Assignment Name: Final Evaluation of “Upscaling Faridpur City Best Practices and Continued Support in Faridpur City, Bangladesh” Project

Country: Bangladesh

Client Name: Practical Action

The “Up scaling Faridpur city best practices and continued support in Faridpur City, Bangladesh” project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and implemented by Practical Action, aimed to improve faecal sludge management (FSM) in Faridpur, with an extension to Magura, Rajbari, Meherpur, and Laksam municipalities. The project, which started in October 2017 and was scheduled to end in September 2022, focused on scaling up successful FSM practices initially tested in Faridpur, particularly mechanical desludging techniques operated by cooperatives of sweepers. This model helped transform informal sanitation workers into entrepreneurs, significantly improving their socio-economic status and contributing to better public health and sanitation in urban settings.

The core objective of the project was to demonstrate sustainable FSM systems at a city scale, incorporating inclusive business models that empower local sanitation workers while also improving sanitation services for low-income urban populations. The project demonstrated a sludge treatment plant and tested low-cost technologies for faecal sludge emptying, addressing the challenges of inadequate sanitation facilities and unregulated waste disposal in urban areas.

The project aimed to establish FSM models that could be adopted by other municipalities in Bangladesh, thus contributing to the national FSM regulatory framework and improving sanitation infrastructure for urban dwellers, including slum populations.

As the project was nearing completion, the final evaluation was commissioned to assess the impact and sustainability of the project’s interventions and provide insights into the scalability of FSM practices in other cities.

The end line evaluation assessed project’s achievements against outputs, outcome, and assessed the efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability created through project interventions. The specific objectives of the study were as follows, but were not limited to:

• To measure the changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices of pit-emptier and city dwellers including slum dwellers regarding safe faecal sludge management compared to baseline
• To measure the changes in socio-economic, dignity of life, service providing capacity in terms of gender equity & social inclusion of pit-emptier and contribution of the cooperatives compare to baseline
• To assess the best practices and learning created through up-scaling Faridpur and it’s
• scaling-up in 4 municipalities
• To assess the status of faecal sludge management (FSM) including Shit-Flow Diagram (SFD) and level of satisfaction of service receivers in 5 cities
• To assess the usability and business viability including commercialization through private partner of different prototypes and technologies developed and demonstrated for FSM in 5 cities
• To assess the institutional capacity of municipalities and national departments on FSM systems and the contribution of coordinated approach among different stakeholders to improve the FSM system in local and national level.
• To assess the effectiveness of joint investment by multiple stakeholders in order to improve FSM, operational & financial sustainability, and commercial viability comparing with baseline
• To assess the changes in capacity and functionality of CRTC in arranging different events, as well as measure the management capacity of CRTC operator following business plan including certification and usage end product (co-compost)
• To assess the changes in the capacity of Innovation Centre operating by Practical Action
• To assess the contribution of digital application (i.e., 1 service) in reducing labour and cost of FSM service provider and receiver with accountability.

DM WATCH team provided a range of services during the final evaluation study to assess the impact and effectiveness of the Up scaling Faridpur city best practices and continued support project. These services were critical to understanding the success of the project in scaling up the faecal sludge management (FSM) model in the five municipalities.

Planning and Consultation:

• Held a kick-off meeting with Practical Action and other key stakeholders to ensure alignment of the evaluation with the project objectives.
• Reviewed project documents, including the Terms of Reference (ToR), project progress reports, and secondary data, to understand the context, objectives, and outcomes of the project.
• Finalized the evaluation framework based on the OECD/DAC criteria, including relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability.

Data Collection and Fieldwork:

• Developed survey tools for quantitative data collection, including structured household surveys, key informant interviews (KIIs), and focus group discussions (FGDs).
• Conducted 1150 household surveys across the five municipalities (Faridpur, Rajbari, Magura, Meherpur, Laksam), targeting city dwellers, including slum residents, and pit emptiers.
• Facilitated 14 FGDs with slum dwellers and pit emptiers to assess sanitation practices, knowledge of FSM, and attitudes towards sanitation workers.
• Carried out 47 KIIs with key stakeholders, including municipal representatives, sanitation cooperatives, technical experts, and local partners like SDC (CRTC operator), Practical Action, and Metal Pvt Ltd (FSM technology partner).
• Physically observed 116 households across the municipalities, focusing on sanitation infrastructure (e.g., latrines, septic tanks) and verifying the status of faecal sludge containment and disposal.

Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) Preparation:

• Developed Shit Flow Diagrams (SFDs) for all five municipalities (Faridpur, Rajbari, Magura, Meherpur, Laksam) to visually represent faecal sludge management practices.
• Collaborated with local stakeholders to validate data and map out the flow of excreta from containment, through emptying, transportation, and treatment, identifying safe and unsafe sludge management practices.
• Used SFD Lite software to generate these diagrams and assessed sanitation coverage and safe disposal in each municipality.

Data Management and Analysis:

• Analyzed quantitative data using SPSS and Excel for descriptive and cross-tabular analyses, focusing on changes in sanitation coverage, knowledge of FSM, and household practices.
• Cross-checked data from household surveys with observations and qualitative insights to provide a comprehensive view of the FSM situation.
• Analyzed the efficiency of the project using the DFID 4E Framework (Economy, Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Equity) to assess how well resources were used and the project’s overall value for money.
• Conducted a gender analysis to evaluate how the project addressed gender equity in FSM, focusing on the involvement of women in cooperatives and their access to sanitation services.

Reporting and Recommendations:

• Prepared a final evaluation report that assessed the project’s impact on sanitation practices, FSM systems, and the socio-economic status of pit emptiers.
• Identified lessons learned and provided recommendations for future FSM interventions, including the replication of the cooperative-led PPP FSM model in other municipalities.
• Proposed strategies for improving FSM service delivery in urban and peri-urban areas, including scalability and sustainability of FSM models, and the commercialization of FSM technologies.

Dissemination and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Organized a results-sharing workshop with Practical Action, municipal authorities, and other stakeholders to discuss the findings and validate the evaluation’s conclusions.
• Presented the evaluation findings through a detailed report, PowerPoint presentations, and factsheets summarizing key findings and recommendations.
• Developed SFD factsheets for each of the five municipalities, highlighting FSM practices and areas for improvement.

The final evaluation study provided a comprehensive assessment of the project’s achievements, challenges, and impact. It helped identify best practices for scaling up FSM services in Bangladesh, and provided insights into how the project could be sustained and expanded to other municipalities and national programs. The evaluation was crucial in highlighting the social and economic benefits of FSM and the importance of public-private partnerships in improving urban sanitation systems.