Following the launch ceremony May 19, 2016, the project Eliminating Child Labor In Cocoa (ECLIC), funded by the US Department of Labor and implemented by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), held its first workshop to develop a comprehensive plan on its monitoring and evaluation. The meeting was held in Abidjan from 23 to 26 May 2016.
The main objective of this workshop was to describe the theory of change (ToC) applicable to the project and its procedures for monitoring and evaluation, with a focus on measuring outcomes. The workshop identified a set of indicators that will be used to guide data collection, managing the implementation of the project and helping to obtain empirical evidence of the achievement of expected results.
Present at the meeting were members of the project team, ICI staff responsible for monitoring and evaluation and community development, experts in the field from the Ministry for the Promotion of the Family, Women and Protection the Child, the Ministry of Education, the Conseil du Café-Cacao and specialists from the US Department of Labor. The workshop, opened by Ernest Allatin Brou, ICI’s Deputy National Coordinator, was moderated by an external expert on monitoring and evaluation.
"I invite you to contribute enthusiastically to the discussion and the workshop. We hope that the results of your reflections contribute to the successful implementation of the ECLIC project, which is an aspiration for ICI," said Allatin Brou. The ECLIC project aims to support 5,450 children involved or at risk of being involved in child labour in 50 Ivorian communities. The project, a 4-year term, assists target communities in the realisation and implementation of Community Action Plans (CAPs) to fight against child labour, and in the implementation of Income Generating Activities (IGAs) in vulnerable households.