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 Very familiar Somewhat familiar Somewhat unfamiliar Completely unfamiliar- SKIP TO Q 307 306) How would you rate the success of social media work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very successful, 3 somewhat successful, 2 somewhat unsuccessful,1 completely unsuccessful? (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 99 Very successful Somewhat successfulSomewhat unsuccessful Completely unsuccessful Do not know (Do not read) Definition and examples to be read by interviewer to respondent as follows: Now, we are going to talk about trainings, and by trainings we mean Training work for example, technical trainings, training materials and manuals, Community of Practice, etc. 307) When it comes to your familiarity with the training work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very familiar, 3 somewhat familiar, 2 somewhat unfamiliar,1 completely unfamiliar, would you say that you are: (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 Very familiar Somewhat familiar Somewhat unfamiliar Completely unfamiliar- SKIP TO Q 309 308) How would you rate the success of training work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very successful, 3 somewhat successful, 2 somewhat unsuccessful,1 completely unsuccessful? (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 99 Very successful Somewhat successfulSomewhat unsuccessful Completely unsuccessful Do not know (Do not read) Definition and examples to be read by interviewer to respondent as follows: Now, we are going to talk about advocacy support work implemented by Takamol, and by advocacy we mean: supporting civil society organizations and creating platforms for advocacy (conferences, supporting CSO campaigns, CSO research such as 16 days of activism against GBV campaign, 101 words campaign, leaders of change, community of practice, media champions, Women’s Leaders Network, Youth Leaders Network etc. 309) When it comes to your familiarity with the advocacy work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very familiar, 3 somewhat familiar, 2 somewhat unfamiliar,1 completely unfamiliar, would you say that you are: (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 Very familiar Somewhat familiar Somewhat unfamiliar Completely unfamiliar- SKIP TO Q 311 310) How would you rate the success of advocacy work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very successful, 3 somewhat successful, 2 somewhat unsuccessful,1 completely unsuccessful? (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 99 Very successfulSomewhat successfulSomewhat unsuccessful Completely unsuccessful Do not know (Do not read) Definition and examples to be read by interviewer to respondent as follows: Now, we are going to talk about policy reform, and by policy reform we mean gender-mainstreaming, capacity building with government institutions and staff activities (such as Gender Audit Training, Women Leaders Training, Policy Sessions and Policy Papers),, regulatory reform collaboration, gender audit approach etc. 311) When it comes to your familiarity with the policy reform work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very familiar, 3 somewhat familiar, 2 somewhat unfamiliar,1 completely unfamiliar, would you say that you are: (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 Very familiar Somewhat familiar Somewhat unfamiliar Completely unfamiliar￾SKIP TO Q 401 312) How would you rate the success of policy reform work being done by Takamol, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very successful, 3 somewhat successful, 2 somewhat unsuccessful,1 completely unsuccessful? (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 99 Very successful Somewhat successfulSomewhat unsuccessful Completely unsuccessful Do not know (Do not read) 401) Has there been any follow-up by Takamol post participation in activities you have participated in? (SINGLE RESPONSE – PRE CODED) 1 Yes 2 No 402) How would you rate the overall success of all of Takamol’s activities, on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very successful, 3 somewhat successful, 2 somewhat unsuccessful, 1 completely unsuccessful? (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 99 Very successful Somewhat successfulSomewhat unsuccessful Completely unsuccessful Do not know (Do not read) 403) Of the different Takamol activities and approaches you are familiar with, which one would you say is the most effective? (SINGLE RESPONSE- PRE CODED) – Do not read 1 Social dialogue 2 Community reach 3 Social media 4 Training 5 Advocacy 6 Social reform 7 Other: Specify------------------------------------- 8 I am unsure/ Do not know/ Cannot recall (DO NOT READ)→ SKIP TO Q220 404) Why do you say that? (OPEN ENDED- POST CODED) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 405) Of the different Takamol activities and approaches you are familiar with, which one would you say is the least effective? (SINGLE RESPONSE- PRE CODED) INTERVIEWER DO NOT READ (MOST EFFECTIVE in Q403 CANNOT be repeated in Q405) 1 Social dialogue 2 Community reach 3 Social media 4 Training 5 Advocacy 6 Social reform 7 Other: Specify------------------------------------- 8 I am unsure/ Do not know/ Cannot recall (DO NOT READ)→ SKIP TO Q222 406) Why do you say that? (OPEN ENDED- POST CODED) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 407) When it comes to raising gender as a priority in Jordan, would you say that the efforts by Takamol have been: on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very effective, 3, somewhat effective, 2 somewhat ineffective, 1 very ineffective.: (SINGLE RESPONSE) 4 3 2 1 99 Very effective Somewhat effective Somewhat ineffective Completely ineffectiveDo not know (Do not read) 408) How can Takamol enhance its efforts to raise gender as a priority? (OPEN-ENDED- POST￾CODED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 409) When it comes to developing partnerships with relevant stakeholders, and on a scale from 4-1 where 4 is very relevant, 3 is somewhat relevant, 2 somewhat irrelevant and 1 is completely irrelevant, in your opinion Takamol’s efforts have been: (SINGLE RESPONSE) (PLEASE CHECK SYSTEM FOR REWORDED QUESTION.) 4 3 2 1 99 Very relevant Somewhat relevant Somewhat irrelevant Completely irrelevant Do not know (Do not read)- SKIP TO Q 226 410) Why do you say that? (OPEN-ENDED- POST CODED) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 501) In your opinion, how likely are Takamol efforts that you are aware of to sustain over time on scale from 4-1 where 4 is highly likely, 3 somewhat likely, 2 somewhat unlikely and 1 is highly unlikely: 4 3 2 1 99 Highly likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Completely unlikely Do not know (Do not read)- SKIP TO Q 228 502) Why do you say that? (OPEN-ENDED- POST CODED) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 503) Of Takamol’s efforts that you are aware of, which one would you like to see sustained? (SINGLE RESPONSE – PRECODED) 1 Takamol’s training courses 2 Takamol’s social media platforms including social media networks 3 Takamol’s Community activities 4 Takamol’s social dialogue sessions 5 Takamol’s advocacy work 6 Takamol’s policy reform work 7 Through Takamol’s Conferences 8 Through Takamol’s Workshops 9 Other, please specify 504) In your opinion, what is the most significant challenge faced by an activity like Takamol? (OPEN￾ENDED- POST CODED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 601) What are the gender issues Takamol working on? (PRE CODED POST CODED) MULTIPLE RESPONSE- Do not read 1 Economic Integration 2 Empowerment of Women 3 Political Participation 4 Gender Equality and Equity 5 Gender Mainstreaming 6 Other Specify 7 Refused / Don’t Know (DO NOT READ) 602) In your opinion, which of the gender issues should Takamol pursue as a priority going forward? (OPEN ENDED, MULTIPLE RESPONSES ALLOWED, POST CODE): ____________________________________________________________ 603) To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “Awareness related to gender-issues and sensitivities has increased over the last couple of years in Jordan” on scale from 4-1 where, 4 is strongly agree, 3 somewhat agree, 2 somewhat disagree, 1 strongly disagree? 4 3 2 1 99 Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree Do not know (Do not read) 604) In your opinion, has Gender Based Violence increased, decreased or remained the same in Jordan, over the last couple of years? 1 Increased 2 Decreased 3 Remained the Same 4 Refused / Don’t Know (DO NOT READ) 605) In your opinion, have gender gaps increased, decreased or remained the same in Jordan, over the last couple of years? 1 Increased 2 Decreased 3 Remained the Same 4 Refused / Don’t Know (DO NOT READ) 701) What is the highest level of education that you have completed successfully? (SINGLE RESPONSE￾PRE-CODED) 1 No formal education - cannot read or write 2 No formal education - can read and write 3 Completed primary school successfully 4 Completed secondary (high school) successfully 5 Completed vocational training successfully 6 Completed diploma (college degree) successfully 7 Completed BA (university degree) successfully 8 Completed Masters successfully 9 Completed PhD successfully 10 Completed Post doctorate successfully 702) What is your current employment status (SINGLE RESPONSE- PRE-CODED): 1 Part time employment 2 Full time employment 3 Student 4 Unemployed and not seeking a job 5 Unemployed and seeking a job 6 Other, please specify 703) What sector do you work in? (SINGLE RESPONSE- PRE-CODED): 1 Employee in the private sector 2 Self-employed in the private sector 3 Public Sector 4 Non-for Profit Sector 5 Other: Specify----------------------------------- 704) What is your current occupation? (OPEN ENDED- POST-CODING) 705) What is your line of work (Art, Law, Research…etc.)? (OPEN ENDED- POST-CODING) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thank you very much for your time. ANNEX IV: SOURCES OF INFORMATION The following are some of the key secondary documents the evaluation team has consulted and will analyze and reference in the evaluation report as appropriate. The implementing partner provided the evaluation team with a full array of project documentation which has been supplemented by external gender-related documents. A list of project documents reviewed is annexed to this document. ● List of Persons Interviewed: Organization Name & Position Gender Interviews & Group Interviews Al Jidara Shireen Al Abbadi, Economic/ M&E Expert Female Al-Thoraya Center Dr. Mohammad Aljribia, Director Male Asma Al-Sheleh, Project Officer Female Aisha Mohammed, Field Coordinator Female Al-Yarmouk University, Irbid FGD, Youth Leader Network 4 Female, 4 Male American UNV Dr. Wafa Al-Khadra, Assistant Professor Female ANHRE Fotouh Younes, Director Female Tasneem Al-Homouz, Program Coordinator Female Arab Women’s Legal Network Samah Marmash, Executive Director Female AYA H.E Hala Bsaisu Lattouf, Head of AYA Consultancy and Development Female BEST Razan Quossous, Business Enabling Environment Component Leader Female CEP Ms. Mina Day COP Female CISLE (QRTA) Abeer Hakoz, Head of M&E department Female Rana Al-Khayyat, M&E Officer Female CIS Eman Nimri Female Frances Abu Zeid, COP Female Consultant Hala Ghosheh, Trainer Female ESCB Jenine Jaradat, Gender Advisor Female HCC Diala Al-Khamra, Director Female Loucy Tannous, Funded Project Manager Female IRI Ramsey Day, COP Male Mohammed Al-Lahham, M&E Specialist Male JCP Linda Tubaishat, Head of PMO Female JNCW Salma Nims, Secretary General Female Rawan Ma’aita, Gender & M&E Coordinator Female King Hussein Foundation Information and Research Center Dr. Aida Essaid, Director Female LENS Amy Henderson, Economic Growth and Development Potential of Underserved Communities Female Wasan Hijazi, Gender Advisor Female MFW Bodour Al-Hiary, Business development Manager Female Ministry of Political & Parliamentary Affairs H.E. Musa Ma'ayta, Minister Male Lina Tamrjana, Secretary-General Assistant Female WMI Maram Barqawi, M&E Specialist Female Shadia Nassarl, Youth, Gender& vulnerable population specialist Female MOPC Boshra Bin Tareef, Senior Researcher, Gender Unit Female Majd Hammad, Head of Gender Unit Female NDI Boshra Abu- Shahoot , Program Manager/Attorney Female Arianit Shehu, COP Male Phinex Center Ahmad Awad, Manager Male Rule of Law and Public Accountability Strengthening Qais Jabareen, Cop Male SIGI Asma Khader, Head of the Institute Female Statistics Department Manal Sweidan, Head of Gender Statistics Division Female Amani Jodeh, Statistical Female Bothaina Alawneh, Statistical Female Takamol office Tamara Al-Manaseer, Former Takamol M&E Female Katherinde Evans (IREX Team, Associate VP) Female Reem Abdel-Hadi (M&E, Learning Lab, & Community of Practice Specialist) Female Nermeen Murad (Takamol COP) Female Nora Vallerini (IREX- program Officer) Female Nermeen Obeidat, DCOP Female Dr. Ayman Halasa (Senior Component Leader Advocacy) Male Dr. Sawsan Gharaibeh (Senior Policy and Advocacy Specialist) Female Tamkeen Fields Your Aid Shereen Ibraheem, Researcher & Information and Communication Officer Female University of Jordan Dr. Abeer Dababneh, Head of the Women’s Center Female University of Jordan Dr. Rula Qawwas, Professor Female USAID Hana Marrar, Former AOR Takamol Female Talar Karakashion, Takamol AOR Female George Karaa, AOR TAKAMOL & Former Gender DO Lead Male Anna Karmandarian, M&E specialist backstop Gender DO Female Kenana Amin, Gender DO Lead Female Lewis J.Tatem, Ph.D., Deputy Mission Director Male Focus Group Discussions Al-Yarmouk University, Irbid FGD, Women (Women Leaders Network, Women Leadership, Women Lawyers) All Female Al-Yarmouk University, Irbid FGD, Grantees 5 Female, 5 Male Al-Yarmouk University, Irbid Dr. Amneh Khasawneh, Head of the Women’s Center Female Amman FGD, Women Leadership All Female Amman FGD, Gender Focal Point 6 Female, 2 Male Amman FGD, Women (Leader women network & Women Lawyers) All Female Amman FGD, Gender Audit Team 4 Female, 1 Male Amman FGD with Grantees 3 Female, 2 Male Meshaa Al-Moabi, Al￾Karak FGD, Youth Leader Network 6 Female, 3 Male Meshaa Al-Moabi, Al￾Karak FGD, Grantees 3 Female, 3 Male Meshaa Al-Moabi, Al￾Karak FGD, Women Leader Network All Female Bibliography of Documents Reviewed (Bel 3aks) Online Video Campaign World Bank, Country Gender Assessment Economic Participation, 2013 Government of Jordan, Agency and Access to Justice in Jordan, Jordanian Department of Statistics & KVINFO 2012 Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics [Jordan] and ICF International. 2013. Jordan Population and Family Health Survey 2012. Calverton, Maryland, USA: Department of Statistics and ICF International. DO4 Gender Results Framework (Final 10.4.2016) DO4 Gender Results Framework (Final 3.10.2016) DOS and HPC, Map of Jordanian Women Empowerment, Amman, Jordan, 2014. Fellowship Program (Round One) Fellowship Program (Round Two) Fellowship Program (Round Three) FY2015 PPR - GNDR Narrative FY2016 PPR - GNDR Narrative Gender Assessment USAID/Jordan 2012 Gender Audit Teams (Part One) Gender Audit Teams (Part Two) Gender Database-Takamol Hakki Gender Mainstreaming In Jordan 2025 (Actions Plan) Global Gender Gap Report, 2016, World Economic Forum, GNDR PPR FY2014.FY2015 ILO Response to Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan, International Labour Organization, http://www.ilo.org/beirut/areasofwork/syrian-refugee-crisis/jordan/lang--en/index.htm, accessed 5.16.2017. Initiative "Al-Mahki with Takamol" JNCW Advocacy and Sustainability JNCW Institutional Development Jordan Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2013 – 2017. Jordan Human Development Report 2015, issued on February 4, 2016. Jordan Mission Order: Implementation of Policy on Gender Equality & Female Empowerment Jordan National Strategy on Women 2012-2015. Jordan; the 2012 Woman and Man in Jordan: A Statistical Portrait, produced by the Jordanian Department of Statistics and KVINFO; and USAID 2012 Gender Assessment provide comprehensive compilations of data and analysis of gender trends in the law, economy, social life, and political participation. Mayyada Abu Jaber, Lifting the Barriers for Economic Progress of Women in Jordan, Brookings Institution, September 2014 Media Coverage NDI Youth Manual from a Gender Perspective Open Space Project Souk Takamol of community ideas and initiatives (Middle-Amman) Souk Takamol of community ideas and initiatives (North-Ajloun) Souk Takamol of community ideas and initiatives (North-Irbid) Souk Takamol of community ideas and initiatives (South- Karak) Souk Takamol Overview and documents Support King Abdullah II Center for Excellence to Mainstream Gender in the Public Sector Supporting Arab Women's Legal Network (AWLN) Voluntary Consultative Committees to Provide Technical Advice and Informative Research to Women Candidates USAID (prepared by MSI), Special Development Objective 4 Performance Evaluation, Draft Report, March 2017, 12-13. USAID ADS 201, revised 5-17-2017, 156 USAID, Assessment of the Implementation of the Gender Equality and Empowerment Policy 2016 USAID Gender Equality & Female Empowerment Enhanced PPR FY 2014, 2015, 2016 USAID Gender Equality & Female Empowerment Policy, 2012 USAID Jordan CDCS, November 2013-2017 USAID Jordan, Gender Analysis and Assessment, USAID, Jordan, March 2012 USAID Jordan, Jordan country development cooperation strategy, 2013-2017, USAID, Jordan, 2012 USAID Jordan, Mission order: Implementation of policy on Gender Equality and Female Empowerment, 2014. USAID Jordan, Mission Order: Implementation of Policy on Gender Equality and Female Empowerment. USAID Jordan, Women’s Leadership as a Route to Greater Empowerment, Jordan Case Study, USAID, Jordan, November 2014. USAID, Project Design Guidance, 2011, http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pdacs686.pdf. USAID Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender Based Violence Globally, 2012 USAID Takamol 16 Days Campaign against Gender Based Violence, 2014, 2015, 2016 USAID Takamol Annual Work Plans (2014, 2015, 2016) USAID Takamol Award Documents & Organizational Scheme USAID Takamol, Beyond pink and blue (HCC) USAID Takamol, Children Books and Plays (HCC) USAID Takamol, Climate Change from a Gender Perspective Conference -1, 2, 3, 4 USAID Takamol Contacts Database USAID TAKAMOL Communications & Outreach Strategy 2014-2017 USAID Takamol Communications and Outreach Strategy (2014-2017) USAID TAKAMOL- Gender Program, Bringing Down Barriers: Sensitizing Service Providers in Jordan to the Needs of Domestic Violence Victims Concept Note, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2015. USAID TAKAMOL- Gender Program, Children’s Plays and Books Concept Note, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2015. USAID TAKAMOL- Gender Program, Monthly Report: December, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2014. USAID TAKAMOL- Gender Program, Quarterly Progress Report: October 1 - December 31, 2015 USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2016. USAID TAKAMOL Implementation Model of Activity (2014-2017) USAID TAKAMOL Jordan Gender Program Year 2 Work Plan, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2015. USAID Takamol Media Clippings (1), (2), (3) USAID Takamol Media Content Analysis Toolkit. USAID Takamol Monthly Reports. USAID Takamol Network for Young Leaders. USAID Takamol, network of national integration for Women Leaders USAID TAKAMOL Activity Monitory and Evaluation Plan USAID TAKAMOL Implementation Model of Activity (2014-2017) USAID TAKAMOL Quarterly Performance Report 10: USAID Takamol-Gender Program, 26-27 USAID TAKAMOL Quarterly Performance Report 9 July 2016 USAID TAKAMOL Sustainability Plan during Year 4 and 5 of Takamol and Beyond USAID TAKAMOL Work Plans USAID TAKAMOL Year 2 Annual Report, 30 Sep 2016. 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USAID TAKAMOL-Concept Notes, Request for Approval to Spend From the Opportunity Module, IREX, Jordan, 2015. USAID TAKAMOL-DO 4 DevResults Update - Indicator Tracker (GNDR). USAID TAKAMOL-DO4 Gender Results Framework (Final 10-4-2016) USAID TAKAMOL-DO4 Gender Results Framework (Final 3-10-2016) USAID TAKAMOL-DO4 PERFORMANCE INDICATOR REFERENCE SHEET USAID TAKAMOL-FY2015 PPR - GNDR Narrative USAID TAKAMOL-FY2016 PPR - GNDR Narrative USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program Concept Note for National Survey, Gender Indicators, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2015. USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program Concept Note, Iltazamna Initiative, A National Workshop on Women’s Economic Participation: Securing Multi-Sector Commitments, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2015. USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program Concept Note, Murals under the Campaign “From Her Small Home to Her Larger Home”, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2015. USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program Concept Note, Souk Takamol, Souk #1: Proposals on Effective Services to Women and Girls, USAID/IREX, Jordan, August 2015. USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, USAID, Jordan, April 2015 USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, USAID, Jordan, February 2015 USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, USAID, Jordan, February 2016 USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, USAID, Jordan, May 2014 USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program PMP, USAID, Jordan, 2014 USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program, Annual Progress Report: May 1 to April 30, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2015. USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program, Annual Progress Report: May 1 to April 30, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2016. USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program, Ministry of Public Sector Development Gender Mainstreaming Concept Note, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2015. USAID TAKAMOL-Gender Program, Monthly Report: April, USAID/IREX, Jordan, 2015. 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ANNEX V: DISCLOSURE OF ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Adhering to MESP and MSI organizational conflict of interest policies, no potential conflicts were noted for the implementation of this performance evaluation. Each of the core team members signed a disclosure form relating to real or potential conflicts. These files are available upon request. ANNEX VI: TAKAMOL RESULTS FRAMEWORK Takamol Mid-term Evaluation Report 95 ANNEX VII: ILLUSTRATIVE TAKAMOL ACTIVITIES AND APPROACHES Component 1: Social Dialogue on Gender Equity expanded Component: Social Dialogue and Community Outreach Faces of Takamol Publish gender stories of Jordanian women and men and engage public in conversations on the issue for general debates and calls to action using social media. Souk Takamol An NGO marketplace for creative development initiatives where CBOs put forward their ideas for funding and are selected on the same day in an open and public event. Multiplies the impact of USAID Takamol’s social dialogue efforts by providing financial and technical support to community-based organizations (CBOs) for the design and implementation of gender initiatives in local communities. Souk Takamol emerged as a result of lessons learned during Takamol Chat, which was phased out. National Women, Youth and Men Leaders Network Jordanian Women, youth, and men champions in rural communities will be identified to coach the program in identifying avenues for dialogue, undertaking focus groups and surveys, designing activities, and appropriately involving various groups. These champion and partners will be provided with training and mentoring in social inclusion and leadership as well as social dialogue methodologies. USAID Takamol Leaders for the Future Engage youth in universities in community-based and national activities of the Program. Utilized Poetry Slams among other approaches Street Art Cultural Activities, including murals, dramas, concerts, films, puppet shows, and cartoon and poster competitions Fellows Program Involve young Amman and community based professionals through a competitive awarded and funded fellowship model. The fellows will support research, social media campaigns, logistics, and other activities of the program. Further, introduce a new cadre of practitioners exposed to gender mainstreaming best practices. Innovative Platforms and National Campaigns (On and Offline) Innovative platforms, such as digital networking to allow discussion across gender lines at times impossible in person. Program supports wide -ranging awareness raising initiatives. They emphasize informing women and men of their rights and giving women voice through social media and digital platforms that have democratized the media space. Further, these platforms and campaigns foster social dialogue and advocacy needed for positive change in how woman fare at home, in communities and in the workplace, and with their government. Examples include 16 Days Campaign Against Gender-based Violence (national campaign) and Tashbeek (a web- and mobile app-based platform) Component 2: Strengthen Enforcement and Advocacy for Female Empowerment Gender Focal Points Network Takamol works with select government ministries to strengthen the gender focal points and institutionalize gender mainstreaming, including by incorporating gender markers into their strategic plans and results-based budgets as well as building gender disaggregated databases. Gender Audit Teams Takamol supports the establishment of gender auditors and built their capacity within GoJ institutions Takamol Mid-term Evaluation Report 96 JNCW Organizational and Technical Capacity Building Takamol worked with JNCW on building their organizational, technical, and financial capacity in order to take up its role as the primary advocate for gender issues with civil society and the government. King Abdullah II Award for Excellence in Government Performance and Transparency Takamol supports integration of gender mainstreaming criteria into this award as well as providing technical support to institutions working to improve their performance against these criteria. Research Consortium Research Consortium support focuses on capacity building of members on data analysis and presentation skills, how to design and develop research￾based policy and advocacy training, gender qualitative research, and introducing the concept of IRBs. The original design was limited to capacity building, but this was amended to become grants and technical assistance and mentor coaching and on the job education and learning through grants Gender Clearing House (Takamol Haqqi) Takamol launched Takamol HAQQI – Gender Clearing House in collaboration with the Information and Research Center - King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF). Researchers can access the Takamol HAQQI for information on legislation, research and media productions on gender issues. Takamol HAQQI was established to bridge the gap between research and local policies and to assist in achieving evidence-based development. Women’s Leadership Training Takamol supports MoPSD’s program building the capacity of current and prospective female employees from government ministries and institutions. Legal, policy, and regulatory reviews Takamol conducts and supports reviews of gender-related policies, laws, and regulations and supports GoJ, CSO, and other actors’ advocacy and other work to address priorities identified through these reviews. Cross-cutting Community of Practice Takamol provides capacity building and technical assistance to USAID staff and IPs as well as public sector and JNCW employees on a wide range of gender-related topics designed to improve USAID’s gender mainstreaming. Takamol Mid-term Evaluation Report 97 U.S. Agency for International Development 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20523