Outcome Mapping: a Realistic Alternative for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

From the Introduction: "Outcome Mapping (OM) is an approach to planning, monitoring, and evaluating social change initiatives developed by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada. At a practical level, OM is a set of tools and guidelines that steer project or programme teams through an iterative process to identify their desired change and to work collaboratively to bring it about. Results are measured by the changes in behaviour, actions and relationships of those individuals, groups or organisations with whom the initiative is working directly and seeking to influence..... [Footnotes are removed throughout by the editor.]

This paper reviews OM principles to guide donors considering support for projects using OM, and other decision-makers seeking methods to improve the effectiveness of aid policies and practice. It asks:

1. What makes OM unique and of value?
2. For which programmes, projects, contexts and change processes is it most useful?
   
3. How can donors facilitate its use, and what are the potential barriers?

This paper is based on research from case studies of OM application in Ecuador, Kenya, Indonesia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom (UK).... Each study included semi-structured telephone interviews, reviews of project documents and other literature, and feedback and debate with project teams. Practitioner discussions hosted by the Outcome Mapping Learning Community and literature reviews complemented the analysis....

The principles of Outcome Mapping

Interviews with OM practitioners identified four guiding principles that underpin the Outcome Mapping framework:

1. Actor-centred development and behaviour change: OM recognises that people and organisations drive change processes. The problem to be tackled, the aims of the project and the indicators of success are defined in terms of changes in behaviour of these actors....
2. Continuous learning and flexibility: OM emphasises that the most effective planning, monitoring and evaluation activities are cyclical, iterative and reflexive. They aim to foster learning about the actors, contexts and challenges involved in influencing social change. OM enables this learning to feed back into adaptations to the project as it proceeds, and can be used by project partners to influence their actions.
3. Participation and accountability: By involving stakeholders and partners in the PME [planning, monitoring, and evaluation] process and emphasising reflection on relationships and responsibilities, participation incorporates valuable perspectives and fosters a two-way accountability that is often missing in frameworks oriented towards upward accountability....
4. Non-linearity and contribution, not attribution and control: With OM, processes of transformation and change are owned collectively; they are not the result of a causal chain beginning with ‘inputs’ and controlled by donors, but of a complex web of interactions between different actors, forces and trends. To produce sustainable changes, projects should contribute to and influence these processes of social change....
   

Adopting OM will not embed these principles into practice automatically. It provides a framework that allows project and programme staff to systematise discussions around these principles and tools to incorporate these perspectives in practice...."

When does Outcome Mapping work best?

The document reviews where the research found that OM works best and describes suitable contexts and purposes for assessing on a case-by-case basis whether OM will add value, considering the following:

• When working in partnership - OM helps to clarify the roles of different stakeholders, fosters greater ownership and commitment, and enables more sustainable change by unifying the visions and coordinating the work of multiple actors. For example, in Zimbabwe, the open questioning of donor representatives in monitoring meetings helped to balance skewed power relations.
  
• When building capacity - "By presenting the overarching objective as a series of progressive behaviour changes of the actors involved, programme staff can track progress towards the goal and learn as they work. For example, the Vredeseilanden Country Office (VECO) Indonesia project used OM to systematise the way it built the capacity of local NGOs [non-governmental organisations], farmer organisations and networks to promote sustainable agriculture."
  
• When a deeper understanding of social factors is critical - "OM is particularly useful where the focus is on human-centred development and the actors involved, rather than technical and scientific factors." For example, in the Ceja Andina project on natural resource management in Ecuador, the framework oriented the project of a group of scientists and facilitated a shift to understanding the human dimensions of resource use.
  
• When promoting knowledge and influencing policy - "OM was designed initially to increase understanding of the influence of research.... In this type of work, changes are a long way ‘upstream’ from ground-level impacts on poverty, and they involve an interactive and iterative causality rather than a linear logic. By focusing on people’s behaviour, mindsets, attitudes, relationships, decisions and actions, the framework is naturally sensitive to crucial aspects of these problems and processes."
  
• When tackling complex problems - "By integrating learning and reflection, and highlighting the need for projects to be flexible and adapt to lessons learned as they go along, the framework puts in place processes to help address such large challenges."
• To embed reflection and dialogue - "Reflection, exchange, teamwork and ‘questioning’ became part of the culture of the programme rather than a set of procedures."
  

How to support Outcome Mapping

Among the many factors that influence how OM is taken up by project staff, the case study research found that the most crucial is the support and buy-in of donors and senior management. The following are other factors that must be considered, as stated in the document:

• Focus on timing - "In many of the case studies, the introduction of the framework coincided with strategic reviews or programme planning processes. In addition, the uptake of OM was facilitated where it coincided with rising awareness among project staff of the need to adopt a new approach."
  
• Foster capacities and mindsets - "Adopting OM often means getting to grips with new concepts, approaches and terminology....The case studies show that the introduction of OM is eased when facilitated by individuals with practical experience of the methodology."
  
• Use OM to work together - "...it is often necessary for users of the methodology to share experience and learn together. This is built partly into the methodology in the participatory and reflective spaces, but it can also encourage a community of practice....Connecting with other OM users is also beneficial and networking on a global scale, through initiatives such as the Outcome Mapping Learning Community, should be encouraged."
• Manage shifts in organisational culture - "The history of PME in an organisation shapes the uptake of new approaches. Where staff are familiar with LFA [logical framework approach] , it may take time to explain the new approach, but an existing culture of M&E and organisational learning can help the uptake of OM...."
  
• Apply OM flexibly - "It is important to be aware of this flexibility [of OM] from the outset to ensure that OM does not become a burden, but complements existing practices, particularly those that are established or mandatory."

The document concludes that: "To facilitate the uptake of OM, donors need to focus on timing, capacities, and organisational imperatives. In contexts where decision-makers find it hard to integrate OM, it is important that they advocate for its core principles to achieve the required shift in mindset....Above all, attempts to implement OM must be underpinned by real trust between the donor and project implementers and partners - a test of the much-vaunted principles of accountability and ownership."

For more information on Outcome Mapping, please visit the Outcome Mapping Learning Community.