This blog is written with the evaluation commissioner (clients) in mind at the stage where they have to assess whether a proposed design is going to be successful, but the advice is relevant for those designing evaluations and those designing terms of reference for evaluations too! It might seem like Read more…
Last time I outlined the key questions you need to think about when you start to design your monitoring system. It is important of course to keep alive the link between collecting data and telling your impact story. Being able to properly articulate the changes that you are making or Read more…
Picture it: you’re a small charity with limited staff, financial resources and no experience in fancy flowcharts, surveys and log frames. But you know you need to do something to demonstrate your impact. Your supporters are asking questions, your donors want to know what difference you’re making. Even the regulator Read more…
This month I’ve spoken a lot about participatory methods and how I’ve used them to deliver results for clients. Many are sceptical on the true value of participatory approaches other than to include stakeholder voice and as an exercise in consultation. The argument is often that these approaches are not Read more…
It is always exciting to help an organisation develop its vision and goals. Last month I had the opportunity to work with a client and three country teams from India, Egypt and Nepal to establish a Theory of Change following a summative evaluation I completed in 2018 on their work Read more…
Ok, as if we didn’t know…. You will notice that until now I’ve stayed away from commenting on the whole Brexit process and for very good reason – I’m not an expert. But I can tell you what I’ve learned from what I’ve observed about this process that can be Read more…
How often do you read about an innovation or see a documentary about some breakthrough in science or development and wonder, “how did they come up with that?” Well, sometimes it is about dogged determination around a clear vision, but often it is about looking outside of your regular network, Read more…
One of the biggest challenges any organisation faces is ensuring strong engagement from beneficiary groups, community stakeholders and other groups involved with or affected by that organisation’s work. NGOs in the global South have gotten better at including beneficiaries and communities in their design processes and mobilising them to be Read more…
Last month the NCVO issued its review of issues that UK charities should be focused on in 2019. NCVO conduct this PEST analysis each year. This time it does feel however like the results are too general as to be properly useful. The review focuses on the political impasse in Read more…
You will remember that last month I mentioned that M&E was one of the five basic planning issues that social impact organisations needed to get right. So what happens when M&E doesn’t work? What happens when, despite best efforts, either the wrong data is collected or the tools and M&E Read more…