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mel_approach_principles_and_standards [2019/07/16 13:48] admin [MEAL Standards] |
mel_approach_principles_and_standards [2022/07/26 13:05] (current) admin |
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| + | <font 18px/Trebuchet MS,Helvetica,sans-serif;;#e91d2d;;inherit>**This site is not updated since January 2022. Go to CARE Shares for more recent content **</font> | ||
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| Here some examples of questions that can help you confirm if you are looking at concrete individuals: | Here some examples of questions that can help you confirm if you are looking at concrete individuals: | ||
| - | * For the impact group: is the impact group composed of only some individuals from a household? (e.g. mothers and children under 5); or the entire household? (e.g. all individual members of food insecure families); or a clear portion of the population in a given location? (e.g. only women and girls of school age in the area where the project intervenes). | + | * For the impact group: is the impact group composed of only some individuals from a household? (e.g. mothers and children under 5); or the entire household? (e.g. all individual members of food insecure families); or a clear portion of the population in a given location? (e.g. only women and girls of school age in the area where the project intervenes). |
| - | * For the target groups: who are the individuals that compose the target groups? Is it a clearly defined group of community/religious leaders? Or a specific number of decision makers or government officials? Or a number of members of civil society organizations? Or a clear portion of the population in a community? Or all the population in a given location? | + | * For the target groups: who are the individuals that compose the target groups? Is it a clearly defined group of community/religious leaders? Or a specific number of decision makers or government officials? Or a number of members of civil society organizations? Or a clear portion of the population in a community? Or all the population in a given location? |
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| |<font 14px/inherit;;#e67e22;;inherit>**Participants REACHED**</font>||<font 14px/inherit;;#e67e22;;inherit>**Participants IMPACTED**</font>| | |<font 14px/inherit;;#e67e22;;inherit>**Participants REACHED**</font>||<font 14px/inherit;;#e67e22;;inherit>**Participants IMPACTED**</font>| | ||
| - | |* Refers to all those **individuals that a project/initiative connects with as it implements its activities and delivers outputs**. \\ \\ * Participants REACHED may include: \\ \\ 1) individuals who are __directly__ involved in activities implemented by the project or initiative, receiving support, services, goods, resources or other, from CARE or partners \\ 2) individuals who are __not directly__ involved in activities implemented by the project or initiative, but still indirectly connect with the outputs resulting from those activities. \\ \\ * **Participants REACHED can be classified as DIRECT or INDIRECT participants**, however, this classification greatly depends on the modality of implementation that the project/initiative adopts, and other factors. \\ \\ * For detailed guidance on how to define participants REACHED and IMPACTED for different modalities of implementation, please refer to this [[http://careglobalmel.careinternationalwikis.org/piirs_fy19_definitions_participants|guidance note]]guidance note||* Refers to all those **individuals who, as a result of the materialization of the goals of a project or initiative, __experience lasting change__** (impact or outcomes). \\ \\ * Depending on the impact or outcome metrics/indicators your project or initiative uses to measure lasting change, the participants IMPACTED could include: \\ \\ 1) __Individuals from the impact group__, experiencing lasting change in their lives (e.g. households graduating from extreme poverty; families becoming food secure; children under 5 no longer stunted; women generating income and accessing education; women participating in joint decision-making in the household, etc.) \\ 2) __Individuals from the target groups__ whose changed behaviors are also part of lasting change (e.g. local leaders/men and boys rejecting intimate partner violence). \\ \\ * For detailed guidance on how to define participants REACHED and IMPACTED for different modalities of implementation, please refer to this [[http://careglobalmel.careinternationalwikis.org/piirs_fy19_definitions_participants|guidance note]]guidance note|| | + | | * Refers to all those **individuals that a project/initiative connects with as it implements its activities and delivers outputs**. \\ \\ * Participants REACHED may include: \\ \\ 1) individuals who are __directly__ involved in activities implemented by the project or initiative, receiving support, services, goods, resources or other, from CARE or partners \\ 2) individuals who are __not directly__ involved in activities implemented by the project or initiative, but still indirectly connect with the outputs resulting from those activities. \\ \\ * **Participants REACHED can be classified as DIRECT or INDIRECT participants**, however, this classification greatly depends on the modality of implementation that the project/initiative adopts, and other factors. \\ \\ * For detailed guidance on how to define participants REACHED and IMPACTED for different modalities of implementation, please refer to this [[http://careglobalmel.careinternationalwikis.org/piirs_fy19_definitions_participants|guidance note]]guidance note|| * Refers to all those **individuals who, as a result of the materialization of the goals of a project or initiative, __experience lasting change__** (impact or outcomes). \\ \\ * Depending on the impact or outcome metrics/indicators your project or initiative uses to measure lasting change, the participants IMPACTED could include: \\ \\ 1) __Individuals from the impact group__, experiencing lasting change in their lives (e.g. households graduating from extreme poverty; families becoming food secure; children under 5 no longer stunted; women generating income and accessing education; women participating in joint decision-making in the household, etc.) \\ 2) __Individuals from the target groups__ whose changed behaviors are also part of lasting change (e.g. local leaders/men and boys rejecting intimate partner violence). \\ \\ * For detailed guidance on how to define participants REACHED and IMPACTED for different modalities of implementation, please refer to this [[http://careglobalmel.careinternationalwikis.org/piirs_fy19_definitions_participants|guidance note]]guidance note| |
| - | | | + | |
| Note that, within the definition of participants REACHED, we are just looking at tracking/counting and reporting on individuals that are involved in the activities of a project or initiative. We are not counting/tracking/reporting if/how these individuals are experiencing important changes in their lives, like impact/outcomes (e.g. a participant that is receiving training would be counted as REACHED and, unless there is an evaluation process to determine if the knowledge acquired in the training has led to an outcome or impact, this individual would not yet be counted as participant IMPACTED). | Note that, within the definition of participants REACHED, we are just looking at tracking/counting and reporting on individuals that are involved in the activities of a project or initiative. We are not counting/tracking/reporting if/how these individuals are experiencing important changes in their lives, like impact/outcomes (e.g. a participant that is receiving training would be counted as REACHED and, unless there is an evaluation process to determine if the knowledge acquired in the training has led to an outcome or impact, this individual would not yet be counted as participant IMPACTED). | ||
| The tracking of participants impacted, normally needs to be supported by an evaluation process (external or coming from a solid monitoring of outcomes) and requires measurement of outcome or impact indicators that the project or initiative has defined since its design (see next standard). | The tracking of participants impacted, normally needs to be supported by an evaluation process (external or coming from a solid monitoring of outcomes) and requires measurement of outcome or impact indicators that the project or initiative has defined since its design (see next standard). | ||
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| <font 16px/inherit;;#e67e22;;inherit>❸</font>**Define a meaningful and manageable set of quantitative and qualitative indicators and/or questions for impact, outcomes and outputs in each participant group, and the methods to track them.** | <font 16px/inherit;;#e67e22;;inherit>❸</font>**Define a meaningful and manageable set of quantitative and qualitative indicators and/or questions for impact, outcomes and outputs in each participant group, and the methods to track them.** | ||
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| Define the moments, tools and resources used throughout the life of the project or initiative to track outputs from all those key activities being implemented (e.g. health staff from health services participating in training). While collecting and analyzing data at this level, the MEAL system won’t generate explanations related to impact or outcomes but will regularly ask if all the activities and outputs are the most appropriate and if they are really setting the bases towards the expected outcomes and impacts. \\ \\ **Important considerations when monitoring participants:** | Define the moments, tools and resources used throughout the life of the project or initiative to track outputs from all those key activities being implemented (e.g. health staff from health services participating in training). While collecting and analyzing data at this level, the MEAL system won’t generate explanations related to impact or outcomes but will regularly ask if all the activities and outputs are the most appropriate and if they are really setting the bases towards the expected outcomes and impacts. \\ \\ **Important considerations when monitoring participants:** | ||
| - | * Participants are always individuals. Even if our projects or initiatives work with households, communities or institutions, these are always composed of individuals, therefore, should ultimately monitored as individuals. | + | * Participants are always individuals. Even if our projects or initiatives work with households, communities or institutions, these are always composed of individuals, therefore, should ultimately monitored as individuals. |
| - | * One individual can be reached by one or more project or initiative in one particular context. The monitoring actions should be aware of duplications with other projects or initiatives, and establish the mechanism to report data without double counting. | + | * One individual can be reached by one or more project or initiative in one particular context. The monitoring actions should be aware of duplications with other projects or initiatives, and establish the mechanism to report data without double counting. |
| - | * Participants’ data should normally be disaggregated by sex, age and potentially by disability or any key criteria related to the problem or vulnerability the project or initiative seeks to address. Estimations based on statistical references (e.g. census) are not always the most accurate measure. If the disaggregation is made using estimates, the source of the ratio must be explained. | + | * Participants’ data should normally be disaggregated by sex, age and potentially by disability or any key criteria related to the problem or vulnerability the project or initiative seeks to address. Estimations based on statistical references (e.g. census) are not always the most accurate measure. If the disaggregation is made using estimates, the source of the ratio must be explained. |
| - | * In projects or initiative implemented in the course of multiple years, the total participants in a particular year should be cumulative and single counted (existing and new participants). Even though it is important to know the incremental process, participant’s information is not normally aggregated year by year. | + | * In projects or initiative implemented in the course of multiple years, the total participants in a particular year should be cumulative and single counted (existing and new participants). Even though it is important to know the incremental process, participant’s information is not normally aggregated year by year. |
| **4.2 Monitoring of Outcomes** | **4.2 Monitoring of Outcomes** | ||
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| * **Formative evaluations:** carried out during implementation of a project or initiative, intended to improve a project´s performance, informing necessary adjustments of project in relation to project design, planning, resources, approaches and methodologies, and capturing lessons and promising practices that inform decision-making (e.g. real time/mid-term evaluations of any project or initiative). | * **Formative evaluations:** carried out during implementation of a project or initiative, intended to improve a project´s performance, informing necessary adjustments of project in relation to project design, planning, resources, approaches and methodologies, and capturing lessons and promising practices that inform decision-making (e.g. real time/mid-term evaluations of any project or initiative). | ||
| * **Summative or End-line evaluation:**often carried out at the end of a project, intended to assess the extent to which expected outcomes have materialized and assessing its significance or relevance (end-line evaluations). | * **Summative or End-line evaluation:**often carried out at the end of a project, intended to assess the extent to which expected outcomes have materialized and assessing its significance or relevance (end-line evaluations). | ||
| - | * **Impact evaluations**: carried out either during or after the implementation of a project or initiative, intended to demonstrate impact in a cause-and-effect manner to an intervention. In impact evaluations, the focus shifts away from what CARE is doing, to observe and track the changes that take place in the lives of the impact groups, and how these changes come about. Impact evaluation normally entails a step further than any other type of evaluation and implies a deeper look to the participants and the changes they experience, plus collaborating with others in order to explain how these changes were facilitated by the project or initiative. As a result, it directs all is attention to test the theory of change behind the project or initiative and demonstrate how CARE contributes to that. \\ \\ **Important considerations when operationalizing evaluations:** \\ | + | * **Impact evaluations**: carried out either during or after the implementation of a project or initiative, intended to demonstrate impact in a cause-and-effect manner to an intervention. In impact evaluations, the focus shifts away from what CARE is doing, to observe and track the changes that take place in the lives of the impact groups, and how these changes come about. Impact evaluation normally entails a step further than any other type of evaluation and implies a deeper look to the participants and the changes they experience, plus collaborating with others in order to explain how these changes were facilitated by the project or initiative. As a result, it directs all is attention to test the theory of change behind the project or initiative and demonstrate how CARE contributes to that. \\ \\ **Important considerations when operationalizing evaluations:** \\ \\ |
| * Evaluations should provide with complete and comparable assessments of the before-after or with-without situation. | * Evaluations should provide with complete and comparable assessments of the before-after or with-without situation. | ||
| * Evaluations should assess desired as well as unexpected outcomes. | * Evaluations should assess desired as well as unexpected outcomes. | ||
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| Adaptive approaches are increasingly and undeniable relevant to address complexity in the contexts in which we implement projects and initiatives. Our capacity to adapt covers many other areas of organizational culture, structures, processes and capacities that go beyond MEAL purely. However, MEAL systems can be highly instrumental for adaptation. \\ \\ **Important elements to consider when linking MEAL to adaptive management:** \\ | Adaptive approaches are increasingly and undeniable relevant to address complexity in the contexts in which we implement projects and initiatives. Our capacity to adapt covers many other areas of organizational culture, structures, processes and capacities that go beyond MEAL purely. However, MEAL systems can be highly instrumental for adaptation. \\ \\ **Important elements to consider when linking MEAL to adaptive management:** \\ | ||
| - | * Your MEAL practices need to be agile and have the capacity to collect data, generate evidence, identify changes and generate recommendations more frequently. | + | * Your MEAL practices need to be agile and have the capacity to collect data, generate evidence, identify changes and generate recommendations more frequently. |
| - | * The MEAL system should include regular review points when monitoring and feedback data is assessed against the theory of change, so that adaptation can occur accordingly. | + | * The MEAL system should include regular review points when monitoring and feedback data is assessed against the theory of change, so that adaptation can occur accordingly. |
| - | * Your MEAL system should dedicate considerable effort to rapid learning and very agile feedback, in order to inform changes. | + | * Your MEAL system should dedicate considerable effort to rapid learning and very agile feedback, in order to inform changes. |
| - | * Your MEAL system needs to be flexible, adjusting indicators, methods, tools and resources based on potential changes of the overall design of the project or the initiative. | + | * Your MEAL system needs to be flexible, adjusting indicators, methods, tools and resources based on potential changes of the overall design of the project or the initiative. |
| - | * Your MEAL system should be clearly linked with decision making instances, in order to make sure that data and evidence signaling need for adjustments are taken into action. | + | * Your MEAL system should be clearly linked with decision making instances, in order to make sure that data and evidence signaling need for adjustments are taken into action. |
mel_approach_principles_and_standards.1563274087.txt.gz · Last modified: 2019/07/16 13:48 by admin
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