Course Details

M&E for Livelihoods and Economic Empowerment Training Course

INTRODUCTION

This essential training course provides comprehensive knowledge and practical skills for conducting Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) for Livelihoods and Economic Empowerment Programs. Recognizing the complexity of interventions aimed at improving incomes, creating sustainable employment, fostering entrepreneurship, and enhancing financial inclusion, M&E for Livelihoods and Economic Empowerment Training Course equips participants with a systematic understanding of specialized indicators, rigorous methodologies for measuring economic change, and approaches to assessing long-term resilience. Participants will gain deep insights into tracking changes in household income, asset accumulation, market access, business growth, financial literacy, and gender economic empowerment, all crucial for demonstrating impact, ensuring accountability, and refining strategies for sustainable poverty reduction.

This course is designed for professionals engaged in economic development, social protection, and humanitarian response with a focus on improving livelihoods. It bridges the gap between general M&E principles and the unique demands of economic interventions, empowering participants to design, manage, and implement M&E activities that are not only robust but also capable of capturing the nuanced and often multi-dimensional changes associated with economic empowerment.

DURATION

10 days

TARGET AUDIENCE

This course is specifically designed for professionals involved in designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating livelihoods, economic empowerment, vocational training, financial inclusion, and market-based programs, including:

• M&E Specialists in economic development and livelihoods sectors.
• Program Managers and Coordinators of livelihoods and economic empowerment projects.
• Financial Inclusion and Market Systems Development Practitioners.
• Social Protection and Cash Transfer Program Staff.
• Researchers and Analysts focused on poverty reduction and economic growth.

OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the core concepts and challenges of M&E in livelihoods and economic empowerment.
• Design relevant indicators for measuring economic changes, including income, assets, and market access.
• Apply appropriate data collection methodologies for economic data.
• Analyze and interpret economic M&E data to assess program impact.
• Leverage M&E findings to inform adaptive programming and improve livelihoods outcomes.

MODULES

Module 1: Foundations of M&E for Livelihoods and Economic Empowerment

• Define key concepts: livelihoods, economic empowerment, financial inclusion, market systems development.
• Explore the unique challenges of M&E in livelihoods programs (e.g., attribution, seasonality, external market factors).
• Understand the purpose of M&E for demonstrating impact, ensuring accountability, and informing program adaptation.
• Discuss the multi-dimensional nature of poverty and its implications for economic M&E.
• Examine different types of livelihoods interventions (e.g., vocational training, microfinance, value chain development).

Module 2: Developing Theories of Change for Livelihoods Programs

• Understand how to articulate a clear Theory of Change (ToC) for complex livelihoods interventions.
• Discuss identifying causal pathways from program activities to changes in economic well-being and resilience.
• Explore how to integrate market dynamics, policy environments, and household behaviors into the ToC.
• Examine the role of assumptions and external factors in achieving livelihoods outcomes.
• Learn about using the ToC as a guiding framework for M&E design.

Module 3: Designing Livelihoods and Economic Empowerment Indicators

• Understand different categories of indicators relevant to livelihoods (e.g., income, savings, assets, employment, expenditure).
• Discuss specific indicators for financial inclusion (e.g., access to credit, digital payments, savings groups).
• Explore indicators for market access and value chain participation (e.g., sales volume, prices, new markets).
• Examine indicators for gender economic empowerment (e.g., control over income, decision-making, time poverty).
• Learn about proxy indicators for resilience and adaptive capacity.

Module 4: Data Collection Methods for Economic Data

• Understand the strengths and limitations of various data collection methods for livelihoods M&E.
• Discuss best practices for conducting household income and expenditure surveys.
• Explore methods for market assessments, value chain analysis, and business performance tracking.
• Examine the use of participatory wealth ranking and focus group discussions for qualitative insights.
• Learn about integrating administrative data from financial institutions or training providers.

Module 5: Measuring Financial Inclusion and Resilience

• Understand specific metrics and tools for measuring financial inclusion (e.g., usage of financial services, financial literacy scores).
• Discuss methods for assessing household coping strategies and adaptive capacities.
• Explore quantitative and qualitative approaches to measuring economic shocks and stresses.
• Examine indicators for asset accumulation and poverty graduation.
• Learn about longitudinal data collection to track long-term economic changes.

Module 6: Data Analysis and Interpretation for Livelihoods Programs

• Understand appropriate analytical techniques for economic data (e.g., descriptive statistics, inferential analysis, trend analysis).
• Discuss methods for calculating return on investment, cost-effectiveness, and profitability.
• Explore how to analyze changes in household income, consumption, and poverty levels.
• Examine the use of disaggregated data to identify equitable economic empowerment.
• Learn about interpreting findings to identify successful strategies and areas for improvement.

Module 7: Gender-Responsive M&E for Economic Empowerment

• Understand the importance of gender analysis in all stages of livelihoods M&E.
• Discuss specific indicators and methodologies for measuring women's economic empowerment.
• Explore how to identify and address gender-based barriers to economic participation through M&E.
• Examine the use of gender-disaggregated data to inform equitable programming.
• Learn about ensuring M&E processes are sensitive to power dynamics and do not inadvertently cause harm.

Module 8: Utilizing M&E for Adaptive Livelihoods Programming

• Understand how M&E findings inform adaptive management and iterative adjustments in livelihoods programs.
• Discuss strategies for integrating market monitoring and learning cycles into program implementation.
• Explore the role of feedback loops from beneficiaries and market actors in program refinement.
• Examine how M&E data can identify emerging economic opportunities or risks.
• Learn about communicating lessons learned to inform policy and scale up successful livelihoods models.

CERTIFICATION

• Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with Macskills Training and Development Institute Certificate

TRAINING VENUE

• Training will be held at Macskills Training Centre. We also tailor make the training upon request at different locations across the world.

AIRPORT PICK UP AND ACCOMMODATION

• Airport pick up and accommodation is arranged upon request

TERMS OF PAYMENT

Payment should be made to Macskills Development Institute bank account before the start of the training and receipts sent to info@macskillsdevelopment.com