In 2008, before putting into practice its Social Projects, FMCSV had to establish a baseline from where it would be possible to assess the impact of its initiative. This ground zero could indicate the condition of the services offered to pregnant women and children under three in each city.
In search of technical support for the choice of methodology to be applied, FMCSV chose as the theme for its Second International Workshop on Child Development the assessment of the impact of social projects for early childhood development.
Despite the many alternatives presented and discussed at the event, none proved entirely suited to the needs of FMCSV, so it decided to develop its own methodology that covered all the different aspects involved in the promotion of child development.
A team of consultants specializing in assessment of social projects was hired and these professionals developed Maips, the Methodology for Impact Assessment of Social Projects, based on the KEC (Key Evaluation Check-List) system. Initially, Maips included 139 relevant indicators for the classification of care given to pregnant women and children.
Later, a seminar was organized with representatives of the partner cities to discuss Maips and the implementation strategies. After adjustments, Maips was streamlined to 83 indicators under 17 categories, which include four dimensions, as shown in the diagram below.
Maips was applied in all six municipalities participating in the Social Projects, the collection of information was made directly in field. Research results showed clearly the strengths and weaknesses of each city, and can be seen in the section Social Projects, in the pages of each city.
A new application of Maips is scheduled to take place at the end of the Social Projects (2013) to identify and measure the impacts caused by FMCSV’s Social Projects.