Part 1: Scenarios

Instructions: Please read scenarios and the questions and provide an answer no longer than one paragraph per scenario. In your response, apply the key concepts discussed during the training.

Scenario 1.

You are asked to implement a cost analysis of a new intervention by Kanda International, and one of the questions is whether the new intervention is cost-efficient. You point out to the client that cost-efficiency is a comparative analysis method and all you can do is produce estimates of unit costs. The client responds that its fine since the results will indeed be used comparatively - the unit costs estimates will be compared to the unit cost benchmark produced by analysts from the partner government.

Question: Is it a good idea to compare a unit cost estimate to a benchmark? Explain if yes, no, or maybe, and under what circumstances.

Answer:_____

Scenario 2.

An impact evaluation of a new intervention by Kanda International implemented in two pilot districts finds it highly effective. Now the partner government wants to scale up the intervention and would like your help to figure out how much it would cost them to achieve the same impact in the rest of the country.

Question: Describe what you can and cannot do to help.

Answer:____

Scenario 3.

USAID has funded a pilot of an innovative activity that is now coming to an end. A new USAID officer just inherited the activity as its COR and would like to implement a cost analysis to establish the value-for-money of the activity to USAID. During the first meeting between USAID, the implementer, and the evaluation team, the officer questions the activitys effectiveness, saying that for the resources invested, it reached a rather small number of beneficiaries. The implementer responds that the beneficiaries are youth with disabilities who are difficult to reach and require expensive support services and that the interventions outcomes have surpassed targets.

Question: What are the key cost analysis questions that USAID should be asking in order to establish the activitys value for money?

Answer:_____

Scenario 4.

A business development team is asking for your help with budgeting for a proposal for a new workforce development activity in Chad funded by USAID. The plan is to propose to implement a well-established intervention that showed in the past good results in other African countries. The challenge is that your company hasnt worked in Chad before.

Question: What are you going to do to help develop the most realistic budget proposal?

Answer:_____