What do we know now? Setting the scene JLI Meeting – Mobilisation of Local Faith Communities Dublin, 8-9th December 2016 Discussion starter

The following slides are some simplified spectrums and dilemmas to kick start our discussions over our 2 days together.

Purpose of Evidence Focus of Evidence Learning & Adaptation for local faith communities Learning, Adaptation & Accountability for practitioners Influencing & Engaging the public square Focus of Evidence What we have been doing within FBOs to date (eg qualitative studies, RCTs, hybrid studies) to set the scene for the case studies and bring in some of the broader dialogue around approaches to evidence building How to influence the public square as well as equip LFCs themselves to learn and adapt. Overall evidence related to faith and mobilization of LFCs Discussion of what evidence may be needed to support increased faith engagement by policymakers Open exploratory, no pre-defined outcomes Testing theories with some pre-defined outcomes Driven by clear outcomes, goals, set dimensions

Quality of Evidence Lite touch, anecdotal, inferred - generally more qualitative Hybrid qualitative, quantitative approaches Statistically robust, detailed, attribution focused – generally quantitative What we have been doing within FBOs to date (eg qualitative studies, RCTs, hybrid studies) to set the scene for the case studies and bring in some of the broader dialogue around approaches to evidence building How to influence the public square as well as equip LFCs themselves to learn and adapt. Overall evidence related to faith and mobilization of LFCs Discussion of what evidence may be needed to support increased faith engagement by policymakers Focus on the effectiveness of the process/intervention Understanding the drivers of change of the process and interventions Focus on the actual impact achieved

Discussion Starter Questions How should these dilemmas / spectrums shape our thinking? What other factors may influence the purpose, focus, and quality of the evidence we generate? Who’s evidence is it and what are the ethical considerations we need to consider in the design, collecting and utilisation of evidence?

Feedback

MEL with LFCs Ask LFCS what they want and need to know to do good work The NGO community needs to develop M&E systems that produce information that is relevant and useful to communities. I think NGOs should understand/grapple with the benefits/catalytic nature of dissemination with the communities they partner with. Intention and move into action regarding participation

Organisational Learning INGOs should spend more time on contextual analysis to understand who their local partners are The NGO community needs to develop M&E systems that produce information that is relevant and useful to communities. I will share information with our M&E team around data collection processes shared today. ‘Powers’ (agencies) being willing to give up power and control so our faith communities are not eaten/squashed by the ‘machine’ Tearfund should decide whether straddling the gap between faith and development is too hard FBOs should not try so hard  See more interfaith collaboration that shares skills/resources/best practice (for example the collaboration between Islamic Relief and Channels of Hope

System wide The Global Faith community should be more assertive about, and clearer on its own unique contribution International FBOs should pool expertise and resource for 2-3 (robust, peer reviewed studies) and then put rest of energy into MEL for local communities and organisation effective practice We as FBOs should partner together to tackle priority evidence gaps We must find a way to communicate quality narrative analysis to a humanitarian audience, meaningfully and/or convincingly We need to catalogue and share the evidence we already have. This is so much hidden. Celebrate the evidence we have and accept this is a long game Celebrate the evidence we have and accept this is a long game Agencies need to hear and see the evidence of how LFCs contribute to impact on SDGs