A Call to Action: Aligning the Evaluation of Social and Behavior Change with the Realities of...
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Complexity Matters: Aligning the Evaluation of Social and Behavior Change with the Realities of Implementation
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Transcript of A Call to Action: Aligning the Evaluation of Social and Behavior Change with the Realities of...
Complexity Matters: Aligning the Evaluation of Social and Behavior Change with the Realities of Implementation
How did We get Here?
• Complexity, context and a growing focus on systems thinking and implementation.
• The “Behavior Change in the Age of Complexity”
workshop at the CORE Group meeting in Washington DC, October, 2015
• Presented first drafts of the Call in Addis Ababa at the SBC Summit in February, 2016
Why a “Call to Action”?
• Don’t we already know that complexity matters? • What generates the gap between what we know and
what we do?
• The change process is sensitive to context, can be highly variable, and difficult (if not impossible) to predict.
• Many factors (e.g., motivation, knowledge, mood, structural realities, social norms, etc.) influence both social and individual behavior change.
• Change is an emergent—it unfolds as part of a process. Over-reliance on quantitative data not only fails to capture the complexity this process, but actually distorts it.
• We know that monitoring and evaluation of SBC is necessary to both improve on the intervention at hand as
Foundational truths of SBC
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Context matters – and influences the process of social and behavior change There is a reason we know think about change in a social and behavioral way – it’s all parts combined – and how they intertwine We have some good indicators to measure the “larger picture”, but are we measuring in a way that tells the “whole story”? We cannot ignore, but must embrace cultural, socio-economic, and other contextual issues as part of the overall influencing process Participatory approaches matter; the audience(s) have insight we gain from, it’s not simply increasing the knowledge base from a research perspective We cannot ignore sustainability – time and time again, campaigns show results, but then we ask the question – what about a year later?
• Behavior is not static, it’s a constant moving target
• What was our impact? How did we measure outcomes?
• The three commonsense dimensions of complexity
• Project “life cycle” vs. “life”
Basic challenges in M&E of SBC
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Contextual complexity – determinants beyond the individual – much like we view in the social ecological model Temporal complexity – even within a given program, variables change and can affect outcomes Constructivist complexity – who’s eyes are we really looking through? Is it fair? Unbiased? Attribution vs. Contribution – So many factors to consider that may be beyond one’s control or ability to influence. Being able to understand our contribution is helping in future improvements among our approaches RCTs, yes seen as the gold standard, when looking at standardized indicators. There is nothing really “standardized” about SBC, it is completely reliant on norms, context, political will, but getting closer to the community to gain real-time perspectives on change can again help us improve our processes Projects have a finite cycle. Life and those we work with affect change through SBC projects way outlive these cycles. Short term results give us only so much, there is untapped added value in longer term studies, including longitudinal studies and post-project sustainability studies
Pushing the M&E Envelope
Less donor-driven Less proving and more improving Learning from other disciplines Embracing the messiness Participation and engagement
Measuring the Hard to Measure Individual and collective agency, efficacy & empowerment Collective action Increases in community voice and social advocacy Social and human capital enhancement Transformative or lasting change Cross generational outcomes Social norm shifting
Evolving Methods and Tools
Transformometer Social network mapping Narrative Photovoice Most Significant Change Outcome Harvesting Lives Changed Indices Post-project sustainability studies
Recommendations to advance an appreciation of complexity into SBC
programming Implementing organizations can: Facilitate participation of communities and implementers in the evaluation process Create rapid assessment tools that gauge the context of implementation as it evolves Be nimble Ensure that the tracking of project implementation—not just of outcome indicators—is included in proposals Be humble about the transferability of your findings and expect the humility of others
Donors can:
Recognize that many projects develop emergent goals over time Value adaptation to shifting contexts rather than fidelity to original goals that may have evolved. Require that implementing partners should track the implementation process as well as project outputs and outcomes Encourage the humility of implementing partners
Have a look, join the movement!
• http://doingdevelopmentdifferently.com/
• Complexity&Praxis community of practice (sign on by emailing Kirsten at [email protected]. Tell her Joseph, Lenette and Regina sent you
• Let us know if your organization would be willing to sign on to the Call to Action (and let Joseph, Lenette, or Janine know if you have suggestions for modifying the Call)
