Outcome MappingPlanning, Reflecting & Learning

Shalini Kala July 2011

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Outline

1. OM: basic principles2. Overview of the steps3. An example of OM application4. My experience of using OM5. Q&A and short exercises in between

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Acknowledgements

This presentation makes use of materials from Simon Hearn and Terry Smutylo available at www.outcomemapping.ca

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OM history 1990s: post-Rio need to demonstrate ‘sustainable’

results 1998: Barry Kibel and Outcome Engineering 1999: Methodological collaboration with projects 2000: Publication of manual in English 2002: Training, facilitation & usage globally 2006: OM Learning Community

www.outcomemapping.ca 2008: Latin America Centre for Outcome Mapping

(CLAMA) 2010: East Africa and beyond

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Evaluation challenges that led to the development of OM

• How do you measure what difference research is making

• How do you establishing cause & effect in open & complex system we work in

• Timing: when do you evaluate

• Iterative learning

The research to impact connection is complex

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Focus of Outcome Mapping

Outcome Mapping

Community ownership increases

Program influence decreases

Inputs Activities Outputs Outcomes Impacts

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Key ideas characterizing OM

• Looking at the bigger picture

• Recognizing that change is: continuous, multi-dimensional, complex, non-linear

• Learning as you go

• Contribution not attribution

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Brief definition of OM

• A participatory method for planning, monitoring and evaluation

• Focused on changes in behaviour of those with whom the project or program works

• Oriented towards social & organizational learning

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Three key concepts in OM

1. Sphere of influence

2. Boundary Partners

3. Outcomes understood as changes in behaviour

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There is a limit to our influence

Project Partners Beneficiaries

Sphere of control

Sphere of influence Sphere of interest

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Changes in behavior as ‘outcomes’

Inputs, activities, outputs

Outcomes: Changes in behavior

Impact: Changes in state

Sphere of control

Sphere of influence Sphere of interest

Participatory research on demonstration farms to develop approaches to drip irrigation

Farmers participate in field trials

Participating farmers learn how to use drip irrigation equipment

Extension workers visit demonstration farms

Training of extension workers

Publication of performance of different set-ups

Increased knowledge of techniques

Extension workers promoting drip irrigation

Farmers adopting drip irrigation methods

Reduced numbers of new wells

Greater quantities of groundwater available

Source: Terry Smutylo

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Who are your boundary partners?

Programme

Beneficiaries

Stakeholders

Boundary Partners

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To what extent do these ideas apply to the programs and context you work in?

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Why?

Who?

What?

How?

Vision

Boundary Partners

Outcomes Challenges,Progress Markers

Mission, Strategy Map, Organizational Practices

4 Key Planning Questions

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Step 1: Vision

improved human, social, & environmental wellbeing

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A vision statement….

• guides• motivates• is an accountability-free zone

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Step 2: Mission

The mission is that “bite” of the vision statement on which the

program is going to focus.

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A mission statement describes…

• How the program intends to apply its resources in support of the vision

• The areas in which the program intends to work• How the program will support the

achievements of outcomes by its direct partners

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Swayamsiddha Project

• Context: Women in India are disempowered• Project:

– Started in 2000, closed in 2005– Funded by CIDA and IDRC– Managed by national NGO and local NGOs

• Aims:– Develop network of government, non-governmental and

community based organisations– Increase gender responsiveness in local health care, families

and community institutions– Decreasing drudgery in women’s and girl’s work– Increase access to and control of financial services

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Swayamsiddha Vision

Across rural India, women and girls utilize and benefit from appropriate health care, education, food and water security and freedom from violence. Women have access to the markets, credit, banking and municipal services they need to pursue their livelihood goals. They use drudgery-reducing technologies and agricultural inputs that contribute to personal well-being and to ecological sustainability. Villages are fully served by public transport, are well lit at night and police enforce all laws fully and equitably. Girls attend school full time and families have the information and resources to make informed decisions regarding their health, safety and social needs. Gender equity governs household labor and decision-making; and men in the community understand and support gender-responsive laws.

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Swayamsiddha Mission

The Swayamsiddha Project works with governments, NGOs & CBOs to improve women’s health and empowerment. It facilitates the development of women’s self help groups. It provides them with funding and training to help them influence community and government services to be more responsive to their health and livelihood needs. It fosters mutual respect and joint action between these self-help groups and: banks; police; health and social service providers; and government agencies. It researches and promotes the application of ecosystem approaches to human health in agriculture and in the provision of health and sanitation services. Swayamsiddha addresses equity issues in all its activities. It uses participatory methods to monitor progress, to learn how to become more effective in supporting its partners and to report on its results.

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Step 3: Boundary Partners

Those individuals, groups, & organizations with whom a program interacts directly to effect change & with whom the program can anticipate some opportunities for influence.

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Swayamsiddha BPs

CIDA

IDRC

BAIF

StateNGO

StateNGO

StateNGO

StateNGO

StateNGO

StateNGO

SHG Police CommunityLeaders

Families Banks PHCs

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Questions

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Group exercise 1: 15 minutes

• Get together in small groups with your boundary partners present here

• Come up with a vision & mission statement for your project

• Identify two levels of boundary partners of your project

You might want to start by thinking of key words or ideas that should feature in these statements

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Step 4: Outcome Challenge

• Describes behaviour of a single boundary partner

• Sets out the ideal actions, relationships, activities

• Describes the boundary partner’s contribution to the vision

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Outcome Challenge for Swayamsiddha SHG

Women’s self help groups are taking action to make community and government services more responsive to the health and livelihood needs of women and girls. They influence banks, police, health and social service providers, local officials and state and national government agencies in relationships of mutual respect and joint action to improve women’s well being. Women’s self help groups arrange bank loans for members and for life skills training for girls to be included in the school curriculum. They influence local, state and national government policies and expenditures on community improvement and transportation and support women candidates to run for election to local government office.

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(Deep transformation)

(Active engagement)

(Early positive responses)

Love to see

Like to see

Expect to see

Step 5: Progress Markers

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Progress Marker Checklist

Each Progress Marker:• Describes a changed behaviour by the boundary

partner• Can be monitored & observed

As a set, Progress Markers:• Are graduated from preliminary to more profound

changes in behaviour• Describe the change process of a single boundary

partner

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Why Graduated Progress Markers?

• Articulate the complexity of the change process• Allow negotiation of expectations between the

program and its partners• Permit on-going assessment of progress • Encourage the program to think about how it can

intentionally contribute to the most profound transformation possible

• Help identify mid-course corrections and improvements

X

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Sample progress markers: Swayamsiddha SHG

Expect to See Women’s SHG’s: •Holding meetings regularly•Discussing a list of shared concerns•contributing to a group bank account

Like to See Women’s SHG’s:•Soliciting training in maternal & child health for its members•Lending money to•Acquiring skills in managing credit programs•Taking action responding to incidents of domestic violence

Love to See Women’s SHG’s: •Lobbying local government for expenditures on community improvements•Approaching the State Transport Dept for bus service to their villages •Putting forth candidates for election to local government council

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Group exercise 2: 20 minutes

• Get together with your boundary partners present here

• Come up with an outcome challenge statement• Come up with a list of associated progress markers

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Step 6: Strategy MapCausal

Persuasive

Supportive

I

E

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6 kinds of strategies

causal persuasive supportive

Iaimed at

individual boundary partner

strong influencearouse new

thinking; build skills, capacity

on-going support

Eaimed at the

boundary partner`s

environment

Alter the physical,

regulatory, or information environment

Broad information

dissemination; access to new

info

Create or strengthen peer

networks

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Step 7: Organisational Practices1. Prospecting for new ideas, opportunities, and resources

2. Seeking feedback from key informants

3. Obtaining the support of your next highest power

4. Assessing and (re)designing products, services, systems, and procedures

5. Checking up on those already served to add value

6. Sharing your best wisdom with the world

7. Experimenting to remain innovative

8. Engaging in organizational reflection

BOUNDARY PARTNERS

Vision

Outcome Challenges

Outcome Mapping: Main Elements

Strategies

Organizational Practices

Progress Markers

Mission

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OM principles of use

• Flexible: modular to be adapted to use and context

• Complementary: can be combined with other methods

• Evaluative: promotes culture of reflection, results oriented thinking, & social & organizational learning

• Participatory: seeks dialogue and collaboration with partners

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Quick Questions

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OM in real life Experience of networking actors to

reduce rural poverty in Asia

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ENRAPKnowledge Networking for Rural Development in Asia-Pacific Region

• Started in 1998, covering 5 countries-15 projects, expanded to 8 countries (40 projects), ended in March 2011 covering all of Asia-Pacific (over 65 projects)

• IFAD-IDRC collaboration

• Goal: Increased sharing of knowledge & information for rural poverty reduction in Asia.

• Objective: IFAD partners are using networks to actively share knowledge and information.

• Improved knowledge sharing was directed at supporting project performance

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• ENRAP promoted knowledge sharing through network building across projects & among rural dev. players at the regional and national level.

– IFAD poverty reduction projects & grant projects– National government agencies & NGOs– People’s organizations (farmer federations)– Research institutions

• Worked through IFAD projects & later country offices• Depended on supportive environment at IFAD HQ for

effectiveness

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Why did we choose OM?

• Project aimed at behavior change, in this case: networking for knowledge

• An evolving KM environment at IFAD

• A relatively small player (attribution vs. contribution)– 1-2m for portfolio of over 450m– 3-year phases– External

• As the learning framework

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What did we do?

• Adapted OM pragmatically– Used along with LFA– Worked with small number of boundary partners over

email to draft the initial outcome map– Revised the outcome map based on M&E survey result

after one year of programming

• Contracted an M&E agency for annual monitoring

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How did we use OM?

• To monitor progress – Tracking change in behavior, in gen.– Tracking comfort of network members with new

technology (social media tools, internet, etc.), in particular

• To learn along the way to inform project mgt.

• To validate our perceptions

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Benefits

It works for better project management• Able to demonstrate progressive change

• As a concept, easier to understand & apply

• Greater effectiveness in learning &monitoring because of the participatory nature

• Adaptable – we used what we could

• Growing community of users, very ready to help

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Challenges

• Partner’s lack of understanding of OM• Time & resource intensive• Relatively less known

– Training is expensive– Trainers are few– Not a whole lot of organizations have experience with it

– Convincing partners requires time & effort

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OM resources• The outcome mapping site www.outcomemapping.ca • The Outcome Mapping guide• Some links to other resources:

– New OM community book: Making Outcome Mapping Work: Innovations in Participatory Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

– Integrating OM and LFA: VVOB Zimbabwe, VECO Indonesia, LFA and OM Synthesis: A discussion paper

– Monitoring and Evaluation: Considerations for learning-oriented Monitoring and Evaluation with Outcome Mapping, Guiding notes for facilitators: helping to sketch out an M and E system

– Step Zero– Various toolkits produced by RAPID, particularly, Tools for Knowledge and

Learning and Mapping political context (also see this recent Briefing Paper that describes the RAPID Outcome Mapping Approach)

– Barefoot Guide to working with organisations and social change

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Questions