Analysis of Results for Mariam Assefa Fund 5 Year Report

In 2019, the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund (MAF) began operating as the philanthropic and social impact arm of WES. MAF is a financially independent enterprise that started with US$30 million from WES. WES reached out to Universalia, one of their preferred services providers, to help support a systematic documentation review that explores the MAF’s grant-making, partnerships, and impact investing results. These learnings will be incorporated into internal and public-facing communication products for WES’ upcoming 50^th anniversary and MAF’s 5^th anniversary celebrations in September 2024. The review was undertaken in a participatory fashion and utilization-focused approach. The review team used Dedoose, a qualitative, data analysis software, to thematically code documents and analyze emerging themes. The review team also used Dedoose as a collaborative learning platform and introduced some of its functions to the WES’ Planning, Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation and MAF teams.

The documentation review covered the Fund’s whole five-year period, with a focus on the following portfolios: U.S., Canada, Investments, and Partnerships (26 grantees and 55 documents in total). The review team developed a sampling strategy using a purposive and representative sampling approach to cover a broad range of funding modalities and geographical balance. The review team used Dedoose, a qualitative, collaborative data analysis software, to systematically code documentation and analyze using frequency analysis and content analysis to examine patterns and relationships. Documentation was thematically coded based on a codebook that was collaboratively developed by the review team with inputs from WES and Fund stakeholders. In addition to the finalized codebook, deliverables included access to raw coded data, a finalized sampling strategy, a preliminary sense-making presentation, and draft and final impact sheets.