Evaluation of Malawi WFP Country Strategic Plan

The Malawi Country Strategic Plan (CSP) was approved in 2018 and represented an overall shift in WFP’s country strategy from direct implementation to capacity strengthening. This shift in approach sought to build on the Government of Malawi’s commitment to, and ownership of, its fight against hunger, as seen through its substantial contributions to WFP operations as part of previous food insecurity responses. The CSP aimed to engage in this shift through the introduction of two broad strategic changes in internal culture and external results. 

Universalia is conducting a utilisation-focused evaluation with a theory-based and participatory approach that is assessing progress and results against intended CSP outcomes and objectives, including towards gender equity and other cross-cutting corporate results, and identifying lessons for the design of subsequent country-level support. The evaluation is also focusing on the extent to which WFP uses resources efficiently to contribute to strategic outcomes, factors that explain WFP performance, and the extent to which WFP has made the strategic shift envisaged by the CSP. The evaluation will be guided by OECD-DAC Evaluation Quality Standards for Development Evaluation, the UNEG Norms and Standards for Evaluation in the UN System, and the UNEG Ethical Guidelines and Code of Conduct for Evaluation in the UN System.

Data collection was grounded in a mixed-methods approach and included a desk review of key documentation, an evaluability assessment, intervention and stakeholder mapping, a portfolio review, semi-structured interviews, a mini-survey, and focus group discussions along with direct observation and site visits. Data analysis involved descriptive analysis, content analysis, quantitative/statistical analysis, triangulation, efficiency analysis and cross-cutting analysis. Deliverables included an Inception Report, an exit debrief following in-country data collection, a preliminary findings debrief, Draft and Final Evaluation Reports, and a learning workshop.