Final Evaluation Report of Action Against Hunger's RDPP Project 'Creating Job Opportunities for Young Adults in Kurdistan'

With 90% funding from the Regional Development and Protection Programme, Action Against Hunger has been implementing a 17-months project titled “Creating Job Opportunities for Young Adults” in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The 10,806,000 DKK (Danish Krones) project was implemented in Zakho District of Dohuk Governorate. It aims to “improve the economic situation of vulnerable host communities, Internally Displaced Persons, and refugee families through the creation of new businesses. Through key interventions of i) a vocational training in coordination with a local Vocational Training Centre in Zakho district, ii) an apprenticeship job placement programme and iii) business startup support (Startup kits, grants and follow up) for self-employment, the project aimed at realizing the following results:

• R1 - Local community has been mobilized to participate in training and to raise business opportunities in specific sectors available in linked to residence targeted areas.
• R2 – Host community, IDPs and refugees have enhanced technical and business skills to enter the labor market.
• R3 - Innovative micro/small entrepreneurship initiatives supported for increased opportunities for self-employment.

This final evaluation is undertaken to provide an independent external analysis of the project in terms of achievement of its objective and its impact on beneficiaries. It serves accountability towards project’ actors while adhering to Action Against Hunger’s Evaluation policy and donor’s requirements. It further fosters learning to ensuring that good practices and lessons learned are analyzed and incorporated Action Against Hunger’s future programming.

The evaluation covers the timeframe of the project through August 2018. It addresses five OECD- DAC criteria: Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability and mainstreams gender and human rights to the extent possible. The evaluation adopted a multi-tiered participatory qualitative methodology and analysis of quantitative data generated by the project. The utilized methodological approach encompassed literature review, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and site visits to project sites (business start-ups). The evaluation consulted around 72 informants of whom 29 (14 women and 15 men) were direct beneficiaries; 20 IDPs, 7HC, and 2 Syrian Refugees.