Participatory monitoring
& evaluation
Making sure we deliver on what communities are asking of us is a top priority. We closely monitor and evaluate all projects using a participatory approach. Communities tell us what success looks like in the short term, and the long term. We then work closely with communities to track progress towards these goals.
We monitor and evaluate to improve our practice and achieve better outcomes for the communities we work with and to be transparent and accountable to communities and funders.
Participatory monitoring and evaluation is built into each project and long-term community development plan. This is a flexible approach that is adapted to the unique context of each community.
It enables communities to hold decision-making powers on whether projects should go ahead and how they are designed, delivered and evaluated. It is inclusive and creates the space to build trust where honest answers are shared.
Community First monitoring and evaluation is:
Ethical and follows the principles of ‘by invitation’ and ‘community designed and driven’.
Aligned with community priorities.
Embedded into practical projects that benefit community.
Well planned, and collects a baseline at the start of projects and a final monitoring point at the end.
Responsive — findings are used immediately, with no need to wait for a formal evaluation report.
A mixture of quantitative and qualitative data capture.
Culturally intelligent.
Evaluation discoveries are used to inform the next steps in community development plans, internal learning and development forums, reports to funders and to share what we have learned to influence policy.
Tell us what success looks like!
Communities tell us what success looks like. These descriptions become the indicators we monitor. One of the participatory and visual tools we have developed to do this is the Seed to Tree scale. When we use the scale it is about yarning, and through the process we get qualitative data (stories and quotes) as well as quantitative data (numbers).
We find the metaphor of a ‘seedling to a tree’ is a great way for communities to define their indicators as what they want to see grow.
The monitoring and evaluation (M&E) undertaken with the Littlewell Working Group in 2014-15 was one of the first examples for Community First Development of applying the participatory approach and new monitoring system to co-design short and long term indicators of change with communities, monitor them throughout the project cycle and assess effectiveness at the end.