QED launches M&E activities in Afghanistan under RAMP UP South

In October, QED – working with Chemonics – began implementation of USAID’s Regional Afghan Municipalities Program for Urban Populations (RAMP UP) in six provinces in southern Afghanistan.

The provinces and municipalities of Afghanistan are actively working to strengthen their services and meet the needs of their citizens, but are often hampered by local officials who are not always clear on their roles, and insufficient resources. The USAID Regional Afghan Municipalities Program for Urban Populations (RAMP UP), in collaboration with the Independent Directorate for Local Governance, assists governments in urban centers to increase the capacity of municipal officials, improve the delivery of municipal services, and support economic growth initiatives.

QED is part of the successful Chemonics RAMP UP South team, which began operations in late 2010. Through the five-year program, QED and Chemonics are working with six provincial capitals in southern Afghanistan. The goal is for Afghan citizens to experience better government service, understand the responsibilities of municipal leaders, and play an active role in municipal decision-making.

QED is leading RAMP UP efforts to increase local expertise in the areas of monitoring and evaluation; communications; and knowledge management and dissemination. QED is also working to ensure that M&E processes and systems are integrated into other RAMP UP project components to the greatest extent possible.

“QED is implementing an innovative evaluation approach using a quasi-experimental design, local staff to monitor projects and collect data, and a participatory monitoring approach whereby local program beneficiaries provide both data and input into what indicators are important to the community.  Using this approach, the staff works hard at providing the data necessary for the implementation teams to continuously improve project performance and efficiency,” says Jason Rubin, QED Program Manager, RAMP UP-SOUTH.

QED has been working in Afghanistan since 2005, on a variety of agriculture, health, and democracy and governance activities.