Empowering ‘Pearls’ from East Nusa Tenggara: A Flashback to the Successful Endline Evaluation of the ‘Better Life Options and Opportunities Model’ (BLOOM) Indonesia Project by the CIRCLE Indonesia Team

The problem of unemployment, lack of access to education, early pregnancy, and high maternal and infant mortality rates have become a chronic scourge for the people of East Nusa Tenggara. In fact, for most people who depend on their livelihoods as subsistence farmers, in 2016, the province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) became one of the poorest and underdeveloped areas in Indonesia, with the percentage of poor people reaching 22.01%. This problem greatly affects most of the population, including the community, including adolescents, especially adolescent girls. That matter is the background for implementing the Better Life Options and Opportunities Model (BLOOM) Indonesia Project, under PLAN International, to solve long-standing problems and provide benefits to young people as the next generation in East Nusa Tenggara.

The project incorporated good practices from the GERAK SEREMPAK project, the BIAAG 1.0 (Because I Am A Girl) project previously implemented in NTT Province from June 2012-September 2016. The BLOOM Indonesia Project– has been implemented from January 1, 2017, to November 30, 2020. The project target area covers 3 districts of Nagekeo, Sikka and Lembata in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province. With a broad scope, the BLOOM Indonesia project has successfully targeted the project’s direct beneficiaries with a total of 1,800 youth (70% girls, 30% boys) aged 13 to 19 years. In addition, this project has also succeeded in embracing 60 facilitators and conducting 2,500 Parent/Family Forums as a forum for supporting adolescent career and personal development opportunities for adolescent girls and boys in Lembata District, Nagekeo, and Sikka Districts, East Nusa Tenggara Province/NTT, Indonesia.

CIRCLE Indonesia was appointed by the Plan International Indonesia Foundation to evaluate the BLOOM Indonesia project. The evaluation was conducted using qualitative and quantitative approaches and  triangulate data from various sources. Dr. Laila Kholid Alfirdaus led the CIRCLE Indonesia final evaluation team as team leader, assisted by Veronica Purwaningsih and Gama Triono as team members, then Isma Novitasari as Quality Assurance, Deddy Heriyanto as Director of CIRCLE Indonesia as well as Quality Assurance, and Reina Asmedi as Project Admin/Finance Officer. This team has succeeded in conducting research. The qualitative data collection method was carried out through key informant interviews, discussions (KII), Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and direct observation in three districts: Sikka, Nagekeo, and Lembata. Meanwhile, for the quantitative data collection method through surveys, the evaluation team was assisted by 8 (eight) local enumerators (Lembata District: 2 people, Sikka Regency: 2 people, Nagekeo Regency 4 people) hence managed to collect the required survey data. This data collection is accelerated using the Open Data Kit Collect application (ODK Collect: an Android-based field data collection application).

To prepare the enumerators/enumerators who will conduct the survey, CIRCLE Indonesia held 2 days of online training. The training agenda includes providing information about the program, background and objectives of the survey, technical use of ODK Collect, and practice of using ODK Collect.

Concerning COVID-19, field surveys conducted face-to-face continue to prioritize strict health protocols. Among the protocols are that all enumerators are required to undergo an antigen test; respondents were given masks and hand sanitizers. It also applies to FGDs, where researchers are required to perform antigen tests, wear masks during FGDs, and provide masks and sanitizer for FGD participants. Meanwhile, most of the KII is conducted online. However, some key informant interviews are not possible to be completed online. For this reason, strict Health protocols were also implemented to anticipate the spread of the virus

Enumerator training before conducting survey