Final evaluation: Building resilient communities in Fiji project - final report

This report presents the independent evaluation of the USAID funded Building Resilient Communities in Fiji (BRCF) project. The evaluation was conducted between September-October 2019 by a three-member evaluation team. The BRCF project was a three-year project (2016- 2019) worth USD$ 1,278,282, and implemented by the Fiji Red Cross Society (FRCS).

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) managed the project contract agreement. The objective of the BRCF project was to reduce the vulnerability of communities in the Western, Northern, and Central Divisions of Fiji, while increasing the capacity of FRCS to support integrated disaster management.

To achieve this, the BRCF project aimed to increase the resilience of communities, enhance organisational and programming capacity of FRCS, focusing in particular on the capacity at the division and branch levels, and improve learning and modelling of integrated disaster management programming in Fiji.The purpose of this evaluation was to identify to what degree the intended outcomes of the BRCF project were achieved, and what have been the key lessons learned.

The evaluation used a theory of change approach to guide the focus of inquiry, data collection, analysis and reporting. The evaluation used mixed methods and multiple analysis approaches to collect, analyze, triangulate data, and interpret findings. The Evaluation Team (ET) undertook: focus group discussions in target communities and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. These methods were complemented by document review, and field observation.