Infrastructure Development and Power Sector Reform 2014-2015
Malawi, 2014 - 2015
Identification
MWI_2014_MCC-IDPSR_v01_M
Infrastructure Development and Power Sector Reform 2014-2015
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Malawi | MWI |
Independent Performance Evaluation
Social Impact was contracted by MCC to develop and conduct an evaluation of the Malawi Compact. Specifically, SI has been tasked to “assess the program design and implementation to develop the most rigorous evaluation design feasible, whether it is a performance or impact evaluation, and identify the most appropriate evaluation methodology feasible given the context.”
Efforts to identify a research design that would allow for a rigorously defined counterfactual were unsuccessful, and as a result this design document outlines plans for a rigorous performance evaluation that will aim to measure key outcome indicators early on in the Compact, midway through, and at the end of the Compact, as well as track changes over time. This evaluation is designed to address the core questions of the evaluation (Table 1) Since the proposed design is a performance evaluation, it is important to note that it may not be possible to state with confidence how the power sector in Malawi has changed (or not changed) as a result of the Compact, as it will not be possible to control for other potential causes of change. In some cases, however, it may be feasible to identify and potentially rule out alternative explanations.
The inability to define a counterfactual requires a reformulation of some of the initial evaluation questions originally proposed by MCC, including some core questions included in the SI-MCC contract. In addition, the Evaluation Assessment Report revealed that both SI and MCC had substantial concerns with regard to the original research questions proposed in Social Impact's contract. This is natural given the way that interventions change over time, and that the proposed questions should be feasible to answer based on the data that can be collected as part of the evaluation. Based on SI's comprehensive desk review, information gathered during the scoping trip, and frequent communication with MCC and MCA-M, the SI evaluation team has developed research questions and research approaches for the PSRP and the IDP project components, as proposed in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. The original questions and the suggested modifications for each question are presented in the Appendix.
Research Questions
Through a rigorous performance evaluation, the evaluation design aims to answer the following core evaluation questions and several complementary research questions:
- What declines in poverty, increases in economic growth, reductions in the electricity related cost of doing business, increases in access to electricity, and increases in value added production are observed over the life of the Compact?
- What were the results of the interventions - intended and unintended, positive or negative?
- Are there differences in outcomes of interest by gender, age and income? Sex and income disaggregated information for businesses and households will be pursued to the extent possible.
- What are the lessons learned and are they applicable to other similar projects?
- What is the likelihood that the results of the Project will be sustained over time?
- At the household level, the evaluations shall focus on the following program/project/activities impacts on household and individuals: income; expenditures, consumption and access to energy; individual time devoted to leisure and productive activities.
- At the enterprise level, the evaluation shall focus on the potential impact of the program/project/activities on: business profitability and productivity; value added production and investment; employment and wage changes; energy consumption and sources of energy used; business losses.
- At the regulatory, institutional and policy level, the evaluation shall explore the potential impacts of the program/project/activities on: utility operating costs and losses; financial sustainability; private investment, particularly in generation; expansion of electricity access for customers, particularly the poor.
To answer these questions, the evaluation design will leverage diverse research methodologies with different timelines for data collection. The evaluation design can be broken into three main parts, albeit with some overlap:
· IDP evaluation: The IDP design focuses primarily on an intensive metering effort to measure the technical benefits of the project, including changes in energy delivered, outages, and quality. This will be complemented by focus groups with residents of beneficiary communities.
· PSRP evaluation: The PSRP design incorporates five data collection activities, including: (1) quantitative indicators from the M&E Plan and Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) key performance indicators, (2) workflow analyses with relevant units, such as billing and procurement, (3) a series of largely qualitative research activities (with some mini-surveys included), (4) a proposed survey of Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) employees, and (5) the PSRP process evaluation, focused on implementation and achievement of implementation milestones and outputs will be folded into the PSRP data collection activities.
· Enterprise survey: A panel survey of businesses will be used to evaluate both the PSRP and the IDP.
IDP Evaluation Design
Design Overview
We propose that the IDP evaluation consist of two major parts: (1) intensive metering to determine technical benefits, and (2) focus group discussions with beneficiaries. In addition, some of the activities conducted as part of the PSRP evaluation - specifically work flow analyses of response to outages - will also address IDP benefits made possible by the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems.
PSRP
Social Impact proposes five data collection activities for the PSRP evaluation: (1) quantitative indicators from the M&E Plan and MERA key performance indicators, (2) workflow analyses with relevant units, (3) largely qualitative research activities (with some mini-surveys included), (4) a survey of current ESCOM employees, and (5) process evaluation. These activities will occur in three phases: at baseline (to be conducted as soon as possible), at midline, and at the end of the Compact. The evaluation will seek to identify changes over time and then consider the extent to which any observed improvements can be attributed to Compact activities.
Individuals, households and businesses.
Scope
| Topic |
|---|
| economic conditions and indicators |
| economic policy |
| natural resources and energy |
| government, political systems and organisations |
| in-job training |
| employment |
| gender and gender roles |
Coverage
Metering - South and Central Transmission backbone investments; North transmission; Lilongwe; New substations
ESCOM survey - national, will target urban employees living near Blantyre, Lilongwe, or Mzuzu.
Enterprise survey - will mainly focus on Lilongwe, will have data for Mzuzu and Blantyre as well.
The study population is in the process of being finalized with MCC and MCA-Malawi. The focal points for the evaluation will include ESCOM staff in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu, staff at MERA and MoE, enterprises, and households.
Producers and sponsors
| Name |
|---|
| Social Impact |
| Name |
|---|
| Millennium Challenge Corporation |
Sampling
- Enterprise Survey
A sampling frame of businesses can be developed from ESCOM's customer records. There are currently 832 MD customers in the ESCOM network. Of these, 448 customers are concentrated in the South; there are 310 customers in the Central region; and there are mere 66 in the North. Given the relatively low number of MD customers, it will be necessary to expand the population of interest to three-phase commercial connections, of which there are 5,389 in the ESCOM network.
The sampling strategy for the enterprise survey is yet to be finalized. Although all business consumers are identified as beneficiaries of the Compact, the benefits might vary across many of these businesses. To focus research efforts as per discussions with MCC and Compact stakeholders, non-businesses, such as government agencies, hospitals, and schools will be dropped from the sampling frame. This list may be further modified once an ongoing ESCOM customer verification program is complete which will yield a geo-referenced location for each enterprise customer. The survey will benefit enormously from this customer verification project.
Sampling could be based on a random sample from among this population; however, it might be desirable to oversample certain subgroups to ensure the evaluation's ability to generalize about sub-populations of interest and compare across these subgroups. The evaluation team initially proposed ensuring representative samples of the degree of expected Compact benefits; however, Compact stakeholders have raised concerns that it will be difficult to distinguish among beneficiaries. There are several additional variables that could be given priority in determining the evaluation's approach to sampling. These include:
· Geographical location: South, Central, North
· Industry type: manufacturing, agriculture, or services
· Electricity consumption at baseline: MD, three-phase customers
· Quality of service at baseline: industrial park customer, non-industrial park customer
Exact sample size calculations will be performed when the uncertainty about the sampling approach is resolved. However, if we assume that the evaluation will seek to make comparisons across two subgroups (e.g., high/low beneficiaries or higher/lower consumption), then the evaluation would require a survey of 1,000 enterprises across both these sub-groups in order to measure a minimum detectable effect size of 0.18 standard deviations. Given that this will be a panel study that will track the same businesses over nearly a five year time period, it is likely that there will be a high rate of attrition as businesses either fail or decline to participate in future iterations of the survey. As such, the evaluation team recommends adjusting this estimate by an additional 25% to account for expected attrition from baseline to end-line, yielding a sample of 1,250 businesses. If the study aims to ensure comparisons across three sub-groups, then an additional 625 firms would need to be added to the sample. Alternatively, Figure 8 shows the tradeoff between the minimum detectable difference between sub-groups and the sample size. At higher minimum detectible differences, lower samples would be permitted. For budgetary purposes, in the attached budget we have estimated a sample of 1,250 businesses across Lilongwe, Mzuzu, and Blantyre, with a majority of sampling in Lilongwe, where most program beneficiaries will be located.
To further refine this design, the evaluation team would need to obtain and analyze: (1) existing customer data for all MD and three-phase commercial customers, and (2) forthcoming data from the customer verification project, including GPS data and information linking connections to specific substations. Furthermore, it will be necessary to conduct interviews or focus groups with diverse types of businesses in Blantyre, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu to better understand the energy challenges that they confront and how they respond to those challenges. Finally, in consultation with MCC and other Compact stakeholders, the evaluation team will finalize the sampling strategy.
II. ESCOM Survey
The evaluation team proposes to conduct a survey of a sample of ESCOM employees, which currently number 2,570. While it would be possible to conduct a census of the population of ESCOM employees, the evaluation team will be able to make accurate inferences with a sample of employees. Employees will be randomly selected for inclusion in the sample. Selected individuals will be surveyed in person if they are in the urban areas of Blantyre, Lilongwe, or Mzuzu and by phone if they are not. The ESCOM CEO has already expressed interest in the survey, and we hope that the ESCOM leadership will encourage a high response rate from within the ranks of the utility. We calculate that a sample of 829 will be necessary. As shown in Figure 7, at a standard of .80 power, the minimum detectible effect size for a comparison of waves of the survey is estimated at .14 standard deviations. In terms of sample proportions and assuming maximum variation (50%/50%), we would need to observe approximately a 4% difference between baseline and midline to be confident that a change occurred between these two time periods (see Equation 1). For example, if at baseline we observe that 65% of the sampled ESCOM employees evaluated ESCOM customer service well and at midline this percentage rises to 69% of employees surveyed, then we could be confident that satisfaction had increased over time.
(1) Random error at 95% confidence= .04=1.645(v(.5.5/829)(.5.5/829))
Survey instrument
Please note the evaluation questionnaires are in the process of being developed, and will be submitted in late September for review.
Workflow Studies
Using a methodology known as “metrics based process mapping,” the evaluation team will explore a set of distinct tasks or processes expected to improve or become more efficient as a result of the Compact. These include tasks related to billing, procurement, finance, electricity outages, applications for new connections, customer service requests, the tariff approval process, and potentially others. This methodology will permit the evaluation to develop and track a series of quantifiable efficiency and effectiveness metrics over the course of the Compact while qualitatively identifying and exploring challenges in carrying out these processes.
Household Focus Group Discussion Guide
The evaluation design includes a series of 24 focus groups stratified by beneficiary level, location, age and sex to complement the information provided by the technical benefits portion of the evaluation. Possible themes include the following: sources of and expenditures on electricity and energy costs; reported experiences with electricity, including outages; and attitudes towards ESCOM and the government.
Mini Survey
Upon arrival at the focus group session location, each participant will be asked to fill out a short mini-survey on the above mentioned topics. Responses to these questions will be used as a jumping off point for discussion and these responses can also be analyzed as a small non-representative survey of approximately 200 participants. In the focus groups, special attention will be paid to capturing the differential impacts on men and women. The results will be disaggregated by sex of the respondent, and by the sex of the household-head. It is expected that electricity access and reliability will affect men and women differently, and preferences and perceptions would also differ by sex.
ESCOM Survey
This will survey mid and senior level ESCOM employees to inform learning and provide complementary quantitative data to the otherwise largely qualitative PSRP evaluation. The survey would entail in-person and phone surveying. The survey would measure, at a minimum, employees' evaluations of aspects of ESCOM operations and HR policies and benefits. The survey instrument will be developed in consultation with MCC and MCA-M.
Enterprise Survey
It is likely that the survey will explore the following energy related variables: Costs spent on generators, maintenance, diesel, electricity connections and infrastructure, and fixed and variable electricity fees; Reported outages and problems with energy quality; Time workers spend idle due to outages; Major new investments and expansion of employment; Attitudes of business leaders towards power, relevant government agencies, the Compact, tariffs, cross-subsidizing of household tariffs, views on private sector involvement in the power subsector, and perceptions of corruption and political influence in the energy sector; Satisfaction with ESCOM, experiences obtaining a connection, and customer service related experiences since becoming a customer revenue and profit: Experiences in other countries suggest that entrepreneurs are hesitant to provide accurate revenue and profit information.
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-10-20 | 2014-10-31 | Preliminary baseline |
| 2015-01-19 | 2015-02-09 | Enterprise Survey baseline/HH FGD |
| 2015-01-19 | 2015-02-09 | Baseline PSRP |
| Name |
|---|
| Invest in Knowledge |
Access policy
Millennium Challenge Corporation
Millennium Challenge Corporation
http://data.mcc.gov/evaluations/index.php/catalog/110
Cost: None
Data Access
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? |
|---|
| no |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring & Evaluation Division | Millennium Challenge Corporation | impact-eval@mcc.gov |
| Social Impact | dsabet@socialimpact.com |
Metadata production
DDI_MWI_2014_MCC-IDPSR_v01_M
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Millennium Challenge Corporation | Review of Metadata |
2014-09-25
Metadata version
Version 1.1 (September 2014)
Version 2.0 (April 2015). Edited version based on Version 01 (DDI-MCC-MWI-IE-ENERGY-2014-v01) that was done by Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Please note, selection of program participants is still underway and will be finalized within the next several weeks/months. The team will work with a mix of participants, including ESCOM employees, key informants at MERA and MoE, enterprises, and households. A brief description of participants is below.
Focus group discussions (FGD) with residents of beneficiary communities:
Focus groups will be convened to ensure homogeneity in terms of sex and age. This will provide the evaluation team with a better understanding of how the benefits of the project might be different for men and women and for youth and adults while providing an environment where participants are more likely to feel comfortable speaking. As a result, four focus groups will be conducted in each electrical community, for a total of 24 focus groups. Participants will be recruited by a recruitment team the day before the focus groups. Recruiters will randomly select households and household members for participation; however, they will utilize a screening instrument to screen for age, sex, income, electricity access, and level of knowledge about electricity in their household. Participants will be offered a small incentive to encourage invited participants to arrive at a predetermined site the day of the focus group. This will entail either a light meal or phone credit.
ESCOM Survey:
The evaluation team proposes to conduct a survey of a sample of ESCOM employees, which currently number 2,570. While it would be possible to conduct a census of the population of ESCOM employees, the evaluation team will be able to make accurate inferences with a sample of employees. Employees will be randomly selected for inclusion in the sample. Selected individuals will be surveyed in person if they are in the urban areas of Blantyre, Lilongwe, or Mzuzu and by phone if they are not.
Enterprise survey:
A panel survey of businesses will be used to evaluate both the PSRP and the IDP. A sampling frame of businesses can be easily developed from ESCOM's customer records. There are currently 832 MD customers in the ESCOM network. Of these, 448 customers are concentrated in the South; there are 310 customers in the Central region; and there are mere 66 in the North. Given the relatively low number of MD customers, it will be necessary to expand the population of interest to three-phase commercial connections, of which there are 5,389 in the ESCOM network. The sampling strategy for the enterprise survey is yet to be finalized. Although all business consumers are identified as beneficiaries of the Compact, the benefits might vary across many of these businesses. To focus research efforts as per discussions with MCC and Compact stakeholders, non-businesses, such as government agencies, hospitals, and schools will be dropped from the sampling frame. This list may be further modified once an ongoing ESCOM customer verification program is complete which will yield a geo-referenced location for each enterprise customer. The survey will benefit enormously from this customer verification project.
Workflow Studies:
The team will meet with a group of male and female individuals in various ESCOM departments, such as the billing department for a group interview/focus group. The team will meet individuals from a range of departments including procurement or customer service, for example. Final selection of workflow studies will occur this Fall, after the team pilots two studies in Malawi towards the end of October.