Monitoring and evaluation to support adaptive management

Resources

• An overview of monitoring and evaluation for adaptive management (working paper #1)

  This paper is the first in the BetterEvaluation Monitoring and Evaluation for Adaptive Management working paper series. 

• What is adaptive management and how does it work? (working paper #2)

  This is the second paper in the BetterEvaluation Working Paper Series, Monitoring and Evaluation for Adaptive Management.

• Real-time evaluation (Working paper #4)

  Real-time evaluation (RTE) has been practised and documented over the past 20 years, initially in humanitarian projects.

Evaluation for adaptive management initiatives

• Doing development differently (DDD)

  The Doing Development Differently project by ODI (Overseas Development Institute), which includes a focus on iterative learning.

• The DDD manifesto community (PDF)
• Adaptive management: What it means for CSOs (Civil Society Organisations)

  A 2016 report by Michael O’Donnell from BOND.

• Complexity-aware monitoring

  This resource from the USAID Learning Lab Learning Group explores monitoring innovations for adaptive management.

• The problem driven iterative adaptation approach

  This was developed by the Building State Capability group at the Centre for International Development, Harvard, which is based on four principles, including the principle of try, learn iterate, adapt

• USAID DfID global learning for adaptive management (GLAM

  This initiative supports adaptive management in DFID and USAID programmes

• Adaptive development google group

  A threaded discussion list

Blogs

• How evaluation embraces and enriches adaptation: A UFE approach

  In this guest blog, Sonal Zaveri (with input from the DECI team) discusses why a Utilization-Focused Evaluation (UFE) approach is a natural fit for adaptive management, supporting reflection and course correction.

• Does evaluation need to be done differently to support adaptive management?

  Adaptive management is usually understood to refer to an iterative process of reviewing and making changes to programmes and projects throughout implementation.

• Why do we need more real-time evaluation?

  We’re currently going through a global period of rapid change and adaption, due in large part to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our lives and work.

• Adapting evaluation in the time of COVID-19 - Part 1: Manage

  Organisations around the world are quickly having to adapt their programme and project activities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. We’re starting a new blog series to help support these efforts.

• Adapting evaluation in the time of COVID-19 — Part 2: Define

  The Covid-19 pandemic has led to rapid changes in the activities and goals of many organisations, whether these relate to addressing direct health impacts, the consequential economic and social impacts or to the need to change the way things are done.

• Adapting evaluation in the time of COVID-19 — Part 3: Frame

  Evaluation needs to respond to the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.  As well as direct implications for the logistics of collecting data and managing evaluation processes, the pandemic has led to rapid changes in what organisations are tr

• Outcome monitoring in large multi-stakeholder research programmes: Lessons from PRISE

  This guest blog by Tiina Pasanen and Kaia Ambrose discusses how the Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies (PRISE) project approached the challenge of coming up with an outcome monitoring system that considered the dynamics and complexities invol

• Iterative design and monitoring for adaptive management: How causal link monitoring can help

  Development actors are embracing the concept and practice of adaptive management, using evidence to inform ongoing revisions throughout implementation.

• Learning about learning in an adaptive programme

  Last week, we started our focus on Adaptive Management with a blog post by Patricia Rogers that explored how monitoring and evaluation can support adaptive management. This week, we're continuing this series with a guest blog from Fred Carden and Arnald

Further reading

• Ramalingam, B. Wild, L. and Buffardi, A. (2019) Making adaptive rigour work: Principles and practices for strengthening monitoring, evaluation and learning for adaptive management. London: ODI.

  Ramalingam, B. Wild, L. and Buffardi, A. (2019) Annex | Making adaptive rigour work: the adaptive rigour inventory – version 1.0

  Britt, H. US Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning. (2013). Discussion note: Complexity aware monitoring.

  Williams, B., & Hummelbrunner, R. (2010). Systems concepts in action a practitioner's toolkit. Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press. Retrieved from https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=18331