Gates Foundation Funds Measurement and Evaluation Expert Collaboration

WASHINGTON, DC—On Wednesday, March 2, 2016, Nuru International will attend “Building an Evaluation Framework for Integrated Development Approaches: A Brainstorming and Conceptualization Workshop.”

With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this technical meeting is hosted by FHI 360, a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions.

FHI 360 has pulled together select experts and representatives from organizations such as American Evaluation Association, Center for Excellence in Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) Evidence Lab, Evidence Project, FSG, IPA, Millennium Villages Project, Nuru International, Rockefeller Foundation, The Evaluators’ Institute, Tostan, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, USAID, Utilization-Focused Evaluation and Worldwatch Institute.

Together, attendees will brainstorm around the complexities of evaluating multi-sector and integrated development approaches and collect creative ideas and recommendations that will inform the development of a comprehensive evaluation framework for such approaches. This workshop is part of an ongoing dialogue among the attendees.

Kristin Lindell, Monitoring and Evaluation Program Strategic Advisor for Nuru International, has spent the last three years developing and mentoring the local teams that monitor and evaluate Nuru’s work in Kenya and Ethiopia. “Right now, evaluating integrated development is one of the most important topics in our sector,” says Lindell. “I’m excited and humbled to spend a full day addressing pressing questions that will have a direct impact on the future international development approaches.”

In Kenya, Nuru International has data to prove that Nuru households are better off than non-Nuru households in demonstrating resiliency and in meeting their own basic needs. Between 2009 and 2014, Nuru farmer yields increased 56 percent more on average than farmers’ yields in the comparison group. Nuru farmers participating in savings groups have achieved 73 percent of the savings goals to cope with mild shocks by 2016. Moreover, nearly 1,000 Nuru savers have access to funds through group savings to cope with moderate shocks. In addition, Nuru farmer households showed a 12 to 14 percent increase in the adoption of healthy behaviors that lead to decreased maternal and child morbidity and mortality relative to the comparison group since 2013. Finally, children in grades 2-5 who received Nuru Outreach demonstrated a 6 percent increase in literacy proficiency over time in comparison with non-Nuru students.

“Nuru is already working on evaluating its own integrated development approach,” says Lindell. “Having achieved positive attributable impact across four programs in Kenya, Nuru is conducting a study in Ethiopia to evaluate two key research questions: how effective is Nuru’s model on reducing multidimensional poverty and are Nuru Ethiopia farmers who receive all four programs less poor than members who only receive Nuru’s agriculture program.”

In addition to this dialogue, Nuru participates in ongoing sector collaboration through its associate membership with Locus, a new initiative dedicated to finding new solutions to development challenges, focusing on integrated approaches to development and evidence-based, local solutions.

For the latest updates on Nuru’s work and approach to monitoring and evaluation, please visit: http://nuruinternational.org/blog/

About Nuru International

Nuru International is a U.S.-based social venture on a mission to end extreme poverty in remote, rural areas. It establishes sustainable community development projects, such as Nuru Kenya and Nuru Ethiopia, to deliver high touch, holistic programming – in Agriculture, Financial  Inclusion, Healthcare and Education – to engage all household members in building resilience and ending intergenerational poverty.

For more information, visit NuruInternational.org, like facebook.com/nuruinternational, follow @IAmNuru on Twitter and contact:

Kim Do

Strategic Communications Director

kim.do[at]nuruinternational[dot]org

949-667-0796, x904