Yemen YMELP

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Contract 

USAID Yemen 

The context and challenge

Yemen’s population faces severe layered challenges – conflict, food insecurity, electricity shortages, and displacement among other dynamics. In 2023 alone, USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is providing over $660 million dollars of support in humanitarian aid programming by way of food assistance, health programming, WASH, nutrition, protection and multi purpose cash assistance. This large and diverse portfolio requires intense oversight to ensure efficacy, compliance and safety of programming. However, due to travel bans and insecurity, USAID staff are not able to physically visit project sites in person, which pose threats to effective activity management. This is where IBTCI steps in……

Yemen Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Program (YMELP)

In 2019, IBTCI established a Third Party Monitoring (TPM) and Evaluation System to monitor and verify humanitarian aid activities and analyze trends in BHA-funded human programming in Yemen to identify best practices and persistent challenges. Through the five-year Yemen Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Program (YMELP), IBTCI triangulates data from sources including Implementing Partner staff (IP), Community Key Informants, beneficiaries, and field monitor observations. These findings are critical in ensuring program learning and accountability, which will be useful for real time programmatic adjustments and future program design. Importantly, creating feedback loops in which beneficiary voices reach activity managers to top-level decision-makers. Through this, BHA is able to manage programming to ensure programming adheres to international principles of humanitarian aid like ‘do no harm’ and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP).

Learning and Utilization-Focus

Learning is a critical component for YMELP. By virtue of the fact that TPM gathers data across sectors, governorates, and IPs, there is a rich opportunity for reflection. YMELP increases BHA and its Implementing Partners (IPs) access to independent verifiable information on activity outputs, outcomes, progress, quality, challenges and achievements, and lessons learned. Underlining the objective is commitment to learning by enhancing humanitarian assistance programming through improved collaboration and coordination of BHA partners and stakeholders. Employing a utilization-focused approach, IBTCI provides reports and knowledge sharing events tailored to individual BHA and IP staff needs.

IBTCI believes learning is always a two-way street. Through a commitment to continuous process improvement, routine discussions are held with IPs on the efficiency of monitoring processes and the utility of reporting products and events to collectively identify opportunities for improvement.

Assessment and Evaluation Services

In addition to Monitoring and Verification of BHA programming, YMELP provides Data Quality Assessment and evaluation services. Recently, YMELP completed an evaluation on collective Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) mechanisms employed by IPs to provide a holistic assessment of policies and practices. This included:

(1) documenting IP policies and practices, (2) assessing how INGO partners promote AAP, including feedback mechanisms, ensuring participation throughout the program lifecycle so needs and experiences of affected communities are informing program design and implementation and (3) analyzing best practices, barriers to improving accessibility to AAP mechanisms, especially for the most vulnerable groups like women and Muhammadsheen

In addition to an evaluation report and learning briefing, YMELP held a webinar to discuss findings with IP staff on the ground which generated a high-level of engagement and lively discussion, which we are excited to continue in future learning events.

IBTCI’s commitment to Yemen and its people

IBTCI has a long history in Yemen and has had a presence in the country since 2010 providing monitoring, evaluation and learning services on multiple US Government-funded projects including:

1. USAID Yemen Monitoring and Evaluation Program
2. USG Joint Agency Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment Program
3. USAID Yemen OFDA Food For Peace Monitoring and Evaluation Program
4. USAID Yemen OFDA Food For Peace Monitoring Program
5. USAID Yemen Monitoring and Evaluation Program, Phase II
6. USAID/BHA Yemen Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Program