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Climate Change Campaign
We Can Campaign - Bangladesh
Grow Campaign
Control Arms Campaign
Robin Hood Tax Campaign
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HOW IS INFLUENCING DIFFERENT?
1. Aim is to shift power – how to measure?
2. Unpredictable dynamics – need rapid response
3. Need to inform and influence others
4. Many actors and drivers – Oxfam just one player
1. Focus on reach, access & influence
2. Real-time learning tools
3. Invest in credible evidence/ research
4. Context & contribution analysis (not attribution)
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WHY IS MEL IMPORTANT?
Figure out what works (and doesn’t) to get stronger and sharper - helping you to learn what strategies or activities are working well, and where midcourse corrections many be needed
Build stronger teams & alliances
Have more impact
Communicate successes & lessons learned
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MEL Plan – the Building Blocks
1. Theory of Change
2. Measures of Success & Collect Data
• who will collect what data when (frequency & timing), why and how
1. Analysis & Sensemaking • Team meetings• After-action reviews• Strategy reviews• External reviews
1. Report Out & Use • Internal – driving decisions
• External stakeholders – donors, allies, partners
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1. THEORY OF CHANGE
Develop an influencing theory of change
1.Define desired impact
2.Outline the outcomes (key changes) that need to happen to bring about the impact
3. Do a Power Analysis to identify levers of change. Who are the allies, blockers, ‘swingers’ etc. and how can they be influenced?
4. Based on this, determine effective strategies to achieve the change and any ‘intermediate outcomes’ along the way.
5. Pull together a ‘theory of change’ or logic model diagram illustrating the impact, outcomes, and strategies.
ALL MODELS ARE WRONG BUT SOME ARE USEFUL - George Box
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Strategies
Outcomes
Impact
Provide inputs for producers
Deliver training to cooperatives on:• Management issues• Marketing/ customer service• Relationship with hotels• Technical• Gender• Disaster Risk Reduction
Provide loans & working capital to cooperatives
Advocate with policy-makers and business leaders, based on experiences from the programme
Improved technical capacity of the Belle Vue Farmers Cooperative
Improved liquidity and ability to operate under hotels’ 90 day terms, whilst providing cash payment to farmers within 3 days of grading produce
Governments and hotels change their perception of Caribbean farmers
Increases in the income of 1000 farmers and their families
Benefits to smallholders across the Caribbean
Evidence for advocacy
Measuring Change Baseline Report: Linking farmers to the hotel industry - St. Lucia
1. THEORY OF CHANGE
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2. MEASURES OF SUCCESS (EXAMPLES)
Measures of Success“What will we achieve?”
Indicators“How will we know it?”
Reach Public mobilization & support
• # page views, tweets, Facebook comments, etc. • # actions taken • # participate in events • Actions by champions & spokespeople• # new constituents and donors
Alliance building • # of allies • Power of allies • Actions by & with allies
Access Shaping terms of debate (issue reframing)
• # Media hits• Citations of Oxfam/allies spokespeople &
reports by media, policymakers & influentials • Oxfam & allies in key agenda-setting spaces
Influence Policy maker support
• Public statements & actions • Private statements & actions
Policy & practice change
• Policy proposed, enacted, funded, defended or implemented
• Bad policy blocked
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2. Build your Measures of Success
Influencing Objectives
What would “success” look like?
CS actors work together to advance common goal
Collaborative actions taken among organizations (e.g., joint meetings, aligning of messages)
Public aware & cares about issue
Key decision-maker support
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3. Data Collection Tips
Where possible, should be a mix of qualitative and quantitative
Collect the minimum amount of information needed
Document information on activities and outcomes
Can you automate your data collection? For example:
• Adding important data to regular meeting minutes. • Free electronic data-collection tools (email accounts, RSS feed collectors, etc.)
where you can easily forward monitoring information.
Are you already collecting this data? For example, does your advocacy lead keep records of correspondence with policy contacts?
Which different perspectives are important to include?
Make sure to collect only as much data as you can review and reflect upon in the team!
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Analysing and reviewing the data being collected in order to: • Assess progress towards results;
• Understand the factors that are contributing to or impeding achievement of outcomes;
• Check strategies, including partnership strategies,(re-)consider whether the right things are being done, in the right way;
• Use this to inform decisions that may increase the likelihood of achieving results
• Strengthen accountability and learning.
4. ANALYSIS & REVIEW
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5. EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS
Evaluations = strategic learning opportunities
• Set the TOR. What do we want to know/learn? What decisions should the evaluation drive? How will we use & share it? With who?
• Process matters. Involve & interview key stakeholders; review early findings together, share final results.
• Make it user-friendly to drive decisions. Present findings and recommendations (if not the whole report!) in accessible language. Consider multiple formats – live discussions, webinar, pamphlet, YouTube, etc.
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5. EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS
• Mid-course and final evaluations = objective view of effectiveness, outcomes and Oxfam’s added value
• OI Evaluation Policy:
• Required for all major investment over $250,000
• Executive summary and management response posted to Oxfam website (full report if appropriate)
• Put in budget & allocate staff time for commissioning manager
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6. USING & COMMUNICATING LEARNING
• Use MEL “findings” to shape team planning & drive decisions
• Share with allies and other teams – replicate successes & learn from “losses”
• Share with donors and supporters to celebrate wins, build confidence & boost engagement
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