For Development Professionals

In this section, you will find case studies, evaluations, reports and other technical documents about our programs.

Mercy Corps' work across the world is carried out through the lens of various technical sectors, combining to create a holistic approach that helps communities meet their challenges. We have a strong commitment to the monitoring and evaluation of these projects — by internal and external evaluators — to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of our work. Mercy Corps is also committed to sharing its best practices and lessons learned with the broader non-governmental organization (NGO) community. In this section, you will find case studies, evaluations, reports and other technical documents about our programs.

Timor-Leste December 15, 2011 4:09AM

Energy for All - Timor Leste

Paolo da Silva for Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is at the forefront of efforts to address the chronic issue of energy poverty in Timor-Leste, the second poorest country in Asia. Mercy Corps’ innovative Energy for All (E4A) programme is taking a market development approach to improve access to solar, clean cookstoves and sustainable fuelwood. In October the E4A Baseline Assessment was completed, a comprehensive analysis of current energy practices and attitudes in the three target districts, consisting of a survey of 570 households and over 20 focus group discussions.

Read more ▸

Indonesia December 13, 2011 6:14PM

A Synergistic Approach to Disaster Management

Disaster Risk Reduction programs sponsored by Mercy Corps in Indonesia

Background on the PREPARE SumBar Case Study
Indonesia’s vulnerability to natural hazards is dramatic and internationally recognized. Flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, droughts, sea level rise and storm surges all wreak havoc on local populations and economies throughout the archipelago’s 6,000 inhabited islands; the effects of climate change are exacerbating many of these hazards and create the need for immediate disaster risk reduction (DRR) programs as well as long term adaptation.

This case study, Community-based Disaster Management and Local Government Capacity Building in West Sumatra, of the PREPARE SumBar project found preliminary evidence of sustainability, influence on local governance, and synergies from working simultaneously with districts, their schools and communities to enhance preparedness and resilience.

Read more ▸

December 2, 2011 1:43PM

Building Peace through Economic Development

The Maluku Economic Recovery program in Indonesia helped restore the livelihoods of families after the war

Peacebuilding through Economic Development
The vast majority of Mercy Corps’ programs are in fragile states and conflict-affected environments. In these settings, we have found that one of the most effective approaches is to integrate peacebuilding and economic development interventions. Our integrated economic development and peacebuilding programs go beyond conflict sensitivity to actively build peace through market development and economic activity.

Read more ▸

Uganda November 28, 2011 9:11AM

Building Peace in Pastoralist Communities in Uganda

Mediating local conflicts: a villager from the Kotido District in Uganda's Karamoja region

From 2009 to 2011, Mercy Corps implemented the USAID/CMM-funded Building Bridges to Peace program in northeast Uganda’s Karamoja region, an area that has been plagued by conflict and poverty for decades. The program sought to promote reconciliation and address causes of conflict by engaging agro-pastoralist communities in a range of economic and peacebuilding activities. Its main objectives were to strengthen local mechanisms for conflict mitigation, support reconciliation through dialogues and trust-building measures, and build cooperation and address key causes of violence through joint livelihoods projects.

Read more ▸

Kenya November 3, 2011 2:14PM

Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis (EMMA) in Wajir County, Kenya

Wajir County, Kenya

Mercy Corps conducted an adapted Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis (EMMA) assessment in Wajir County of Kenya from 2-6 August 2011. The assessment was organized as a response to the hunger crisis resulting from the worst drought in the region in the last 60 years. The EMMA methodology was adapted for this chronic emergency that has seen a steady escalation over the preceding two years and focused on markets that could meet immediate food needs quickly.

Read more ▸

Georgia November 3, 2011 2:05PM

Creating a Sustainable Market

Photograph by Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Changing the livestock system in Georgia to benefit small-scale farmers.
This collaborative case study from Mercy Corps, Alliances, and The Springfield Centre illustrates how an M4P project is going about changing the livestock system in one region of Georgia to the benefit of small-scale farmers. It focuses on one area of intervention, cattle breeding, and tells the story of how the project staff found the right players to work with, how they persuaded them to adapt their roles, how they helped them do so and how they are continuing to work to ensure the modest success achieved so far is likely to endure long after the project finishes.

Read more ▸

Kyrgyzstan November 3, 2011 11:32AM

A Market-Integrated Response to an Emergency in Kyrgyzstan

Mercy Corps has been working in Kyrgyzstan since 1994.

In an article published on the Humanitarian Practice Network, Mercy Corps' Robin Currey, Meghan Neumann, and Patrick Eckford detail market-integrated emergency response in the post-conflict provinces of Osh and Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Read more ▸

November 1, 2011 9:39AM

Highlights of our Monitoring and Evaluation Practices

youtube_screen_shot_1.png

Measurement, Evaluation and Learning at Mercy Corps
At Mercy Corps, we believe that measurement of program results is a critical success factor on the path to achieving high quality results.

Read more ▸

India October 11, 2011 2:05PM

Youth Entrepreneurship in Kashmir: Challenges and Opportunities

The attached document was produced by Mercy Corps Kashmir in July 2011 and is part of the Start-Up Kashmir Youth Entrepreneurship project in Kashmir (SKYE program).

Read more ▸