Introduction to Outcome Mapping

1. Introduction to Outcome Mapping Ziad Moussa, Lebanon Jan Van Ongevalle, Belgium Heidi Schaefer, Canada 22 September 2014 – Dar Es Salaam – OM Lab

3. Workshop Objectives • Clarify what Outcome Mapping is and does • Introduce and apply Outcome Mapping concepts and tools • Consider if and how Outcome Mapping could be useful in our work

4. Agenda Overview • Key concepts • Vision • Mission • Boundary Partners • Progress Markers • Strategy Map • Organisational Practices • M&E planning and journals

5. Key concepts in Outcome Mapping

6. Acknowledgements This presentation makes use of various materials that were shared by members of the global OM community. Without being exhaustive, special thanks goes to Terry Smutylo, Steff Deprez, Jan Van Ongevalle, Robert Chipimbi, Daniel Roduner, Kaia Ambrose and many others.

7. Source: A guide for project M&E: IFAD

8. Conventional thinking… Vision and Mission IMPACT OUTCOMES OUTPUTS ACTIVITIES INPUTS Plan Time

9. … clashes with relationships of cause and effect that are unknown Vision and Mission IMPACT OUTCOMES OUTPUTS ACTIVITIES INPUTS Plan Time

10. Social change can be… • Complex: involve a confluence of actors and factors • Unstable:independent of project duration • Non-linear: unexpected, emergent, discontinuous • Two-way: intervention may change • Beyond control: but subject to influence • Incremental, cumulative: watersheds & tipping points Source: Terry Smutylo

11. Vision and Mission OUTPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT ACTIVITY OUTPUT ACTIVITY OUTCOME OUTCOME OUTCOME OUTCOME OUTCOME OUTCOME OUTCOME INPUTS INPUTS ACTIVITY Plan OUTPUT Time INPUTS ACTIVITY INPUTS

12. Evaluation challenges • Establishing cause & effect in open systems • Measuring what did not happen • Reporting on emerging objectives • Justify continuing “successful” interventions • Timing – when to evaluate • Encouraging iterative learning among partners • Clarifying values • Working in ‘insecure’ situations Source: Terry Smutylo

13. 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

14. OM’s answer Recognise that all interventions have limited influence Start from observable behaviour change Support people to build their own well-being Embrace different perspectives Enable interventions to adapt as they engage Apply a systems understanding

16. “Being attentive along he journey is as important as, and critical to, ariving at the destination ” Michael Quinn Patton

17. Three key concepts in OM: • Sphere of influence • Boundary Partners • Outcomes understood as changes in behaviour

18. Sphere of concern Sphere of influence There is a limit to our influence Sphere of control Project People the project works with/through People who benefit from the project

19. Sphere of concern Sphere of influence There is a limit to our influence Sphere of control Impact: Changes in state Inputs, activities, outputs Outcomes: Changes in behavior

20. Participating farmers learn how to use drip irrigation equipment Reduced numbers of new wells Increased knowledge of techniques Farmers participate in field trials Extension workers visit demonstration farms Farmers adopting drip irrigation methods Participatory research on demonstration farms to develop approaches to drip irrigation Training of extension workers Greater quantities of groundwater available Extension workers promoting drip irrigation Publication of performance of different set-ups Source: Terry Smutylo

21. Who are your boundary partners? Programme Beneficiaries Stakeholders Boundary Partners

23. Focus of Outcome Mapping Program influence decreases Community ownership increases Inputs Activities Outputs Outcomes Impacts Outcome Mapping

25. Where is the map? • OM is a guide to the journey we take with our partners. We co-create the map. • It focuses on the intention and what happens along the way • The map is not the territory, it shows the route taken • “The only real voyage of discovery exists, not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes” (Marcel Proust)

26. Step 1: Vision

27. Vision improved human, social, & environmental wellbeing

28. I have a dream! Martin Luther King, Jr. August 28, 1963

29. A vision statement.. • Guides • Motivates and inspires • Is an ‘accountability-free zone’

30. Vision in graphic form, Nagaland (India)

31. Vision statement in narrative form Local authorities, communities, and international organizations in developing countries in Africa recognize the value of HIV/AIDS intervention as an integral part of social & economic development. Municipal, regional, and national governments actively support HIV/AIDS prevention activities by formulating and implementing effective public health policies. Using research findings, they have developed a comprehensive public health strategy to slow down the infection rate. Formerly marginalized groups (e.g. women and youth) are organized into advocacy groups that can effectively formulate their needs to policy makers. All groups have access to reliable and relevant technical information about HIV/AIDS prevention and are able to make informed choices. In essence, there are healthier, happier, and wealthier communities.

32. Vision facilitation question Imagine that, 5-10 years from now, the program has been extremely successful. Things have improved beyond your most ambitious dreams. • What changes have occurred? • What (& how) are your intended beneficiaries doing? • What are your partners doing? • Describe the better world you are seeking.

33. Step 2: Mission

34. The mission is that “bite” of the vision statement on which the program is going to focus.

35. 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 achievement of outcomes by its direct partners

36. Example Mission Statement In support of this vision and on behalf of its donors, the program will work in the areas of research, dissemination, capacity building, & coordination. It will contribute to the production, synthesis, & dissemination of research data, position papers, & other information that will sensitize local & international actors to HIV/AIDS prevention. The program will seek to expand the range of disciplines involved in HIV/AIDS research. It will enhance HIV/AIDS research capacity in order to produce credible information for local, national, & international policy-making & program development. It will promote an interest in HIV/AIDS research among new researchers by providing research fellowships, mentorship, & training opportunities. The program will contribute to the development of linkages between Northern & Southern researchers & encourage partnerships between research organizations, advocates, & decision makers. It will increase its visibility & credibility among the donor community & will convince them of the utility of supporting HIV/AIDS prevention.

37. Summary Vision • About the future • Observable • Idealistic • Not about the program Mission • Feasible • Identifies activities and relationships • About the program

38. Exercise : Correcting Vision and Mission Statements

39. Across rural India, women and girls are contributing to and sharing equitably in the benefits of development. • They utilize and benefit from appropriate health care, education, food and water security. • They are free from violence in the home and in the community. • The project seeks to improve their well being through a wide range of interventions. • Women are able to earn their own livelihoods, accessing freely the markets, credit, banking and municipal services they need to pursue their economic goals. • Villages are fully served by public transport, are well lit at night and have police forces that enforce all laws fully and equitably. • The consortium of donors responds favorably to the project’s progress reports and decides to continue funding for a second phase

40. The Swayamsiddha Project works with government, non-government and community-based organizations to strengthen their individual and combined efforts towards improving women’s health and empowerment. • The development of women’s self help groups is facilitated by the project, providing women with moral, material and educational support in identifying and taking action to make community and government services more responsive to their health and livelihood needs. • Primary and reproductive health care at the local level is directly accountable for, and responsive to, the needs of women and girls. • Enrolment of girls in primary schools increases by 35% as a result of project interventions • Research is undertaken in the application of ecosystem approaches to human health in agriculture and in the provision of health and sanitation services.

41. Step 3: Boundary Partners

42. Step 3: Boundary partners • Outcome mapping focuses on outcomes as changes in behaviour or relationships of those with whom the program or project is working directly (= boundary partners)

43. Boundary Partners are... Those individuals, groups, & organizations with whom a program: • interacts directly to encourage change as a contribution to the vision. • can anticipate some opportunities for influence • engages in mutual learning

44. Who are your boundary partners? Programme Strategic partners Stakeholders Beneficiaries Boundary Partners

45. CIDA IDRC BAIF State NGO State NGO State NGO State NGO State NGO State NGO Families PHCs Banks Community Leaders Police SHG Boundary partners have their own boundary partners - Often many actors and results at different levels Swayamsiddha

46. Facilitation questions • In which individuals, groups, or organizations is your program trying to encourage change as a contribution to the vision?  • With whom will you work directly?  • Are you choosing boundary partners because you want to influence the ways they help or influence others? • On whose actions does your success depend?

47. Strategic partners • Selected for their potential to contribute to the mission • A person or group with whom the program works directly to achieve the mission, without necessarily wanting to change the partner’s behaviour as part of the mission • E.g. Donor agency, contracted service providers, NGOs doing similar work, media agencies

48. Facilitation questions • In which individuals, groups, or organizations is your program trying to encourage change as a contribution to the vision?  • With whom will you work directly?  • Are you choosing boundary partners because you want to influence the ways they help or influence others? • On whose actions does your success depend?

49. Screening of boundary partners A program has normally not more than 4 or 5 types of boundary partners • What if too many BP’s? What if you are not sure whether it is really a BP? • Some boundary partners might be boundary partners of boundary partners! • Discuss how the boundary partners are possibly contributing to the vision • Can we realistically influence the boundary partners? • Where will we put most efforts and resources? • Sometimes similar actors can be clustered as one type of boundary partners • Who are your ultimate beneficiaries / target group? There are not your boundary partners • Maybe some partners are actually strategic partners?

50. Exercise : Boundary partners