EVALUATION REPORT

Final evaluation of the project “Sote ICT: Slovak-Kenyan Cooperation for Modern Schools”

Funded by SlovakAid Contract No. SAMRS/2013/KEN/01/12

Implemented by the Pontis Foundation and the Kasigau Wildlife Trust (19.8.2013 - 15.9.2015)

Girls from Mwakitawa Secondary School presenting their practice company Mchombololo

Edita Bednarova – External Evaluator 31st of July 2015

CONTENTS Executive summary............................................................................................................. 3 1 Introduction...................................................................................................................... 9

1.1 Project description .................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Project partners ....................................................................................................... 10

2 Evaluation objectives and design................................................................................... 12 2.1 Objectives of the evaluation.................................................................................... 12 2.2 Evaluation methodology ......................................................................................... 12 2.3 Evaluation limits ..................................................................................................... 13

3 Evaluation findings ........................................................................................................ 15 3.1 Relevance................................................................................................................ 15 3.2 Efficiency................................................................................................................ 16 3.3 Effectiveness ........................................................................................................... 19

3.3.1 New Kenyan Centre for Practice Enterprise (KCPE) will join PEN (Practice Enterprise Network) international (in cooperation with Slovak State Vocational Education Institute - SSVEI) to represent Kenya and will provide high quality services to Kenyan practice companies .................................................................... 19 3.3.2 Five new secondary schools will improve their attendance, results and placement of graduates through digital technologies and Project Based Learning (PBL)......................................................................................................................... 20 3.3.3 Practice companies at 10 pilot secondary schools from Taita Taveta County (TTC) will join Practice Enterprise Network (PEN) international and will establish sustainable cooperation with Slovak students........................................................... 21

3.4 Sustainability........................................................................................................... 23 3.5 Impact ..................................................................................................................... 25

4 Lessons learnt & Recommendations.............................................................................. 27 4.1 Lessons learnt from actual project .......................................................................... 27 4.2 Recommendations for future project ...................................................................... 29 4.3 Recommendations to SlovakAid and Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic ..................................................................................... 35

Annexes............................................................................................................................. 36 Annex 1 – List of acronyms.......................................................................................... 36 Annex 2 – List of overviewed documents .................................................................... 37 Annex 3 – ToR.............................................................................................................. 38 Annex 4 – Evaluation design ........................................................................................ 41 Annex 5 – Guidelines for interviews ............................................................................ 46 Annex 6 – List of people interviewed........................................................................... 49

2

Executive summary

The project “Sote ICT: Slovak-Kenyan Cooperation for Modern Schools” has been implemented by the Pontis Foundation (PF) in partnership with Kasigau Wildlife Trust (KWT) within the time period of 19th of August 2013 and 15th of September 2015. It was funded by the Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation (SlovakAid).

The project followed up after two previous projects of PF and aimed to contribute to social development in Kenya with the focus on education through:

‐ improvement of computer and business skills of teachers and students at secondary schools in Taita Taveta County (TTC),

‐ increase of economical potential and competitiveness of local communities through project-based learning (PBL) and practice companies,

‐ improvement of practical education in Kenya through membership in the Practice Enterprise Network (PEN) followed by international cooperation of practice companies. The specific goals to be achieved were:

1. New Kenyan Centre for Practice Enterprise (KCPE) will join PEN international (in cooperation with the Slovak State Vocational Education Institute - SSVEI) to represent Kenya and will provide high quality services to Kenyan practice companies.

2. Five new secondary schools will improve their attendance, results and placement of graduates through digital technologies and PBL.

3. Practice companies at 10 pilot secondary schools from TTC will join PEN international and will establish sustainable cooperation with Slovak students.

The evaluation of the project was commissioned by PF with the main aim to receive sufficient evidence-based conclusions and recommendations in order to make strategic decisions about future “Information and Communication Technology” (ICT) projects to be implemented in Kenya. The structure of the evaluation followed OECD-DAC evaluation criteria. The conclusion of evaluation findings is: Relevance of the project Very High Efficiency of the project Rather High Effectiveness of the project Rather High Sustainability of the project Medium Impact of the project Very High

3

Relevance Kenya has been priority country of Slovak Official Development Assistance

(ODA) since 2003. The Medium Term Strategy for Official Development Aid for Slovak Republic acknowledges education as on of the sectors of prior development. The country strategy paper document Strategy for Development Aid for Kenyan Republic specified the goal for education as decrease the unemployment of youth through access to quality education and practical skills.

The main reason for choosing the location of the project in Voi region (TTC) was the fact that the school results of local high schools are in the long term below national average.

All major Kenyan strategic documents describe the areas of education and youth unemployment as their priorities. The issue of increasing youth unemployment and quality of education is one of the key priorities for all major donors working in Kenya including United Nations, European Commission or USAid.

Finally, all stakeholders of the project including all students and teacher of involved schools who were interviewed expressed strong support to ICT technologies being implemented in learning process.

Overall, the relevance of the project is very high. Efficiency

The overall planned budget of the project was 185,599.20 € out of which 90 % was provided by SlovakAid and the rest by the implementing organization PF. The actual expenditures were not provided by the time the evaluation report was compiled but based on approved budget changes, they should not significantly differ from the plan.

Significant percentage of the overall project budget was spent on Activities (42 %) and Materials, mainly ICT equipment for the schools (23 %) while approximately only 5 % was spent on the Administrative cost. The overall 22 % of the budget was spent on Project staff costs – salaries of PF staff not including local partner staff (their salaries are in the Activities sub-budget).

Complains were raised in relation to the quality of delivered ICT equipment and poor internet connection which delayed or made some project activities impossible. What is becoming challenging (in comparison to previous projects) is the number of schools

being involved in the project. Not the number as such, but the remoteness of some schools.

Students from Mwakitawa Secondary School

busy with their practice company assignment - editing promotion video.

Most of the activities planned in the project took place according to the original timeline and none of minor delays significantly influenced the project activities. There were several changes to the activities of the project. These changes were seen as positive both by the implementing partner and the donor as they were well reasoned, reacting to development on the ground and well communicated.

Overall, the efficiency of the project is rather high.

4

Effectiveness The objective of new Kenyan Centre for Practice Enterprise (KCPE) joining the

Practice Enterprise Network (PEN) international in cooperation with Slovak State Vocational Education Institute (SSVEI) and provision of high quality services to Kenyan practice companies had to be changed due to insufficient cooperation with Kenyan Ministry of Education (MoE). The capacity development components for the teachers were tailor-made for each school and the specific needs of ICT club patrons and their deputies (more than 20 teachers were trained). The idea of KCPE and its high quality services for school practice companies was successfully replaced by Sote ICT NGO and its highly committed Local Administrator.

The objective to improve the attendance, results and placement of graduates of five new schools through digital technologies and Project Based Learning (PBL) went beyond as all 10 schools involved in the project benefited a lot. 56 teachers were trained by 2 Slovak experts who visited each school. There were more trainings organized by ICT club patrons and their deputies for other teachers at their particular schools to improve their ICT skills and to introduce them the interactive teaching methods using provided ICT equipment. At each school there was significant increase of using the computer lab, projector and interactive board. Thus far more than just 1.000 students from 5 new schools benefited from interactive teaching methods using ICT during the project. It was not possible to objectively measure and verify improvement of the attendance and results of students as well as placement of graduates.

The objective of Practice companies at 10 pilot secondary schools from Taita Taveta County (TTC) joining PEN international and establishment of sustainable cooperation with Slovak students was achieved through replacement of KCPE by Sote ICT. There were 24 Kenyan school practice companies established. 8 Slovak schools were involved in the project and established 10 partnerships with Kenyan practice companies. The students managed to hold a number of Skype calls, they communicated through emails and Facebook and presented their companies and products to each other. Several Kenyan practice companies established partnerships with real private companies from the region. Many partnerships between Kenyan schools and their practice companies were established as well. The planned number of 200 involved students was slightly overachieved.

Overall, the effectiveness of the project is rather high.

Local Administrator from Sote ICT delivering a lecture

at Mwambiti Secondary School.

5

Sustainability Several measures were introduced to sustain the outcomes and impact of the

project such as community involvement to create the ownership of the project, fees for internet connections were included into school fees and there were tries to join governmental program of Computers for Schools Kenya (CFSK) and to establish cooperation with MoE.

The sustainability elements had its challenges in the implementation process. The sustainability on the side of the schools was achieved mainly by strong involvement of the school principals. The intense capacity development of the teachers in various forms was strong motivation and contributed indirectly towards the sustainability of the project as well. Partial sustainability of the project was demonstrated by the schools once experiencing problem with internet connection. Questionable is the motivation of the teachers and the students to work on the project which is currently based on different events. Their organization is fully dependant on project money. Sustainability of the project is also influenced by the recognition at local level. It must be stated, that the visibility of the project is very weak.

Overall, the sustainability of the project is medium.

Logos of project partners (Pontis and SlovakAid) falling off the wall at Kajire.

Impact

The project has directly influenced 10 schools with average number of 400 students and 20 teachers per school. In some cases the community living around the school benefited from the project as well. Many students confirmed that they are helping their parents to learn computers and those who are in the business got explanation by their kids how to develop accounting documents and marketing materials. Improvement of students’ attendance and results as well as the placement of the graduates was reported by various beneficiaries.

Big difference was observed between the students who were and those who were not in a practice companies - they had very good communication and presentations skills and clear idea what to do after the school and what might be generally the options for them. Significant majority of the students wants to stay in the region (usually counties within Coast Province) and settle down.

One teacher noted that some students are spending too much time on computers and tend to prioritize the ICT club and practice companies activities instead of other school duties. This negative impact was mentioned only at one school.

Positive impact can be observed also on the side of Slovak teachers and students. Overall the Impact of the project is very high.

6

Lessons learnt from the project: 1. It will take many years to get the project recognized by the Kenyan government 2. Presence of Slovak people in the field is very valuable for project implementation 3. Cooperation between school practice companies and real Kenyan companies from

the same sector is the way to go 4. The motivation of the teachers is more important than their ICT skills 5. The impact of teachers’ turnover on the project implementation can be limited by

training two of them – the patron and his / her deputy 6. Sustainability of the project is being created historically and it is a long term

process 7. The names of the budget lines should be as simple as possible to be more

universal 8. Cooperation with Slovak Embassy is very valuable for project implementation 9. Internet connection as being the key of the project must be reliable 10. Employing of graduates by the project (either Sote ICT or KWT) is great

motivation for other ICT club members 11. The Sote ICT Teacher Manual is very useful tool for majority of the teachers 12. Cooperation with iHub Nairobi was very fruitful for project beneficiaries

Recommendations for the next project:

1. To focus on local county government and make use of devolution (as intended cooperation with MoE did not work).

2. To send skilled volunteers to Kenya to emphasize the Sote Hub component of the project

3. To do assessment of the region to judge its potential and analyze the opportunities for Sote Hub

4. To explore Kenyan fundraising opportunities and transfer this responsibility from project partners to the Sote ICT NGO and the schools

5. To explore local opportunities for income generating activities (IGA) which should be coordinated by Sote ICT NGO and done by Sote Hub members – graduates from project schools

6. To establish a contingency fund for Sote ICT NGO and Sote Hub operations 7. To increase the number of local institutions and private businesses involved in the

project 8. To improve the visibility of the project 9. To keep close relationship with the Embassy of the Slovak Republic 10. Continue working on all 10 schools that are in the program with focus on

teachers’ leadership 11. To improve the planning of project activities and involve the schools 12. To keep the range of school activities at the same level and make them tailor-

made for each school 13. To review and extend the first version of Sote ICT Teacher Manual and to

consider version for students 14. To improve the selection of teachers involved in the project 15. To improve the selection of ICT club officials 16. To transfer the responsibility for the project newsletter from Sote ICT to the

schools and their respective ICT clubs

7

17. To focus more on maintenance and repairs of the computers 18. To continue the deep involvement of graduates into project activities 19. To work on capacity development of KWT staff and especially of Sote ICT NGO

staff 20. To increase sustainability elements of the projects

Recommendations to SlovakAid and Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic

1. To reconsider the maximum time periods of the SlovakAid funded projects (to extend it)

2. To re-interpret the issue of size of beneficiaries’ groups for grant applicants (to decrease it)

3. To intensify monitoring and evaluation exercises of development projects 4. To shift from activity-based reporting to results-based reporting

Students from Murray Girls Secondary School busy with their

practice company assignment - editing web page.

8

1 Introduction

1.1 Project description

The project “Sote ICT: Slovak-Kenyan Cooperation for Modern Schools” has been submitted by PF in partnership with KWT for funding to SlovakAid (under contract number SAMRS/2013/KEN/01/12) in 2013.

The project has been running in the time period of 25 months within the time period of 19th of August 2013 and 15th of September 2015 with the overall foreseen budget of 185.599,20 €.

The aim of the project was to contribute to social development in Kenya with the

focus on supporting entrepreneurship through quality education. Specifically to contribute to decrease in youth unemployment in TTC. Two solutions were identified at the secondary school level: firstly improvement of graduates’ grades through the use of ICT and PBL during classes and secondly help to students to become more appealing to employers by providing hands-on business experience through practice companies.

Planned direct beneficiaries were 50

teachers and 1.200 students from 10 schools in TTC to benefit from ICT equipment and PBL trainings. 200 students per year should benefit from the experience gained through practice companies.

The project followed up after two

previous projects of PF in TTC where ICT clubs were established already at 5 schools. This project added 5 new schools to the program with overall objectives for all 10 schools:

‐ improvement of computer and business skills of teachers and students at secondary schools in TTC,

“The Ambassador of Change”,

student from Murray Girls Secondary School - the winner of essay writing competition.

‐ increase of economical potential and competitiveness of local communities through PBL and practice companies,

‐ improvement of practical education in Kenya through membership in PEN followed by international cooperation of practice companies.

9

The outcomes to be achieved through planned activities were: 1. New Kenyan Centre for Practice Enterprise (KCPE) will join PEN

international (in cooperation with Slovak State Vocational Education Institute - SSVEI) to represent Kenya and will provide high quality services to Kenyan practice companies.

There were no specific activities identified in project document how to achieve this outcome.

2. Five new secondary schools will improve their attendance, results and placement of graduates through digital technologies and PBL.

Project aimed to achieve this through purchase and installation of ICT equipment at 5 new schools as well as trainings of Kenyan teachers on PBL by using ICT and study visits of Kenyan teachers and representatives from Kenyan Ministry of Education (MoE) to Slovakia.

3. Practice companies at 10 pilot secondary schools from TTC will join PEN international and will establish sustainable cooperation with Slovak students.

This was to be achieved through establishment of 5 ICT clubs at new schools and establishment of 20 practice companies at all 10 schools, involvement of practice companies in business activities such as planning, making of marketing materials and involvement in virtual trading with other practice companies either from Kenya or Slovakia and lastly through cooperation between Kenyan practice companies and real companies either from Kenya or Slovakia.

1.2 Project partners The implementing organization, Pontis Foundation (PF), is a foundation

established in Slovakia in 1997 as a Slovak branch of the American Foundation for a Civil Society. Its mission is to motivate individuals, communities and companies to be responsible for themselves and the world around. PF is carrying out over 50 big projects per year mainly in areas of education, donations, corporate volunteering, awards for companies, know-how sharing, legal services and democratization.

Previous experience of PF in Kenya is counting two projects: “Slovak-Kenyan cooperation through modern schools” (September 2011 – August 2013) and “Increase of computer literacy of teachers and students in Southeast Kenya” (January 2010 – Jun 2011) both aiming on introduction of ICT in Kenyan school with the aim to improve the quality of the learning, to improve the chances of the graduates on labor market and establishment of cooperation between Slovak and Kenyan teachers and students.

The biggest contribution of PF towards the project was establishment of the cooperation between Slovak and Kenyan schools and arranging the transfer of the PEN know-how from Slovakia to Kenya. Coordination of all project activities was also very valuable. PF is strong Slovak NGO which is recognized in the region of TTC and capable to co-implement educational projects at very high level.

10

The local partner of the project – Kenya Wildlife Trust (KWT) – is a grassroots Kenyan NGO that has been working with the communities in TTC since 2009 on different types of community projects, mainly education, water and various income generating activities.

The Director of KWT established the cooperation with PF in the year of 2010 and co-implemented 2 previous projects of PF in Kenya (that time under Youth for Conservation NGO).

The biggest contribution of KWT towards the project was direct implementation of all project activities in the field as well as coming up with creative solutions to all challenges during the project. Keeping good relationship with Slovak Embassy and their involvement in the project was also very valuable. KWT even having its main office in Nairobi is well established in TTC region not just through its development projects but also through its social business and tourism activities. Current staff with lots of experience makes it really strong and reliable partner for PF.

ICT club members from Buguta Secondary School.

11

2 Evaluation objectives and design

2.1 Objectives of the evaluation

The evaluation of the project was commissioned by PF with the main aim to receive sufficient evidence-based conclusions and recommendations in order to make strategic decisions about future projects to be implemented in Kenya (potentially within the same thematic focus and with the same local partner).

The structure of the evaluation followed OECD-DAC evaluation criteria to be compatible and comparable with similar SlovakAid funded project evaluations in the priority countries. The evaluation’s learning points can also provide significant information to the Slovak ODA decision makers and other implementing organizations or local partners for the future design of their projects.

Finally, the evaluation should also provide an independent feedback to PF as well as to local partner organization KWT on their management of the project and possible ways to improve it in the envisaged future cooperation.

The Evaluation Design (Annex 4) was reflecting the ToR (Annex 3) and it was approved by PF Project Manager and was followed throughout the evaluation process. The language of this evaluation was agreed to be English.

2.2 Evaluation methodology

The Evaluation Design was developed with and approved by the PF Project Manager after thorough discussion in order to reflect the most of the expectations of the organization, especially in the areas where the implementing organization felt the need for further evidence-based decisions.

In the preparatory phase of the evaluation, the purpose of the evaluation, work plan and timing were agreed and guidelines for interviews (Annex 5) were created. Its focus was put on in-depth qualitative research allowing thorough understanding of the

projects’ context and stakeholders’ agency in the implementation process. The data collection methods were non-participatory (involving stakeholders as respondents and interviewees, but not as evaluation designers and planners).

ICT club members of Kajire Secondary School.

The evaluation was conducted through “evidence-based approach” where the answers to the evaluation questions were put together through collecting evidence from the desk research and field research, its verification and triangulation (comparing to each other) and further analysis of other data received.

12

Following sources of information were identified: 1. Documents and materials connected to the project and strategic documents

describing Slovak and Kenyan strategic interests in the thematic areas (full list of documents reviewed is in Annex 2).

2. Project management and implementation team including project manager, project coordinators, administrator, assistants and volunteers of PF and KWT.

3. Donor representatives as the SlovakAid Project Manager (including the former one) and representatives from the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Nairobi who visited the region of TTC in the past.

4. Representatives of Local Authorities (LAs) including the MoE and county representatives.

5. Representatives from business sectors and other international NGOs (iNGOs) such as the local Kenyan companies cooperating with school practice companies, iHub Nairobi, Educate!, Junior Achievement Club.

6. Trainers and mentors from Kenya and Slovakia (Slovak teachers and Slovak private companies).

7. Direct beneficiaries of the project (teachers, students and graduates) including other community members involved in project activities.

List of all interviews, their forms and timeline can be found in Annex 7. The

preparation phase of the evaluation started with face-to-face initial debriefing with PF Project Manger and Project Coordinator by the end of May. First half of Jun was dedicated to desk research of the project related and strategic documents. The field visit was done between 22nd of Jun and 3rd of July. The individual interviews took usually 1 - 2 hours each. The focus groups took approximately 2 hours and were conducted in beneficiaries’ schools combined with visit of the ICT classroom and review of practice companies’ marketing materials, financial documents and optionally the products. Finally the phone and email consultations followed unsuccessful attempt for the face-to-face interview.

2.3 Evaluation limits

There were several challenges encountered during the evaluation process. First of all, the project was still running at the time of the evaluation with last

activities still being implemented and for that reason the final report on the activities was still unavailable. Therefore the information about sustainability and impact of the project are mainly based on expectations of the stakeholders involved.

Also, in the project document (and its logical framework), the projects outcomes

benchmarks are set in a way more related to outputs and activities than the actual objective of each activity. Moreover, only very few baseline data are set in the project document which makes it even harder to measure any success of the project. Therefore, assessing achieving specific goals and measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the project is rather subjective.

13

During the time of the evaluation all the efforts were made to meet representatives from the government. Due to their busy schedule it was not possible to meet the local governor of TTC and representative from MoE who is in charge of ICT education. However their opinions and views were considered as well while relying on the information provided by Local Project Coordinator and teachers.

Members of KenSlov practice company

from Mwambiti Secondary School.

14

3 Evaluation findings

3.1 Relevance

Kenya has been traditional priority - “program country” of Slovak ODA since 2003 as SlovakAid was established. Slovak NGOs have worked in Kenya since the mid-1990s and there were dozens of successful projects implemented mainly on health, education and agriculture. While Slovakia did not have a country-specific development strategy at the time of approval of this project to specify the priorities further, the Medium Term Strategy for Official Development Aid for Slovak Republic for 2009 – 2013 acknowledges both Kenya being one of the three top priorities for Slovak ODA but also sectors of prior development for these countries, education being one of them. The Medium Term Strategy for Official Development Aid for Slovak Republic for 2014 – 2018 confirmed Kenya as the priority “program country” and the form of aid was further specified in country strategy paper document Strategy for Development Aid for Kenyan Republic for 2013 – 2018. The goal for education is to decrease the unemployment of youth through access to quality education and practical skills. Specific goals are: to improve the possibilities of youth to succeed on the labor market through development of practical skills and to improve the quality of education at all levels through capacity development of the teachers. Both of these specific goals were fully reflected by the project.

In the interviews both, the representatives of the Embassy of The Slovak Republic in Nairobi and SlovakAid Project Managers confirmed the high relevancy of the project.

The main reason for choosing the location of the project in Voi region (TTC) was the fact that the school results of local high schools are in the long term below national average. Generally the counties in Coast Province hardly score in the top 10 counties (Taita Taveta being one of them) in national examination results for Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

All major Kenyan strategic documents describe the areas of education and youth unemployment as their priorities. According to key development document of Kenya – Vision 2030, education and practical skills are one of the main sectors of social pillar. In the same document, the economic pillar defines regional development and ICT services as sector priorities as well.

The issue of increasing youth unemployment and quality of education is one of the key priorities for all major donors working in Kenya including United Nations, European Commission or USAid. According to the Ambassador of Slovakia to Kenya, “the ICT education of teachers and students is one of the solutions for these issues”.

Finally, all stakeholders of the project including all students and teacher of involved schools who were interviewed expressed strong support to ICT technologies being implemented in learning process. Especially once being accompanied with material support as computers, projectors and interactive boards. Possibilities of study visits, exchanges and networking were also highly appreciated. There is still room for expansion of the project either at the county level or nationally.

15

The potential of Voi region is not negligible. It is defined by the tourism (there are several national parks in the area) which is on decline these days, good geographical position (being on the highway Nairobi – Mombasa), pleasant climate (thanks to higher altitude and surrounding mountains of Taita Hills) and relative closeness to the Mombasa Port and related economic activities.

Considering all the information above, the relevancy of the project is very

high to its beneficiaries and all stakeholders involved.

3.2 Efficiency

The overall planned budget of the project was 185,599.20 € out of which 166,928.70 € (90 %) was to be provided by SlovakAid and 18,670.50 € by the implementing organization PF. The actual expenditures were not provided by the time the evaluation report was compiled but based on approved budget changes, they should not significantly differ from the plan.

The budget was spent gradually with no major differences between the reporting 6-months periods. As the project progressed, the significant percentage of the budget was shifting from Materials sub-budget to Activities sub-budget, which is typical for this type of project and shows good level of planning of the activities.

There were several requests for changes in budget lines submitted to SlovakAid, yet without any major influence on the total budget and its split into budget items. The following graph shows the breakdown of the planned budget based on types of expenses:

22 %

42 %

3 %

7 %

2 %

23 %

Project staff costs (implementingpartner only)

Activities (including local partnerorganization staff)

Administrative costs (implementingpartner only)

Administrative costs (local partnerorganization only)

Travel costs

Material (ICT equipment)

Significant percentage of the overall project budget was spent on Activities (42

%) and Materials, mainly ICT equipment for the schools (23 %) while approximately

16

only 5 % was spent on the Administrative cost of both, PF and KWT. The overall 22 % of the budget was spent on Project staff costs – salaries of PF staff not including local partner staff (their salaries are in the Activities sub-budget).

There was no expat Project Coordinator of PF in Kenya whose cost could have been extra burden of Activity sub-budget. The need for coordination was efficiently replaced by 2 two volunteers whose costs were paid from Volunteer Program of SlovakAid. Even spending in Kenya only few months, their contribution towards the project was significant and highly appreciated by all beneficiaries.

A concern was raised by the donor about the cost-efficiency of travel costs of Kenyan teachers visiting Slovakia (part of the Activities sub-budget). Both, project partners and Kenyan teachers themselves expressed strong concern for importance of this activity. The visit of Slovak schools is for Kenyan teachers great learning experience (especially on project based learning and interactive teaching methods) and opportunity to establish personal contacts not just between the schools and teachers, but also the practice companies for their students. One of the teachers confirmed that “Exposure and exchange of ideas is exactly what we need.” On the other side it is for Kenyan teachers very strong motivation (besides others) to participate on the project as coordination of ICT clubs and practice companies are for them free-time activity (very time consuming as in many cases they are teaching what is out of their scope) and they are not being paid extra neither by the school, nor by the project. At the same time KWT is selecting for the study visits to Slovakia only those teachers who are proactive and keen on being part of the project with the potential to become the trainers of other teachers.

Generally speaking about the trainings for teachers and students they were sufficient and reflecting the needs of both groups of beneficiaries. Very good solution for constant support and supervision of schools was to employ former graduate of one of the school. The graduate demonstrated his strong commitment towards the project, his capabilities to work with teachers and train them as well and at the same time he is inspiring and motivating his younger peers by his own example and achievements. The Sote ICT Teacher Manual (developed by one of the former volunteer who was additionally contracted and a current Project Coordinator) was also very useful tool for all teachers, especially at those 5 schools which joined the project.

An important complain raised by vast majority of the beneficiaries, was related to the quality of delivered ICT equipment. While the projectors and interactive boards are still working big part of the computers is broken. There is only one teacher who is able to repair computers and he is trying to help to all schools but it is not sufficient.

All schools also noted problems with internet connection which delayed or made their project activities impossible. This was caused by weak Safaricom modems which were not suitable for remote rural areas. By the end of the project all were being replaced by satellite internet provided by Zuku. By the time of the evaluation there were 2 more schools (out of 10) remaining to get connected again. This upgrade of internet connection did not influence the project budget as all schools were able and willing to cover the costs by themselves.

What is becoming challenging (in comparison to previous projects) is the number of schools being involved in the project. Not the number as such, but the remoteness of some schools. Chala Secondary School is the best example. Enlargement is increasing the costs of coordination and costs of some project activities as well (accommodation costs for remote schools). However as confirmed by the Principal of Chala Secondary School

17

they do not feel any exclusion and they are equally participating on the project as other schools.

Most of the activities planned in the project took place according to the original timeline. There were several minor delays reflecting the changing situation and the need to adapt to new conditions. The biggest changes in project implementation were triggered by unsuccessful cooperation with MoE. All efforts were done (including official meeting arranged by the Ambassador of Slovakia to Kenya) to sign the MoU and to get the project recognized by Kenyan government. Consequences were that the study visit of Kenyan teachers to Slovakia had to be postponed and participation of representatives from MoE was cancelled. The other consequence was the new need to establish independent NGO (Sote ICT) to provide legal form for the project activities and to be the umbrella body for all schools involved in the project. Establishment of Sote ICT NGO is expected to be finalized by the end of this year. None of these changes had significant impact on project results and it is showing the flexibility and innovative thinking on the side of both partners, PF and KWT.

The cooperation between project partners was very efficient as it was built on strong foundation of last 4 years of cooperation. The communication between the partners was very open and frequent. The partnership is also strengthened by regular visits, either of PF staff in Kenya or KWT staff in Slovakia.

Considering all the information above, the efficiency of the project is rather

high.

Students from Kajire Secondary School

using teachers’ desk due to lack of computers.

18

3.3 Effectiveness

This evaluation report aims to go beyond output-oriented quantitative indicators set up in the logical framework of the project. This data can be easily found in the reports provided to the donor on regular basis. In this evaluation, the focus was shifted towards more descriptive way of presenting results showing real outcomes of the project contributing to the overall impact. Following the structure of the project document, the chapter has been divided into three parts.

3.3.1 New Kenyan Centre for Practice Enterprise (KCPE) will join PEN (Practice Enterprise Network) international (in cooperation with Slovak State Vocational Education Institute - SSVEI) to represent Kenya and will provide high quality services to Kenyan practice companies

According to the project logical framework, results should be visible through establishment of KCPE attached to Kenyan MoE and the SSVEI training of 20 teachers and 3 representatives from Kenyan MoE.

This ambitious objective was changed during project duration once realizing that it is not possible to establish the KCPE at Kenyan national level. This was caused by difficult communication with Ministry of Education. For this reason there were no representatives from MoE trained during the project.

The capacity development of Kenyan teachers was having several components. Only 4 teachers (out of 20 planned) were trained by SSVEI during their study visit in Slovakia. However these 4 teachers trained the remaining 16 teachers involved in the project.

The other capacity development components for the teachers were tailor-made for each school and the specific needs of ICT club patrons and their deputies (more than 20 teachers were trained due to their turnover). Besides being trained by fellow teachers, there were trainings provided by KWT Local Project Coordinator, Sote ICT Local Administrator, 2 Slovak volunteers and representatives from iHub Nairobi through their outreach program. Trainings were also provided by 2 Slovak experts who visited each school (representative from Slovak Business Academy (type of secondary school) and representative from Slovak private educational technology company).

The ICT club patrons and their deputies appreciated all provided trainings very much. Especially the services of Sote ICT were highly valued as the Sote ICT Local Administrator is based directly in Voi and available for the teachers as per their needs. The idea of KCPE and its high quality services for school practice companies was successfully replaced by Sote ICT NGO. The biggest contribution towards this are the skills and commitment of Sote ICT Local Administrator who is a graduate of one of the project school. The only remaining issue is the registration of Sote ICT NGO which is expected to be finalized by the end of this year.

19

3.3.2 Five new secondary schools will improve their attendance, results and placement of graduates through digital technologies and Project Based Learning (PBL)

This objective was focused on trainings for more than 50 teachers by Kenyan and Slovak experts on interactive teaching methods using ICT and on 1.000 students who will benefit from interactive teaching methods using ICT.

All 5 schools which were the newcomers to the program and joined it only during this project benefited from the ICT equipment as planned in project document. It was highly appreciated by all beneficiaries, especially by the students “There was no computer teacher at our school before the project. I have never touched computer in my life. I have seen it only in TV. Now I was able to even create something useful with it. All of a sudden I was ICT club official and I was teaching my peers how to use computers.”

Outcomes of this objective went beyond these 5 planned schools as all 10 schools involved in the project benefited a lot. 2 Slovak experts visited each school (representative from Slovak Business Academy and representative from Slovak private educational technology company) and delivered a training for day and half focused not only on ICT but also project based learning and coordination of practice companies. 56 teachers were trained (50 were intended originally) during the short visit of Slovak experts.

There were more trainings organized by ICT club patrons and their deputies for other teachers at their particular schools to improve their ICT skills and to introduce them the interactive teaching methods using provided ICT equipment. By the time of evaluation all school teachers were using provided JB SoftCloud software to submit online the KCSE results. In average one third of the teachers applied gained ICT knowledge and skills during their classes (the rest is using different excuses such as it is time consuming to prepare for the class, or they are just technophobic and do not want changes). At each school there was significant increase of using the computer lab, projector and interactive board. Thus far more than just 1.000 students from 5 new schools benefited from interactive teaching methods using ICT during the project. The only complain raised was related to size of the computer lab and insufficient number of working computers as the average number of students per class is usually more than 40 and number of working computer less than 10.

It was not possible to measure and verify improvement of the attendance and results of students as well as placement of graduates. There was no baseline study done at the beginning of the project (however there is simple questionnaire being disseminated to ICT club students and teachers once a year which is rather survey on their ICT skills than actual school results) and graduates are not being tracked by the staff of project partners. At the same time all these attributes as attendance, results and placement of graduates are influenced by to too many factors not just by school computer lab and ICT club activities.

The school teachers (not just the ICT club patrons and their deputies) expressed their strong believe that membership in ICT club and participation on practice company activities give big advantage to the students. Through more opportunities to learn computers they are able to use internet to prepare for classes and to do own online research. At the same the classes where teachers are using interactive teaching methods

20

became more interesting and attractive to the students, thus increasing their attendance. Both these facts have positive impact on school results of the students.

The placement of graduates is strengthened not just through advanced ICT skills in comparison to their peers but also through the experience in school practice companies. The graduates are more self-confident with very good presentation skills and usually with clear idea what to do after the school and how to achieve it. They are able to orient themselves faster on the labor market and look for opportunities. One of the graduates stated that “The project was real eye-opener for me what everything is possible for me once using a computer. I was able to share lot of information with my parents. I gained more respect from them and even later they were very proud of me as I got a job immediately after the school.” In many cases the graduates keep in touch together (using ICT) and it was confirmed by all interviewed graduates that majority of the ICT club members are already having jobs (if not studying).

These statements of the teachers about improved attendance and results of the students and easier placement of the graduates were confirmed also during the interviews with the students and graduates.

3.3.3 Practice companies at 10 pilot secondary schools from Taita Taveta County (TTC) will join Practice Enterprise Network (PEN) international and will establish sustainable cooperation with Slovak students

The results of this objective should be visible at all 10 schools through establishment of at least 20 practice companies and their activities within PEN, 200 involved students and at least 5 partnerships between school practice companies and real Kenyan companies.

All 10 schools established strong cooperation with Sote ICT (which has replaced the KCPE) and Kenya became a member of PEN international with the status of an observer and is affiliated under Slovakia. To gain full membership will take several years, which was the case of Slovakia as well (and several conditions must be fulfilled such as partnership with MoE and to have network of certain number of schools).

There were 24 Kenyan school practice companies established (20 were planned) during the project which were subscribed to PEN through SSVEI. Their involvement and participation on the project is approximately at the same level. Half of the practice companies are exceeding the expectations and the other half delivers average performance. 8 Slovak schools were involved in the project and established 10 partnerships with Kenyan practice companies (5 were planned). 3 Kenyan schools did not establish any partnership with Slovakia complaining mainly about bad internet connection. All the practice companies noted, that it is difficult to agree on time for Skype with their Slovak peers as in Kenya the practice company belongs to free-time activity in the afternoon and evening, yet in Slovakia it is part of curricula during the day. Even those already established partnerships are not that strong and sustainable as relying on occasional communication, again due to insufficient internet availability which was being solved only by the end of the project. However the students managed to hold a number of Skype calls, they communicated through emails and Facebook and presented their companies and products to each other. Sometimes they used the occasion of the Slovak team visit in Kenya for exchange of the products. Students from Slovak schools

21

presented their partnerships with Kenyan practice companies at 2 international PEN fairs in Slovakia.

Also Kenyan practice companies got several chances to present themselves or their individual members. Mainly through different competitions (e.g. CV and motivation list writing, essay writing, video production…) but also at an official fair which was organized in Voi and many officials including the County Governor and the Ambassador of Slovakia to Kenya attended as well.

Several Kenyan practice companies established partnerships with real private companies from the region. The intensity varies from school to school. Best cooperation worth to mention is between local branch of Kenya Commerce Bank (KCB) and Mshindi KCB practice company. The employees visited the school and delivered few lectures to the ICT club members about banking and members of the practice company visited the branch of the bank to understand how it is working. KCB also shared with the practice company some of their accounting documents and marketing materials for inspiration. During the fair of practice companies in Voi, Mshindi KCB got from its KCB branch “mother” lot of marketing materials including big banner for proper presentation. This is clear win-win solution where the real company is benefiting not just from free advertisement but also from direct interaction with either future employees or clients. The practice company members are having hands-on information about the bank, how does it operate, which are the different positions and even jobs available.

Many partnerships between Kenyan schools and their practice companies were established as well. Majority of them during the fair of practice companies in April of this year. By the time of the evaluation each Kenyan practice company had at least one partnering practice company from different school.

None of the 10 schools limited the number of members of the ICT club thus the membership varies from school to school. Usually it is around 40 members and all the members should be in a practice companies. From these 400 practice company members there is quite big number of “free riders” which is a consequence of any group activity and it is happening also in Slovak practice companies (though not at that high ratio). Estimating from the interviews with the teachers and the students, the planned number of 200 involved students was slightly overachieved, talking now only about the active ones.

Overall, considering the successes of the particular segments of the project but also taking into account the challenges during the implementation of the project, the effectiveness of the project is rather high.

Students from Murray Girls Secondary School working on their practice company web page.

22

3.4 Sustainability

In the project document, several measures were introduced to sustain the outcomes and impact of the project beyond its life cycle. On the side of beneficiaries, sustainability was to be achieved by needs assessment of community at the beginning of the project and involvement of schools and community leaders into project planning thus creating their ownership of the project. Fees for internet connections were to be included into school fees and nearby community was supposed to pay for internet services which should had become an income generating activity (IGA) for the school. At institutional level, the governmental program of Computers for Schools Kenya (CFSK) was supposed to be joined by the schools to purchase ICT equipment. The involvement of MoE was expected especially in form of financial contribution.

The envisaged sustainability elements had its challenges in the implementation process, the biggest being the failed partnership with MoE mentioned already above. Just few schools were able to benefit from CFSK program during the project even with previous successful experience of some schools and compulsory computer class for form 1 and form 2 at all schools. The other factor which is making the cooperation with MoE even harder is, that the ICT club and its activity of practice companies as it is being introduced currently is crosscutting two specialization of secondary schools which are the computer and the business studies. Vast adjustments of curricula would be needed to accommodate the concept of PEN at secondary schools. However promising might be the cooperation with TTC governor which was established recently and has potential for the future.

The sustainability on the side of the schools was achieved mainly by strong involvement of the school principals (in one case being also the ICT club patron) to gain their full support for the project. The sustainability was not that much threatened by the teachers’ turnover as there were always two teachers trained at each school (one ICT club patron and his/her deputy). The intense capacity development of the teachers in various forms was strong motivation and contributed indirectly towards the sustainability of the project as well. Besides tailor-made trainings and workshops provided directly at the schools, the most appreciated were the study visits to Slovakia and cooperation with iHub Nairobi. Great learning experience was also the opportunity to co-organize different competitions and fairs as well as interaction with governmental officials and international diplomats. However the risk of teachers’ leaving is still there and approximately half of ICT patrons or their deputies expressed their will to leave the school once they will be requested to do so by the government (especially if they will be send closer to their homes) or if better opportunity will come (especially regarding the financial reward). Both these factors are determined by the set-up of Kenyan school system and payments for teachers from project budget would not increase the sustainability.

Partial sustainability of the project was demonstrated by the schools once experiencing problem with internet connection. All the schools realized the importance of internet and the opportunities which it provides. Thus all schools covered the costs to change the provider from Safaricom to Zuku which was more expensive, yet more reliable solution.

Questionable is the motivation of the teachers and the students to work on the project. It is not coming just from gained knowledge but also from all events (e.g. study

23

visits for the teachers and competitions for the students) organized in relation to ICT club and practice companies. On one side the organization of the events is fully dependant on project money and there is no substitute yet, on the other side during this project and the previous ones it proofed that it is the tool to have committed and keen teachers as well as students and later graduates. There are already cases of a teacher and a graduate who participated on previous project and currently they are volunteering for the actual one to share and spread the knowledge and skills which they have gained. Both are doing it during their free time while working on their own projects.

The sustainability of the project is also highly relying on the fact that the local partner KWT will remain in the field after the project. Also the Sote ICT NGO (which is yet to be registered) should still operate in the region but funds for the salary of Local Administrator will be needed.

Sustainability of the project is also influenced by the recognition at local level. It must be stated, that the visibility of the project is very weak. The logos of the partners (SlovakAid, PF and KWT) were not visible at any school. Some schools are having small tables placed on the computer lab but they are not unified (if visible at all).

Differences of the visibility varying from school to school

(Kajire, Murray Girls and Marungu).

24

To conclude, the ownership of the project by the schools is generally strong and it is being demonstrated at all levels: principals, teachers, ICT club patrons and his/her deputies as well as at the level of students, mainly the members of ICT clubs. As it varies from school to school after the end of the project it would be sustained by majority of them but at lower pace and intensity (approximately 50 – 70 %). The project would be rather scaled down than up.

Overall, taking into consideration the dependency of beneficiaries on Sote ICT which is not yet registered and sustainable itself, the dependency on SlovakAid funding to purchase ICT equipment and to organize all motivational events, different levels and conditions at each school, good number of committed and keen teachers, students and graduates, more than 4 years history of the project at some schools and presence of KWT in the region, the long-term sustainability of the project is medium.

3.5 Impact

The project impact was expected at three levels: ‐ improvement of computer and business skills of teachers and students ‐ increase of economical potential and competitiveness of local communities ‐ improvement of practical education.

The project has directly influenced 10 schools with average number of 400 students and 20 teachers per school. All schools have established ICT clubs with different number of members usually oscillating around 40. All the members of ICT club were usually part of some practice company and more than half of them was very actively involved in all project activities.

In some cases the community living around the school benefited from the project as well as interacting with the practice companies and using their services or buying their products (such as taking of photos or video shooting and buying of small ornaments). However this interaction was done only at few schools as there were 2 main restrictions. First of all the PEN rules are limiting the activities of the practice companies only to the virtual business world (this is related to stricter regulation of any business activities in Europe and the need of registrations and other business related obligations towards different authorities) and secondly there are the regulations of the schools which are strictly forbidding interaction with surrounding community (usually for the sake of youngsters’ security). However some of the teachers and students managed to interact with the community and obey the rules of the school as they organized ICT trainings for teachers from neighboring primary schools or for community members. Some of the schools also allow people from the community to use some of the ICT equipment free of charge if it is school or work related. The last but not least indirect beneficiaries are the parents and family members of the teachers and especially the students. Many students confirmed that they are helping their parents to learn computers and those who are in the business got explanation by their kids how to develop accounting documents and marketing materials.

25

Positive impact can be observed also on the side of Slovak teachers and students. The interaction during study visits and Skype calls gave them the opportunity to practice their English language and helped to understand the other culture better and sensitized all beneficiaries. Some Slovak schools organized discussion sessions to emphasize different topics related to Africa and Kenya and their cultural habits and business practices.

As mentioned already above one of the positive impacts of the project (which was also specific objective) was the improvement of students’ attendance and results as well as the placement of the graduates. Big difference was observed between the students who were and those who were not in a practice companies. ICT club members were not only better in computers than their classmates but they had very good communication and presentations skills and clear idea what to do after the school and what might be generally the options for them. One member of the practice company stated: “We have earned little income from selling our products just at the school so after the studies we would like to change it to real company and make use of the unique fruit which is growing in our region.” Independent and innovative thinking made them to differ from the classmates’ “inbox” and resigned thinking. One would expect creation of closed group which would feel more important and privileged than the other students. This was not the case at any of the schools and no elite groups were observed. The ICT club members were always ready to help to their peers and teach them more about computers or business.

Another positive impact of the project was the fact, that one of the 5 schools which joined the program was more prestigious than the others and above the average once talking about the school facilities and equipment as well as school results. The other schools realized what everything is possible to aim for and what is possible to achieve through hard work. This would not be possible without regular interaction and networking between the 10 schools which were not that intense before the project.

One of the stakeholders expressed a concern, that the project might produce more migrants within Kenya and that the graduates will move to Nairobi as the region will not offer them enough opportunities. The focus groups with the students and interviews with the graduates disprove this presumption. One of the graduates who is currently working in Nairobi confirmed that “After gaining some experience I want to go back to Taita to serve to my community”. Significant majority of the students wants to stay in the region (usually counties within Coast Province) and settle down. Only few would like to look for job opportunities in Nairobi. The Local Project Coordinator estimates that only 10 % of the graduates so far went to Nairobi. 45 % remained in Voi, 35 % went back home to the area of Mombasa and Kilifi and the last 10 % ended up in bigger provincial towns such as Nakuru, Naivasha, Thika, Narok… mainly due to family reasons.

One teacher noted that some students are spending too much time on computers (hanging on social media sites) and tend to prioritize the ICT club and practice companies activities instead of other school duties. This negative impact was mentioned only at one school.

While it is usually hard to assess the impact of a project right after it has finished, evidence from the field shows signs of lot of positive impact already taking place. Especially taking into consideration that it is the third project in a row within a 6 years program.

Based on this evidence (although too early to fully assess the impact of the

project) the conclusion is that the project’s impact is very high.

26

4 Lessons learnt & Recommendations

Based on the evaluation findings and conclusions, following lessons learnt and recommendations were made.

4.1 Lessons learnt from actual project

1. It will take many years to get the project recognized by the Kenyan government Cooperation with Kenyan MoE was recommended by the donor after their

monitoring visit of previous project of PF. Fruitful cooperation was established at lower levels of MoE however it was not sufficient to be transferred to the top level and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with project partners was not signed. All possibilities were exhausted including official meeting organized by Ambassador of Slovakia to Kenya. There is a long way ahead of project partners to integrate the PEN model into national education systems (it took 10 years in Slovakia). Recognition by the MoE would also require good network of schools all around Kenya which would be challenging task for project partners.

2. Presence of Slovak people in the field is very valuable for project

implementation The need for supervision and coordination in the field was effectively covered by

2 volunteers coming to Kenya via Volunteer Program of SlovakAid. Both brought extra added value to the project through their previous experience and strong commitment to the students’ learning.

3. Cooperation between school practice companies and real Kenyan companies

from the same sector is the way to go The case of practice company Mshindi KCB was already mentioned above. In the

same ICT club, there are two more practice companies which are connected with real private companies providing the same services (insurance and printing). As already mentioned it is win-win solution and it was copied already by teachers from other schools (e.g. in the area of tourism or shoes production).

4. The motivation of the teachers is more important than their ICT skills

It was the case at many schools that the ICT club patron does not need to be the computer teacher. More important is the motivation of the teacher and his commitment towards the project. What matters as well is his position within the school (how much he / she can influence other teachers e.g. in using ICT during teaching) and relationship with the school principal and his / her deputy who are the key people for formal existence of the club and support to its activities.

27

5. The impact of teachers’ turnover on the project implementation can be limited by training two of them – the patron and his / her deputy High turnout of teachers had already bad impact on previous projects. As there is

no chance to influence it as describe already above, the only chance to limit it by having a backup. There are always two teachers in charge of the ICT club - the patron and his / her deputy. The responsibilities should be distributed equally between them and they should be able to replace each other at any time.

6. Sustainability of the project is being created historically and it is a long term

process This was confirmed by the Moi High school which is cooperating with PF and

KWT for last 6 years and it was the very first school which benefited from ICT equipment and training for teachers. It took part in all 3 projects and these days it is fighting with staff changes. However the ICT club even having new or weak patrons is able to survive and to participate at project activities. It is caused by the tradition which has been created through years and spirit is being transferred from students to students.

7. The names of the budget lines should be as simple as possible to be more

universal During project implementation there were several requests to SlovakAid to

change the name of the budget lines. In majority of cases there was no need to change the content and position in sub-budget, only to change the users. To reduce the administrative burden on both sides, PF and SlovakAid, the names of the budget lines should be more universal thus flexible in use (e.g. the travel expenses could be defined as lump sum without split into Slovak and Kenyan…).

8. Cooperation with Slovak Embassy is very valuable for project implementation The cooperation with Slovak Embassy in Nairobi was established at many levels

to support the project activities. For the students there was the essay writing competition Ambassador of Change organized by the embassy and the price was study visit to Nairobi for the best authors. The embassy also provided help to organized official meeting with MoE. Representatives from the Embassy also visited the fair of practice companies in Voi what gave it prestige and recognition which has further motivated the students and the teachers. The last but not least were the scholarships in Slovakia provided for several graduates from project schools.

9. Internet connection as being the key of the project must be reliable During the project it turned out that the Safaricom modems were not sufficient for

remote rural areas. It has influenced several project activities. Thanks to decrease of price, the satellite internet solution by Zuku was purchased. It was installed at almost all schools (2 were remaining during the time of evaluation) and it was already confirmed by the beneficiaries that it is much more reliable.

28

10. Employing of graduates by the project (either Sote ICT or KWT) is great motivation for other ICT club members So far, there were 3 graduates who still involved with the project. One was

employed by Sote ICT who became the Local Administrator for school activities and 2 are on internship at KWT and providing support to the project from Nairobi and occasionally traveling to Voi. On one side it is big inspiration and motivation for other students and on the other side they can provide hands-on experience to their younger peers.

11. The Sote ICT Teacher Manual is very useful tool for majority of the teachers Majority of the teachers appreciated to have practical guideline once being

patrons or deputies of the ICT club. It became the first aid kit for the teachers as in majority of the cases they were teaching what was out of their scope (computer studies combined with business studied). Experienced teachers were also asked to contribute to the content but they did not manage due to limited time.

12. Cooperation with iHub Nairobi was very fruitful for project beneficiaries The iHub Nairobi (coworking space focused on ICT projects) is well established

with strong outreach program. The project gained their attention and they were really impressed what everything is possible in remote rural areas with ICT. They provided several trainings to the students and to the teachers which were very fruitful and implied new ideas and training approaches to the project. The staff of iHub Nairobi found already very strong foundation in the project schools to build on.

4.2 Recommendations for future project

1. To focus on local county government and make use of devolution (as intended cooperation with MoE did not work). The program is worth to be expanded but with limited resource it is advisable to

keep it within the TTC and keep local governor involved in the project activities (such as the fair of practice companies) and gain his sympathy and support. He should be the key to explore the region more and its potential as well as the source of key contacts and networking opportunities in order to set the direction of new project correctly (especially to setup the Sote Hub properly from the very beginning). There is still room to add new schools to the project, especially those having already equipped computer labs which will benefit from the ICT club and practice companies’ concept and know-how. The potential of Youth Polytechnics (YP) should be explored (a survey is needed to find out what kind of courses especially related to business and computers do they offer and how long do they take). It might be easier to integrate the PEN model into local education systems of the county where YP belong according to devolution. Crucial will be the support of the governor and his officers in charge of education (e.g. the County Director of Education who is directly linked to MoE and County Director of Teachers’ management who is directly linked to Teacher Service Commission).

29

2. To send skilled volunteers to Kenya to emphasize the Sote Hub component of the project Apply for volunteers from Volunteer Program of SlovakAid to provide the

supervision and coordination of the new project. One volunteer should have fundraising skills (institutional donors as well as private businesses) to start with resource mobilization at local and national level in Kenya for further expansion of the project. Second volunteer should have experience with establishment or running of coworking space and PR (Facebook surveys and campaigns). This will help to Sote Hub to have strong base and sustainability from the very beginning with variety of graduates, students, freelancers, digital nomads, businessmen and their start-ups and projects.

3. To do assessment of the region to judge its potential and analyze the opportunities for Sote Hub Even being in the region for several years already, proper assessment of Voi and

TTC was not yet done. Deeper analyze should explore all areas as from ICT through culture, sport, education (secondary schools, colleges and university) up to NGOs and businesses. This will allow to adjust the services of Sote Hub and contribute towards regional development as well as to make use of the region’s potential. Each future member / partner of Sote Hub will need different package of benefits which should be carefully prepared and then confidently offered and sold.

4. To explore Kenyan fundraising opportunities and transfer this responsibility from project partners to the Sote ICT NGO and the schools There are many opportunities in Kenya for fundraising. Also the responsibility

should not be anymore with project partners but should be transferred to the Sote ICT NGO (which is yet to be registered) and the project schools. At national level the program of Kenyan government Computers for Schools Kenya (CFSK) was not fully used. There is a development fund at county level (The Taita Taveta County Ward Development Fund) which was not yet fully discovered. All major companies, such as mobile operators, banks and airlines are having own foundations and education and ICT is usually one of their focus. At local level the companies operating in Voi (such as

Wildlife Works, China Road Company, numerous lodges and hotels) were not yet approached at the managerial level. The other opportunity is to create partnerships between practice companies and real companies and move it from simple cooperation to donor-grantee relationship. There are more funds to be explored: Women Entrepreneurship Fund and Youth Entrepreneurship Fund managed by the government as well as programs of UNDP. Fruitful might be the cooperation with local business center (Biashara Center).

President of ICT club (being the only male)

helping to his female ICT club members at Mwakitawa Secondary School.

30

5. To explore local opportunities for IGA which should be coordinated by Sote ICT NGO and done by Sote Hub members – graduates from project schools Besides exploring the potential of local YP, the region itself and the fundraising

opportunities, there is another research which should be done. For sustainability of both, Sote ICT NGO and the Sote Hub it is necessary that from very beginning they will be operated as social business. That means they will be solving the social problem of youth unemployment through business solutions, meaning some IGAs should be identified. There were already several options suggested by different stakeholders (such as PEN certification, different marketing services e.g. design of posters, t-shirts or logos, web development services, accounting services, videos / photos making, business development and optimalization, support country government to get online and to provide e-government services…) but more should be identified directly in the field.

6. To establish a contingency fund for Sote ICT NGO and Sote Hub operations During upcoming two years while the 4th SlovakAid project will be implemented

it is crucial to establish a contingency fund for the Sote ICT NGO and Sote Hub. The money should come from fundraising activities and IGAs. As it is highly probable that there will not be any funding from SlovakAid in the future for this particular program, this fund will contribute towards resources diversification and decrease the dependency on Slovak ODA.

7. To increase the number of local institutions and private businesses involved in the project To attract other institutions and private businesses it is necessary to improve the

visibility of the project and project partners. There is urgent need to improve the visibility directly at the school level (unified signpost should be made for each school, more t-shirts or even caps could be made for ICT club members, stickers should be placed on all ICT equipment…) and then continue to work on the visibility in media at local and national level. The potential partners to be aimed for were mentioned already above (e.g. county government, college and university in Voi, Youth Polytechnics in the region, big companies such Wildlife Works or China Road Company, branches of banks and insurance companies, hotels and lodges…)

8. To improve the visibility of the project Uniform branding should be established and used at all school (currently if differs

from school to school or there is none). All logos of all project partners (SlovakAid, PF, KWT and Sote ICT) should be put in order and used on every material produced by the ICT clubs, Sote ICT including the computer labs. For those schools which do not have signpost at the road or in front of the school such signpost could be created from project budget and it should contain besides name of the school also name of the project and logos of the partners. This will increase visibility of the project at local level and will bring recognition of the partners at local level and might bring new potential partners or investors.

31

9. To keep close relationship with the Embassy of the Slovak Republic As mentioned already in lessons learnt, the relationship with the Embassy of

Slovak Republic was very useful to the project. As it was based mainly on personal sympathy of the actual Ambassador who is leaving very soon, it will be crucial for the new project to keep the level of cooperation at similar level also with the new Ambassador. There will be several options to invite the new Ambassador such as opening ceremony of the project, opening ceremony of Sote Hub or fairs for the practice companies.

10. Continue working on all 10 schools that are in the program with focus on teachers’ leadership As mentioned already in lessons learnt, the history and tradition of ICT clubs and

practice companies is very important for the sustainability of the project. During new project all 12 schools (10 old and 2 new) should work together to support each other, to share best practices, to network and to create the synergy.

11. To improve the planning of project activities and involve the schools The assignments or events related to ICT clubs or practice companies were

randomly planned and ad hoc incorporated to other activities of the school. It is important to sit with all ICT club patrons and their deputies at the beginning of school years and to plan together the timeline of all different competitions, fairs, exchanges and study visits per each term. It will be also used within the school to present the ICT club activities to the principal (it should have his / her signature at the end as approval) and other teachers so other school activities could be synchronized without collisions.

12. To keep the range of school activities at the same level and make them tailor-made for each school The students as well as the teachers expressed that the ICT club and practice

companies activities are very time demanding (officially there was one hour per week dedicated to the club activities, yet many students spent weekend’s afternoons in computer lab). It should be taken into consideration that for both groups of beneficiaries it is a free-time activity (however beneficial). The level of schools varies such as their potential which is usually depending on the teachers or school principals. Thus the expectations and intensity of the activities should be tailor-made for each school to fully exhaust its potential but not to overload it.

13. To review and extend the first version of Sote ICT Teacher Manual and to consider version for students The first edition of Teacher Manual (from year 2014) was very useful especially

to new teachers joining the project. However it was done from the desk by the project staff, yet excluding the teachers to contribute to the contents (besides one humble attachment) for whom it was actually made. Students were not considered at all, yet some simpler version of such manual would be appreciated by them as well. It could be very useful for ICT club officials once handing over their positions to new elected successors.

32

14. To improve the selection of teachers involved in the project As mentioned already in lessons learnt, the most important is the personal

motivation of the teacher. The other factor which is worth to look after is the intention of the teacher to leave the school and to move somewhere else. It could be the offer to teach close to their home place which is usually the case of the teachers who are paid by the government (they are usually on 5 years fixed contract and have the duty to take their next assignment). The teachers who are being paid by School Board are tricky as well even being usually from around. They earn less than their fellow teachers paid by the government and they are usually ready to move immediately once anything better comes.

15. To improve the selection of ICT club officials

Currently the tradition at many ICT clubs is, that the form 3 or form 4 students (who are leaving the school very soon) are becoming the ICT club officials as they are usually having best experience and skills. To improve the sustainability of the project it would be useful to focus on those younger students (form 1 or form 2) who will stay with the ICT club for next couple of years. They might struggle with lack of respect at the beginning of their term so the teacher should be diplomatically helping them. At the same time, they might lack discipline and sense of responsibility which is another challenge for the teacher. Another option to consider is to change the ICT club officials more often. On one side it might influence the sustainability of the ICT club but on the other side it will give an opportunity to learn to a higher number of students who can experience what it is like to run a business At the end, the teacher should be a diplomat and good facilitator of the election process to achieve desired results.

16. To transfer the responsibility for the project newsletter from Sote ICT to the schools and their respective ICT clubs Currently the project newsletter is compiled by Sote ICT Local Administrator and

does not have periodicity. To increase the ownership of the project on the side of teachers and the students, the responsibility to create the form and the content should be transferred to the schools. Having 12 schools in the future project will give each month an opportunity to different ICT club to create the newsletter and before it to collect contributions from the other ICT clubs. This will increase their cooperation and level of experience sharing. At the same time it will increase their motivation as the best article can be posted on Sote ICT blog.

17. To focus more on maintenance and repairs of the computers The computers and other ICT equipment are the keys to the project activities and

results. Many beneficiaries complained that only few computers in the computer lab are operational. As there is only one teacher who is able to repair computers he would either need some peers to help him and get trained or external repairs services should be strengthen. Even better solution would be if some students or graduates who would be interested into such activity could be trained on basic computer maintenance and repair. One of reasons why the computers are broken so often might be that fact that they are refurbished but this is connected with limited project budget.

33

18. To continue the deep involvement of graduates into project activities As mentioned already in lessons learnt the involvement of graduates into the

project activities was very successful and profitable for all beneficiaries. This trend should continue and opportunities for graduates should be created during new project. Computer maintenance and repair services and services provided by Sote Hub could be two of them, yet more options should be discovered.

19. To work on capacity development of KWT staff and especially of Sote ICT

NGO staff Continuous learning and capacity development is the key to personal growth and

improvements. The staff of KWT as well as the Sote ICT NGO would definitely benefit from different trainings especially taking into consideration that there are 3 graduates being still involved (1 as employee and 2 as interns) and more might be coming soon. There is still room for improvements in soft skills and some technical and ICT related trainings would be appreciated as well.

20. To increase sustainability elements of the projects To sum up from all previous recommendations it is necessary to work on: local

fundraising (institutional donors and private businesses), capacity development of project partners, new partnerships at local level, selection of teachers and ICT club officials, review and extension the Sote ICT Teacher Manual and consider simpler version also for the students, increase of the project ownership by the beneficiaries by transferring the responsibility for the project newsletter, project visibility at local level, planning process of project activities in coordination with all involved teachers.

Focus group with the members of 2 practice companies

at Murray Girls Secondary School.

34

4.3 Recommendations to SlovakAid and Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic

1. To reconsider the maximum time periods of the SlovakAid funded projects (to extend it) The evidence of this evaluation shows that deepening the skills and knowledge

gained by the teacher and students through the capacity development element of the project is needed at both, school as well as individual level. It is the opinion of several stakeholders that extended time of projects (beyond 2 years) would allow the project team to support the schools further which would result in higher sustainability of the project activities.

2. To re-interpret the issue of size of beneficiaries’ groups for grant applicants (to decrease it) The organizations applying for grants often feel a need to impress the donor by

involving more people than manageable in the project believing this is one of the key criteria to base the grant decision on. This evaluation has shown this actually is a counterproductive measure negatively influencing the effectiveness, impact and sustainability of those activities. Therefore, donor representatives should ensure they clearly communicate to the grant applicants that the size of the beneficiaries’ groups is by no means a decisive factor in granting the funds.

3. To intensify monitoring and evaluation exercises of development projects The evaluated project was visited by representatives of the Embassy of Slovak

Republic and SlovakAid. However it was rather a courtesy visit than proper monitoring. It should be donor’s primary interest to have effective, sustainable and impactful projects in its portfolio, therefore intensifying of monitoring and external evaluation exercises is strongly recommended.

4. To shift from activity-based reporting to results-based reporting To understand the development of particular project, it is also necessary to shift

from requiring activity-based reporting to results-based reporting and communicate this with the grant applicants.

35

Annexes

Annex 1 – List of acronyms PF Pontis Foundation KWT Kasigau Wildlife Trust SlovakAid Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation TTC Taita Taveta County KCPE Kenyan Centre for Practice Enterprise SCPE Slovak Centre for Practice Enterprise SSVEI Slovak State Vocational Education Institute ICT Information and Communication Technology PBL Project Based Learning PEN Practice Enterprise Network MoE Ministry of Education ODA Official Development Assistance LAs Local Authorities NGO Non-government Organization iNGO International Non-government Organization KCSE Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education MoU Memorandum of Understanding YP Youth Polytechnics CFSK Computers for Schools Kenya IGA Income Generating Activity KCB Kenya Commerce Bank

36

Annex 2 – List of overviewed documents Project related documents:

1. Project document submitted to SlovakAid including the attachments 2. Monitoring reports submitted to SlovakAid including the attachments 3. Requests for project activity changes submitted to SlovakAid 4. Recommendations of SlovakAid based on monitoring visit of previous project 5. Ongoing survey on the ICT use by teachers and students 6. Sote ICT Teacher Manual

Donor-related documents: 7. Medium Term Strategy for Official Development Aid for Slovak Republic for

2009 – 2013 8. Medium Term Strategy for Official Development Aid for Slovak Republic for

years 2014 – 2018 9. National program of Slovak ODA for year 2012 10. National program of Slovak ODA for year 2013 11. SlovakAid call for proposal for Kenya related projects 12. SlovakAid Kenya Country Strategy Paper 13. SlovakAid financial guidelines

Other documents:

14. Kenya Vision 2030 15. Kenya Education Sector Support Program 16. National ICT Strategy for Education and Training 17. Strategic documents of major international donors in Kenya 18. Evaluation reports of other projects of Slovak NGOs implemented in Kenya

37

Annex 3 – ToR

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Slovak-Kenyan Cooperation for Modern Schools (Sote ICT): Evaluation of the SlovakAid

Project SAMRS/2013/KEN/01/12

Background Sote ICT programme is based on three consecutive projects of Slovak-Kenyan Cooperation for Modern Schools that SlovakAid funded since 2010. The pilot project started with an aim to integrate ICT in education at two schools - Moi High School Kasigau and Rukanga Primary, train teachers in innovative teaching methods with the use of ICR and positively influence the learning outcomes of their students. In 2011 we developed a concept of student IT clubs that would learn through practical activities such as video editing, creation of school magazines, business cards for teachers and local entrepreneurs and design materials for school administration. The program expanded to five schools in 2012 and ten schools in 2013. In the same year we introduced the concept of student practice companies that were gradually established at each of the schools. In year 2014 we helped to educate 417 members of ICT Clubs at 10 secondary schools from Taita Taveta County in practical computer and business skills. Since 2013, students established and manage together 24 training companies that are registered in Practice Enterprise Network and do business among themselves and students abroad. During the school year, students create brochures, video adverts, blogs, business plans and accounting documents and share them through facebook.com/SoteICT and slideshare.net/soteICT. Pontis Foundation and our partners, Kasigau Wildlife Trust, have managed the program for five years and we are in the process of registering the Sote ICT as a spin-off NGO. In 2015 we started to cooperate with iHub Outreach program for trainings at our partner schools and want to create a Sote ICT Hub in Voi town to support graduates of our partner schools in practical business skills and help them to establish their own businesses. The programme reports open data also to IATI - http://www.iatiregistry.org/dataset/pontis-ke. Objectives To conduct an External Evaluation of Sote ICT program

38

External Evaluation should contain: An assessment of the project’s implementation strategy, and the degree to which objectives, outcome and output indicators were accomplished as described in the project documents, especially to what extent did the project lead to capacity building of the of the target group (teachers, students and their community).

Evaluation of the impact of the project outputs, i. e. trainings of teachers in project-based learning (PBL) and the subsequent use of PBL outside ICT Clubs, the regular activities of ICT Clubs and student practice companies and their impact on graduates and their local community.

Assessment to what extent did the experience of ICT Clubs and student practice companies helped them to acquire practical ICT and business skills and to what extent did it help them to achieve better school results in Business Studies and Computer Studies.

Analysis of the role of the project partner Pontis Foundation and its added value in managing the program and developing the strategy for its improvement and sustainability. The external evaluation shall include these criteria in the assessment of the Sote ICT programme: impact, effectiveness, sustainability, efficiency and relevance,

Identification of realistic and feasible set of Recommendations.

Indicators: (qualitative and quantitative indicators from the logical framework of the projects or to be proposed by the evaluator)

Target Groups and methodology The study should help Pontis Foundation evaluate the impact of the Sote ICT programme on long term school performance and learning outcomes of the students in terms of improved school performance and practical ICT and business skills. Target groups: selected teachers from ten secondary school in Taita Taveta County, student members of the ICT Clubs and training companies and students who are not members of ICT Clubs, local community around schools and partner organizations – Kasigau Wildlife Trust, Slovak Centre for Practice Enterprise and iHub. Methodology:

• Desk research (Analyzes of available materials provided by Pontis Foundation (project proposals, reports for donors, evaluation reports, past questionnaires and outputs of student ICT Clubs and student Practice Companies)

39

• Interviews (in person, via skype) • Any additional methods proposed by the consultant

The evaluation should include:

• Information and description of the ‘overall environment and context within which Pontis Foundation and its partners – KWT, iHub, partner schools worked;

• Evaluation of the institutional development of KWT and the sustainability of the Sote ICT programme design and concept

• Evaluation of the process of selection of the schools and teachers • Evaluation of the added value of Sote ICT programme vis-a-vis other similar

projects – Junior achievement Kenya and School Business Clubs in Uganda by the NGO Educate!;

• Analysis of the qualitative and quantitative indicators • Assessment of the results and impacts of the project to local community

(parents, graduates, local craftsmen);

Duration The Consultancy is expected to start in June 2015 and finish after the submission of the requested documents in September 2015. By 15 June 2015 the Pontis Foundation will deliver all materials necessary for the evaluation process. Workplan Deadline for submission Draft report by 31 August, final by 15 September 2015 the consultant will deliver the evaluation (in English) Practical arrangement The Pontis Foundation and the consultant will sign a contract allowing him/her to deliver the expected results. The contract will respect the Slovak laws and state all the details regarding reimbursement of expenses. The Pontis Foundation covers honoraria, travel, per diem, accommodation and communication.

40

Annex 4 – Evaluation design

EVALUATION DESIGN

of the project “Slovak-Kenyan Cooperation for Modern Schools (Sote ICT)”

SlovakAid Contract No. SAMRS/2013/KEN/01/12 implemented by Pontis Foundation

1.8.2013 - 31.8.2015 (by Edita Bednarova – External Evaluator)

Purpose To evaluate:

1. Project’s implementation strategy, and the degree to which objectives, outcome and output indicators were accomplished as described in the project documents, especially to what extent did the project lead to capacity building of the of the target group (teachers, students and their community).

2. The impact of the project outputs, i. e. trainings of teachers in project-based learning and the subsequent use of PBL outside ICT clubs, the regular activities of ICT clubs and practice companies and their impact on graduates and their local community.

3. To what extent did the experience of ICT clubs and student practice companies helped them to acquire practical ICT and business skills and to what extent did it help them to achieve better school results in Business Studies and Computer Studies.

4. The role of the project partner Pontis Foundation and its added value in managing the program and developing the strategy for its improvement and sustainability

Methodology

1. Initial briefing session with Pontis Foundation project manager (optionally other members of the development cooperation department)

2. Desk review of relevant documents a. Project document submitted to SlovakAid including the attachments b. Monitoring reports submitted to SlovakAid including the attachments c. Requests for project activity changes submitted to SlovakAid d. Students’ questionnaires and their analysis e. Materials and information collected by Slovak volunteer f. Medium Term Strategy for Official Development Aid for Slovak Republic

for years 2014 – 2018 g. SlovakAid call for proposal for Kenya related projects h. SlovakAid financial guidelines i. Evaluation reports (or recommendations) of other Pontis Foundation’s

project implemented in Kenya j. National strategic documents of Kenya (e.g. Vision 2030)

3. Stakeholders’ interviews

41

a. Pontis Foundation Project Manager b. Other staff of Pontis Foundation c. SlovakAid project manager/s d. Slovak ambassador e. Other staff of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Nairobi f. Kasigau Wildlife Trust Project Manager g. Other staff of Kasigau Wildlife Trust h. Teachers and Directors from selected Kenyan schools (ten schools) i. Students who are members of the ICT clubs / practice companies j. Students who are not members of the ICT clubs / practice companies k. Graduates who were members of the ICT clubs / practice companies l. Graduates who were not members of the ICT clubs / practice companies m. Representative from Kenyan Centre for Practice Enterprise n. Representative from iHub Nairobi o. Trainers / mentors (e.g. from local companies like Vivitek Corporation,

Microsoft Kenya or teachers) p. Suppliers (e.g. of IT equipment) q. Local community representatives (e.g. local SMEs, local NGOs, parents,

community leaders) r. Government officials (e.g. Ministry of Education and the ICT4E project) s. Taita-Taveta County representatives t. Representatives from similar projects (e.g. Junior Achievement Kenya and

School Business Clubs in Uganda by the NGO Educate!) u. Representative from Slovak Centre for Practice Enterprise Network (at

Slovak State Vocational Education Institute) v. Teachers and Directors from selected Slovak schools (e.g. Business

Academy Levice) w. Students / graduates from selected Slovak schools x. Representatives (volunteers) from Slovak companies (e.g. eTechnology,

Integra, Microsoft Slovakia) 4. Analysis of data 5. Draft findings debriefing session with Pontis Foundation Project Manager

Work plan and timing 24.5. Initial briefing with Pontis Foundation Project Manager – Jakub Simek and Project Coordinator – Ivana Ulicna 18.6. Briefing with Pontis Foundation Project Manager – Jakub Simek, Head of the Department – Ivana Raslavska and Project Coordinator – Ivana Ulicna 18.6.-22.6. Documents review 22.6. Evaluation design delivery 23.6.-2.7. Field work in Kenya (stakeholders’ interviews)

42

6.7.-15.7 Field work in Slovakia (stakeholders’ interviews) 20.7.-24.7. Evaluation report compilation 27.7. Draft evaluation report delivery 29.7. Debriefing with Pontis Foundation Project Manager – Jakub Simek 31.7. Final evalution report delivery Structure of evaluation report

1. Executive summary 2. Introduction 3. Project description 4. Evaluation purpose and objectives 5. Methodology 6. Evaluation criteria (relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, impact) 7. Key findings / Lessons learnt / Recommendations 8. Annexes

List of acronyms List of overviewed documents List of people interviewed

TOR Evaluation Design Guidelines for interviews Evaluation questions a. Relevance

The extent to which the objectives of a development intervention are consistent with beneficiaries’ requirements, country needs, global priorities and partners’ and donors’ policies.

‐ Was this project reflecting the needs of the target groups? ‐ Were the identified needs still valid as they were at the beginning of the project or

are they seen differently now under changing circumstances? ‐ Were the project partners in line with the project objectives? ‐ Was the project in line with the national priorities of Kenya and SlovakAid

strategy? ‐ Is the economical capacity of the region sufficient?

b. Efficiency A measure of how economically resources/inputs (funds, expertise, time, etc.) are

converted to results. ‐ Were the digital technologies and other equipment available in desired quality and

functionality to the target groups?

43

‐ Were the trainings reflecting the needs of the target groups (content and delivery methodology) and was the expertise of the trainers / mentors appropriate?

‐ Was the number of the project staff and their managerial skills and educational background adequate for the project activities?

‐ Were the internal processes in-between project partners well established? Was the cooperation efficient?

‐ Were the funds spent as intended in project budget? ‐ Were the activities implemented as planned in project timetable?

c. Effectiveness The extent to which the development intervention’s objectives were achieved, or are

expected to be achieved, taking into account their relative importance. ‐ How far have been the objectives achieved? ‐ What are the reasons influencing the level of actual project results? ‐ Are there other ways how to achieve the objectives of the project in more

effective, efficient and more sustainable way? ‐ Is the level of knowledge after the trainings / mentoring and material support by

digital technologies appropriate to meet the needs of the target groups? d. Sustainability

The continuation of benefits from a development intervention after major development assistance has been completed. The probability of continued long-term benefits. The resilience to risk of the net benefit flows over time.

‐ What were the project measures for sustainability and how were they implemented / achieved?

‐ How will the project continue after phase-out of project partners? ‐ What was the level of cooperation with local authorities (e.g. Ministry of

Education)? ‐ What are the main factors influencing the sustainability of the project? ‐ Are there any options for project based IGA? ‐ What are the options for funds / donors differentiation to decrease the dependence

on SlovakAid? ‐ What are the options for project replication and scaling? ‐ Which other stakeholders could become project partners to takeover some

components of the project? e. Impact

Positive and negative, primary and secondary long-term effects produced by a development intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended.

‐ How did the project change the lives of target groups? ‐ How many people were influenced by the project and how? ‐ How did the beneficiaries involved directly in the project influence the other

members of the target group?

Project impact and outputs The project follows up two previous projects of Pontis Foundation and aims to

contribute to social development in Kenya with the focus on education through: ‐ Improvement of computer and business skills of teachers and students at

secondary schools in Taita Taveta County

44

‐ Increase of economical potential and competitiveness of local communities through project-based learning and practice companies

‐ Improvement of practical education in Kenya through membership in PEN followed by international cooperation of practice companies

The outcomes and results of the project are: 1. New Kenyan Centre for Practice Enterprise will join PEN international (in

cooperation with Slovak State Vocational Education Institute) to represent Kenya and will provide high quality services to Kenyan practice companies

1. Establishment of Kenyan Centre for Practice Enterprise in cooperation with Slovak State Vocational Education Institute and membership of Kenya in PEN International

2. Five new secondary schools will improve their attendance, results and placement of graduates through digital technologies and project-based learning

2. Modernization of five secondary schools in Taita Taveta County through ICT and project-based learning

3. Practice companies at 10 pilot secondary schools from Taita Taveta County will join PEN international and will establish sustainable cooperation with Slovak students

3. Development of practice companies at 10 pilot secondary schools and their involvement in PEN activities

4. Sustainable cooperation of Slovak and Kenyan schools and their practice companies

5. Involvement of local community and Kenyan companies into cooperation with practice companies

45

Annex 5 – Guidelines for interviews BENEFICIARIES (TEACHERS / PRINCIPALS) Engagement questions:

1. When and how has the school been established? 2. What are the general characteristics of the school (daily / boarding, number of

students: girls / boys, number of teachers: government / Board of Members)? Exploration questions:

3. How did the school get engaged in the project? 4. Were there any other NGOs assisting to the school before? 5. What has been offered to the school and has it been delivered as offered? 6. Did the activities go as expected in the original timeline? 7. Did your school get from the project what you expected at the beginning? What

was is? 8. How was the cooperation with PF and KWT? 9. What has been the most visible change seen in the school? 10. How many teachers are using ICT and interactive teaching methods? 11. Do you see any difference between ICT club members and the other students? 12. Do you see any improvements in school attendance, results and graduates

placement? 13. How is the ICT club performing these days? 14. How are practice companies doing? 15. How have the activities and its results influence neighboring school community? 16. How was the interaction between the school and all the different project

stakeholders (project partners, other schools, parents, community, county government, real private companies…)?

17. Which challenges did you undergo during project implementation? 18. What do you think will happen once the project partners will finish their support? 19. What was your personal motivation to be part of the project? 20. What has been offered to you and has it been delivered as offered? 21. What are your personal plans for next 5 years?

Exit questions:

22. What could have been done better during this project? Any suggestions for improvements?

23. Is there anything else you would like to say regarding this project?

46

BENEFICIARIES (STUDENTS / GRADUATES, MEMBERS / NON-MEMBERS) Engagement questions:

1. Where are you coming from and what is your age? 2. Which form are you? / When did you graduate? 3. What is / was the name of your school? / What is your current job? / Are you in

touch with other graduates? Exploration questions:

4. How did you get engaged in the project? 5. Are engaged in other school projects / activities / clubs? 6. What has been offered to you and has it been delivered as offered? 7. Did the activities go as expected in the original timeline? 8. Did you get from the project what you expected at the beginning? What was is? 9. Did you recommend this project to your peers? 10. How was the cooperation with PF and KWT? 11. What has been the most visible change seen in the school / ICT club / practice

company? 12. How many teachers at your schools are using ICT and interactive teaching

methods? 13. Do you see any difference between ICT club members and the other students? 14. Do you see any improvements in school attendance, results and graduates

placement? 15. Do you think that this project will help you in your career? 16. How did you interact with all the different project stakeholders (project partners,

other schools, parents, community, country government, real private companies…)?

17. How is the ICT club performing these days? 18. How are practice companies doing? 19. Which challenges did you undergo during project implementation? 20. What do you think will happen once the project partners will finish their support? 21. What was your personal motivation to be part of the project? 22. What do you think you will do after studies? 23. What is your dream job?

Exit questions:

24. What could have been done better during this project? Any suggestions for improvements?

25. Is there anything else you would like to say regarding this project?

47

48

PROJECT STAFF Engagement questions:

1. How has been the involvement of the partner staff in project planning and proposal writing?

2. Which other similar projects has the organization been involved in? What is the expertise of the team?

Exploration questions:

3. Is the project relevant to the beneficiaries? Why? 4. Has financial management and timing of the project gone as expected? 5. Were the results of the projects achieved? What helped / prevented the team to

achieve those? 6. What were the successes and challenges of the project? 7. How has the life of the beneficiaries changed as a result of the project? 8. How was the cooperation between the project partners during the implementation

of the project? 9. What are the measures taken to sustain the results of the project beyond its project

cycle? Exit question:

10. What is it that partner organization missed the most during the implementation? 11. If there is a chance to start the project again, what should be done differently? 12. Is there anything else to be mentioned in regards to the project?

Annex 6 – List of people interviewed

NO DATE NAME INSTITUTION POSITION INTERVIEW

1 24.5. Ivana Ulicna Pontis Foundation Project Coordinator Group

2 18.6. Ivana Raslavska Pontis Foundation Head of the Department Group

3 22.6. Jakub Simek Pontis Foundation Project Manager Individual

4 24.6. David Ogiga Kasigau Wildlife Trust Project Manager Phone

5 24.6. Nina Machacova SlovakAid Project Manager E-mail

6 24.6. Rachael Miller Educate! Uganda Interim Operations Coordinator E-mail

7 25.6. David Ogiga Kasigau Wildlife Trust Local Project Coordinator Individual

8 25.6. James Ndiga iHub Nairobi Outreach Coordinator Individual

9 25.6. Geoffrey Mwachari Moi High School / Kasigau Wildlife Trust Graduate / Assistant Individual

10 25.6. Robert Mburu Mwambiti Secondary School / Kasigau Wildlife Trust Graduate / Assistant Individual

11 25.6. Diana Hulova SlovakAid ex Project Manager Individual

12 26.6. Michal Mlynar The Embassy of The Slovak Republic in Nairobi Ambassador Individual

13 26.6. Gift Mtambo Marungu Secondary School / Kasigau Wildlife Trust Graduate / Local Administrator Individual

14 27.6. Mwakitawa Secondary School Practice Company Mchomkololo 5 Officials / Members Focus Group

15 27.6. Mwakitawa Secondary School Practice Company Matomoko 5 Officials / Members Focus Group

16 27.6. Mwakitawa Secondary School Non Members ICT Club 5 Students Focus Group

17 27.6. Charles Munene Mwakitawa Secondary School ICT Club ICT Club President Individual

18 27.6. Collins Kilonzo Mwakitawa Secondary School Computer Teacher Individual

19 27.6. Laurian Lenjo Wildlife Works Company Manager Individual

20 28.6. Kajire Secondary School Practice Company Marvelous Art Association 10 Officials / Members Focus Group

21 28.6. Ezra Abuga Kajere Secondary School / ICT Club History Teacher / ICT Club Patron Individual

22 28.6. Kajere Secondary School Practice Company Classic Photo & Video Production 10 Officials / Members Focus Group

23 28.6. Kajere Secondary School Non Members ICT Club 6 Students Focus Group

24 28.6. Abdil China Road & Bridge Corporation Company Contractor Individual

25 29.6. Emmanuel Mwangoni Marungu Secondary School - GreenBird Insurance Practice Company President Group

26 29.6. Jimmy Makuyu Marungu Secondary School - Rainbow Painting ICT Club / Practice Company President Group

27 29.6. Peter Msheru Marungu Secondary School - Mchindi KCB ICT Club Deputy Presidnet / Marketing Group

28 29.6. Marungu Secondary School Non Memebers of Practice Company 3 Members of ICT Club Focus Group

29 29.6. Herman Mwalukuku Marungu Secondary School Chemistry & Math Tearcher / ICT Club Patron Individual

30 29.6. Patrick Sila Marungu Secondary School Graduate Individual

31 29.6. Ann Mwambono Marungu Secondary School Swahili Teacher Individual

32 29.6. Teddy Godfried Malaho Mwaghogho Secondary School Computer Teacher / ICT Club Patron Individual

33 30.6. Kanyasya F. Kele Mwambiti Secondary School Principal Individual

34 30.6. Mwambiti Secondary School Practice Company Kenslov 9 Officials / Members Focus Group

35 30.6. David Abok Mwambiti Secondary School Match & Physics Teacher / ICT Club Patron Group

36 30.6. Susan Kamau Mwambiti Secondary School Computer Teacher / Deputy ICT Club Patron Group

37 30.6. Buguta Secondary School Practice Companies Greenlight and Dragon 8 Officials / Members Focus Group

38 30.6. Felix Kioko Buguta Secondary School Geography & Swahili Teacher / ICT Club Patron Group

39 30.6. David Miyora Buguta Secondary School Computer Teacher / Deputy ICT Club Patron Group

40 1.7. Murray Girls Secondary School Practice Companies PeakStars & Beauty&Brain 18 Officials / Members Focus Group

41 1.7. Murray Girls Secondary School Practice Companies Mimstoon & Umoja 9 Officials / Members Focus Group

42 1.7. Frida Mukami Njeru Murray Girls Secondary School Computer & English Teacher / ICT Club Patron Individual

43 1.7. Harry Mwailengo PJ Mwangola Secondary School ex Computer Teacher / ICT Club Patron Individual

44 1.7. Crispin Mwawana Chala Secondary School Principal Individual

45 2.7. Lucia Lackova The Embassy of The Slovak Republic in Nairobi Development Cooperation Diplomat Individual

46 14.7. Juraj Kopani eTechnology company Owner Phone

47 14.7. Daniela Skladanova Business Academy Levice Practice Company Teacher Phone

50