Learning from imGoats experiences with Outcome Mapping

Activities/Key Questions Plan Date Activities/Key Questions Mon pm Introduction: Outcome Mapping (OM) and its role in imGoats Q: How did we put Outcome Mapping (or other monitoring) into practice? Guidance for this session Summary of key points and emerging questions Tues am Q: What went well and less well in our application of OM (or other monitoring)? Tues pm Q: What did we learn (via OM or other monitoring) about progress towards desired outcomes for each boundary partner? Wed am Q: What is the way forward with OM in imGoats? This is the second time all the imGoats project teams have met together, so it’s a rather special occasion. We’re dedicating a substantial portion of this workshop -- two full days – to learning from the experience imGoats project teams have had with monitoring progress towards the desired outcomes which were identified in the first meeting of all the project teams, in Feb 2011, 1.5 yr ago. Our learning experience will be structured around 4 key questions (read them). This table gives the overall plan for the next four sessions, running from this afternoon, through midday on Wednesday. Each session will be dedicated to exploring a key question. The afternoon sessions today Monday, and tomorrow Tuesday morning, consist of presenting your experience with OM, and what went well and less well. The third session is dedicated to summarizing what you learned about changes in the behaviour of direct partners through your OM monitoring efforts. The fourth session is about the way forward in monitoring, Two of these are “factual” sessions, where you’ll tell us what happened in your application of the OM methodology and what you learned about changes in partners through applying the methodology. The other two sessions are consist of opportunities for analysis and reflection on what went well and less well, and on the way forward. Hopefully you’ll be using as a foundation for these two days, the work you’ve done in teams last week after receiving the request from Saskia and myself with suggested preparation for these sessions. Before we begin with the first of the four questions, I’m going to set the context with a brief presentation on the OM methodology and it’s purpose in imGoats.

Outcome Mapping & its role in imGoats OM is a method/approach for P, M&E Focuses on behaviour changes in boundary partners; what Boundary Partners are doing differently and how their relationships with each other are changing OM involves identifying key changes (for each BP) that imGoats believes lie along the pathway to impacts (e.g., well-functioning value chain, increased producer incomes, favourable policy environment) In imGoats the main role envisioned for OM was to enable the gathering of timely monitoring data for project management and generate information relevant to evaluation P  M  E OM is a method or approach for planning, monitoring and evaluation. (monitoring is a process by which data is systematically and regularly collected about a programme over time; evaluation is a process by which a strategy, issue or relationship is studied and assessed in depth) What distinguishes OM from other M&E methdologies/approaches ist hat it focuses on one type of change only, behaviour change in boundary partners (those with whom a project works directly and aims to influence) Through the process OM imgoats identified a progression of changes in behaviour that it believes M&E lead to higher-level results such as a well-functioning value chain. OM makes an assumption that these higher level results depend on behaviour changes (change in relationships, changes in actions, in what BPs do) OM is a comprehensive methodology that can be used in planning/designing a project, in monitoring and managing it, and for evaluation (mid-term, end of project etc); however the primary role envisioned for OM in imGoats was for monitoring and management.

Outcome Mapping & its purpose in imGoats OM is intended to help answer key Qs: At the design stage Broadly speaking, what would total success look like? (Vision) How can imGoats best support achievement of the vision? (Mission) With whom are we working directly / intending to influence? (Boundary Partners) Ideally, in order to contribute to the vision, how would the boundary partner be behaving? (Outcome statements) What changes do we expect to see in BPs as a direct result of our efforts? What further changes would we like and love to see? (Progress Markers) During implementation Are we on the right track towards the outcomes that we intend to contribute towards? (Monitoring) What unexpected changes are occurring? What changes in our strategies are needed in order to get on track? (Decision-making/project management) To enable/support evaluation Well-documented evidence of change along credible pathways to expected impacts OM starts with implementing partners working together to come up with a vision of what success will look like. We imaginedthat in 5 years imGoats has been extremely successful. We asked ourselves what changes imGoats would help bring about? What are imGoats partners doing differently? What have they achieved? In essence, what would total success look like? Then we described how imGoats could best support the achievement of the vision. What areas the project would need to work in? What the project would need to do? (This was the mission) Etc…

Intentional design Monitoring Evaluation 1. Vision 2. Mission 3. Boundary partners 4. Outcome challenges 5. Progress markers 9. Outcome journals 6. Strategy maps 10. Strategy journal 7. Organisational practices 11. Performance journal 8. Monitoring priorities 12. Evaluation plan INNOVATION!!! This is a diagram of the different elements and phases of OM. imGoats chose to apply only part of the OM methodology, the parts in black. We defined the VM, BP, O and PM at our first workshop together in Feb 2011. Then subsequently each team worked to adjust the common set of progress markers to the local context. And to adapt the OM methodology for collecting data on the progress markers, through the use of Outcome Journals, to existing ways of working. This is the area where you have been innovating and where we hope to be able to systematize the learning.

Vision Boundary Partner Boundary Partner Outcome Statement Interest Vision Production Actors Post- Production Actors Input & Service Providers Enabling Agencies Influence Boundary Partner Boundary Partner Boundary Partner Outcome Statement Outcome statement Outcome Statement Progress Markers Finally, this is how the different elements of OM fit together. The overall vision tells what total success would look like in the timeframe you’ve chosen. Then for each boundary partner, the outcome statement describes what that partner, will ideally be doing differently, to contribute to achievement of the vision. The progress markers are a set of graduated, progressive changes that along the path to each outcome statement, from what you’d expect to see as a direct result of carrying out your strategies and activities. To what you’d like and love to see, bearing in mind that you can’t control what your boundary partners do. What you do control is the way you decide to work with partners to influence change in them so that they can contribute to the vision. When it comes to achievement of the progress markers, it’s the boundary partners who are in control of their behaviour. You have influence but not control. And with respect to achieving the vision, that depends very strongly on the boundary partners. You could say that it’s in your sphere of interest. Control imGoats strategies / activities Mission

Session Guidance: Key Q: How did we put OM into practice? Principles: No right/wrong way…not an evaluation or a competition! Our aim is to learn as much as possible from experience Much interest in learning from creative uses of the methodology in the OM community Process: Sit together in teams: Raj, Moz, Jar Drawing on your team meetings last week, prepare a short presentation on how you put OM (or other monitoring) into practice (up to 50 mins; less is better, leaving more time for presentation and discussion) Three presentations: Raj, Moz, Jar (max 25 mins each) using ≥1 presenters w/ flip charts, PPT, or other visuals (It’s up to you) Tea break mid afternoon (Ewen keeping time) Discussion (30 mins) Sum up: Key points and emerging questions (volunteer, 5 mins) Leave enough time (~10 mins) for a final non-OM activity at the end of the day And now let’s turn to the guidance for the remainder of this session….

Session Guidance: Key Q: How did we put OM into practice? Principles: Share the story of how your team put OM into practice Leave the details of 1) what went well and less well ; 2) what you learned about changes in behaviour of boundary partners; and 3) what you would do differently in the future for upcoming sessions Qs that may help you tell your story: What did you see as the role/importance of OM? Or… What did you do instead and why? What modifications did you make to the progress markers (PMs) and why? How did you plan to gather monitoring data (on PMs, if used) and what actually happened in practice? How did you plan to manage and analyse the monitoring data (on PMs, if used) and what actually happened in practice?