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Diaspora Engagement Efforts in Afghanistan Real-Time Review

Diaspora Engagement Efforts in Afghanistan Real-Time Review

by Administrator

Diaspora Emergency Action & Coordination (DEMAC), Afghanistan

 

On 16 August 2021 the Taliban announced that they had gained control of Afghanistan. The takeover resulted in a heated public debate about the two-decade war, the humanitarian implications of the withdrawal, and the future of women and civil society in Afghanistan. To capture Afghan diaspora engagement in the current political crisis, Meraki Labs conducted a Real-Time Analysis in the immediate aftermath of the Taliban takeover in Mid-August.
The report, commissioned by DEMAC - Diaspora Emergency Action & Coordination, takes two main approaches to data collection: 1) online media monitoring from 15 August 2021 to 30 September 2021 of 60 Afghan diaspora organizations, and 2) key informant interviews with representatives of ten ADOs, as well as Danish Refugee Council Diaspora Program staff. In this report we document the rapid response and self-mobilization of ADOs, as well as their efforts in fundraising and direct support in Afghanistan. The report also looks at some of the challenges faced by these organizations and provides recommendations on the way forward.

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The State of Referral Systems in Yemen

The State of Referral Systems in Yemen

by Administrator

Cash Consortium of Yemen (CCY), Yemen

 

With millions of people currently in humanitarian need in Yemen, it is critical for humanitarian actors to use resources effectively, including by developing effective and efficient referral pathways between sectors. Meraki Labs conducted this research to support the Cash Consortium of Yemen (CCY) to better understand how cash and other sectors interlink, what referral systems already exist and what pathways should be established or integrated with the CCY program.

This report is based on both primary and secondary research. It draws on a literature review of referral
mechanisms in Yemen specifically and the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as an analysis of documentation available from key clusters. In addition, 30 semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with 20 agencies.

 

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Midline Assessment of an EU funded program, “Building Resilience in Crises through education”

Midline Assessment of an EU funded program, “Building Resilience in Crises through education”

by Administrator

Plan International & Relief International, Ethiopia & Somalia

 

Plan and Relief International are implementing a project funded by the EU to support education for displaced people and host communities in Gambella, Ethiopia and Puntland, South Sudan. Meraki Labs conducted a midline evaluation for partners, comprising a review of performance against OECD-DAC criteria, as well as a review of the research component implemented by the University of Sussex and local research partners. Qualitative data was collected and analysed; quantitative data provided by University of Sussex was cleaned and analysed for correlation. The project provided concrete suggestions for improving outcomes, notably around beneficiary feedback and accountability as well as gender and inclusion of marginalised groups. It must be noted that the views expressed in the report are Meraki’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the consortium, its partners or donor.

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Final Evaluation of CaLP Activities in the MENA Region

Final Evaluation of CaLP Activities in the MENA Region

by Administrator

Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP), MENA Region

 

CaLP has been operating its Middle East and North Africa Office in Amman, Jordan since 2017. In 2018, CaLP received funding from the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) to support further expansion of regional presence that would facilitate more intensive engagement on capacity building, research and knowledge management, coordination support, and policy and advocacy objectives. Meraki Labs was commissioned to complete a final evaluation of the CaLP's overall contribution to building an enabling environment for CVA programming in the region and more broadly. The evaluation assessed past project objectives, not only in light of the MENA context and project aims, but also rapid shifts in context. In order to best serve CaLP's agenda, the evaluation was focused on assessing approach as compared to the new global strategic plan for the 2020-2025 period.

 

 

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Displacement in Northeast South Sudan and the borderlands

Displacement in Northeast South Sudan and the borderlands

by Administrator

Danish Demining Group, South Sudan

 

 In order to implement conflict-sensitive peacebuilding and resilience programming in Northeast South Sudan, the Danish Demining Group (DDG) needed to develop an evidence base on current issues and dynamics driving displacement along the South Sudan-Ethiopian borderlands. This project included conducting primary qualitative research in Pibor County  to conduct a contextual analysis of communities, conducting a root causes analysis, evaluating cross-border policies and practices affecting resilience and economic wellbeing of communities, and mapping existing community-based resilience factors and peacebuilding processes and initiatives. Following the research, Meraki Labs supported DDG in developing a project concept and accompanying theory of change. 

 

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Women’s Experiences as Transit Migrants in Yemen

Women’s Experiences as Transit Migrants in Yemen

by Administrator

International Organization for Migration, Yemen

 

 

In 2019, women and girls formed 21% of migrants travelling irregularly from the Horn of Africa to Gulf countries; the majority of these women were from Ethiopia. Existing research provides anecdotal evidence that irregular migration journeys are gendered, highlighting that women face specific issues that are distinct from the overall risks of the journey.

In this gender study, Meraki Labs has examined the risks faced by Ethiopian women on the irregular migration route to the Gulf, and the factors that affect their vulnerability to trafficking.

  

 

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Analysis of Return Migrant Reintegration in Ethiopia

Analysis of Return Migrant Reintegration in Ethiopia

by Administrator

NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL, ETHIOPIA

Meraki Labs was commissioned to conduct primary research to support the Norwegian Refugee Council to analyse the gap in the governmental, private sectors and humanitarian response to return migrant needs in Ethiopia. This included a review of policy frameworks, existing literature on root causes of migration and existing programming, as well as a stakeholder analysis at different levels.

In additional to a literature review and a legal and policy analysis, Meraki Labs conducted 104 interviews with returnees, families of returnees, and government officials in Oromia, Amhara, and Addis Ababa Regions of Ethiopia as well as 20 additional interviews with migrants in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Djibouti. The findings report was aimed at providing detailed and realistic recommendations for protection, livelihoods, and education programming.

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Final Evaluation of the Mediterranean Mixed Migration (3M) Response Programme

Final Evaluation of the Mediterranean Mixed Migration (3M) Response Programme

by Administrator

3M CONSORTIUM (DRC, IRC, START NETWORK)

LIBYA, NIGER, MALI, TUNISIA, BURKINA FASO

3M was a three-year FCDO-funded migration response programme led by a consortium of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), International Rescue Committee (IRC), the Start Network and the Mixed Migration Center (North and West Africa). The programme was operational in Mali, Niger, Libya, Tunisia, and Burkina Faso – with additional reach provided by Migration Emergency Response Facility (MERF) grants provided by the Start Network.

Meraki Labs was commissioned to complete a final evaluation of the programme, with the overall objective of this assignment is to support the 3M migration program to assess to what extent the project has contributed to its overall objective and achieved its results, and to evaluate if the project’s approach (design and implementation) was the right strategy. Meraki Labs used a traditional OECD DAC evaluation approach, combined with an in-depth theory of change review, value for money assessment, and modified the effectiveness assessment to correspond with a routes-based approach framework.

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Recommendations to the UN Humanitarian Country Team – Cash and Humanitarian Response

Recommendations to the UN Humanitarian Country Team – Cash and Humanitarian Response

by Administrator

CASH LEARNING PARTNERSHIP, YEMEN

Cash transfers in Yemen, delivered through humanitarian actors and social protection systems, offer great opportunities for beneficiary impact and alignment with donor priorities – but this potential is not fully utilized due to fragmentation within the system. Fragmentation may affect the degree to which cash programs in Yemen can be scaled up.


Meraki Labs, on behalf of the Cash and Learning Partnership, conducted independent research into the barriers and opportunities to harmonise humanitarian and social protection cash programs. The end result is a paper which presents options to the HCT and donors.

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Recommendation to UN Humanitarian Country Team – Social Protection Integration

Recommendation to UN Humanitarian Country Team – Social Protection Integration

by Administrator

CASH LEARNING PARTNERSHIP, IRAQ

In Iraq, state social protection programmes are a critical component of household income. For the last seven years, communities have also benefited from ongoing humanitarian cash-based support to meet emergency needs. As the humanitarian response to the ISIL crisis winds down, several initiatives for linking humanitarian and social protection systems have been initiated, but none have been sustained or gained sufficient buy in from all stakeholders. The Covid-19 crisis has added a layer of urgency in finding a solution to poverty-focused cash-based social protection initiatives in Iraq.

Meraki Labs supported humanitarian, development, and government actors in understanding the extent to which humanitarian cash assistance and government-led social protection programmes overlap in Iraq, to determine a way forward to support vulnerable households in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, while considering the importance of ongoing recovery from conflict.

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