STMicroelectronics Foundation presented on June 26th, 2018, at ALTIS, in Milan the final results of its impact analysis for the Digital Unify Program (DUP).
The workshop was organized at the Catholic University of Milan and it represented the final step of a long journey that began at the end of 2016, with a collaboration between the Foundation and ALTIS. Throughout 2017, the two entities worked together to implement a challenging impact measurement project. The analysis was conducted based on the results in three crucial countries out of a total of 16 countries of operations: Burundi, India and Morocco. The scope of the project was designed to understand the mid-term effects or changes (i.e. the outcomes) produced by the DU Program involving the program’s key actors: participants, their families, trainers, and ST Foundation local partners.
After 14 years of experiences in different countries, ST Foundation chose to interpret the impact of its projects from different perspectives, i.e.: its DU Program Analysis of the produced results as well as the real change that the Digital Unify (DU) Program has created in the three selected countries.
The project’s results positively impacted each type of involved stakeholders:
- Students: 6 dimensions of change, that were monitored, showed a significant upward trend over time. Students have improved ICT and general competences, effectiveness in the use of the tool, motivation, moreover they have changed the way in which they use PCs by using them for resume writing and job searching. 97% of the involved participants would suggest the course to friend and relatives.
- Families: the program also impacted the families and close social circles of the participants. 91% of them said that they taught their family and friends what they learned.
- Trainers: most trainers reported that they learned new ICTs and new teaching skills, which in turn increased their confidence in both their technological and teaching skills. Specifically, trainers felt that they improved their “ability to organize the content of lessons” (+ 16.9%), while not only developing a positive attitude towards working together in groups, but also increasing their availability to do so (+ 15%).
- Partners: the local partners were also positively impacted, as the ST Foundation helped funnel knowledge and expertise to the local staff such as trainers and administrative staff. They reported that they “improved their organizational skills in managing the training of trainers course” and “developed organizational skills regarding the reception and management of groups of people of different categories who participated in the courses.” The created ripple effect resulting in trainers gaining useful competencies that can be shared with the community and help foster development in the local area: “thanks to this course, they can send their trained staff where it’s necessary to train other people in the whole region.”
The next phase of this new approach of the ST Foundation’s project evaluation will be the implementation of an ad hoc tool kit in its reporting system in order to monitor the DU Program’s impact in all intervention areas, and not only in 3 countries.
“The project’s impact assessment is just the beginning. It has given us a different perspective on the work we do every day and on what we want to do in the future. This evaluation was a great test. We have seen that this approach works very well, and now, we will start using it in all the other countries. It was a challenging initiative, that will allow us to improve our initiatives”
Giovanna Bottani – Operations Senior Consultant of the ST Foundation.