Chapter 16
Evaluating Climate Change Adaptation
in Practice: A Child-Centred, CommunityBased Project in the Philippines
Joanne Chong, Pia Treichel, and Anna Gero
Abstract Whilst the principles of evaluating climate change adaptation are widely
documented, there are many challenges in applying these principles in practice to
evaluate, improve and learn from multi-sector, multi-scale and multi-stakeholder
CCA initiatives with uncertain and future-oriented outcomes.
This chapter documents a research-evaluation approach applied during a 3-year,
child-centred, community-based CCA project implemented in 40 barangays across
four vulnerable provinces in the Philippines. The research aimed to help project
implementers to learn from real-time feedback and perspectives from children and
their communities and other participants. Researchers from the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney and practitioners from
implementing NGOs Plan International and Save the Children collaborated on
translating theory-based and development evaluation techniques into the field.
We developed local-level indicators of adaptation, participatory focus group discussion and interview methods, and a guidance document for gathering and
analysing evidence against these indicators.
Key to the success of this method was its participatory foundations –
operationalising the principle that since ultimately adaptation is local, local voices
and perspectives matter in understanding the impact of a project. Whilst there are
limits to the “ideal” evaluation process, it is possible to achieve evaluative rigour in
a process that is sensitive to the practical realities and pressures of project implementation. Embedding research and learning within practice – in the inherently
uncertain context of supporting a community to adapt to climate change – provided
new pathways for realising and sharing learnings to achieve better adaptation
outcomes.
J. Chong (*) • A. Gero
Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
e-mail: joanne.chong@uts.edu.au; Anna.Gero@uts.edu.au
P. Treichel
Plan International, Melbourne, Australia
e-mail: Pia.Treichel@plan.org.au
© The Author(s) 2017
J.I. Uitto et al. (eds.), Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable
Development, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-43702-6_16
289
Evaluating Climate Change Adaptation
in Practice: A Child-Centred, CommunityBased Project in the Philippines
Joanne Chong, Pia Treichel, and Anna Gero
Abstract Whilst the principles of evaluating climate change adaptation are widely
documented, there are many challenges in applying these principles in practice to
evaluate, improve and learn from multi-sector, multi-scale and multi-stakeholder
CCA initiatives with uncertain and future-oriented outcomes.
This chapter documents a research-evaluation approach applied during a 3-year,
child-centred, community-based CCA project implemented in 40 barangays across
four vulnerable provinces in the Philippines. The research aimed to help project
implementers to learn from real-time feedback and perspectives from children and
their communities and other participants. Researchers from the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney and practitioners from
implementing NGOs Plan International and Save the Children collaborated on
translating theory-based and development evaluation techniques into the field.
We developed local-level indicators of adaptation, participatory focus group discussion and interview methods, and a guidance document for gathering and
analysing evidence against these indicators.
Key to the success of this method was its participatory foundations –
operationalising the principle that since ultimately adaptation is local, local voices
and perspectives matter in understanding the impact of a project. Whilst there are
limits to the “ideal” evaluation process, it is possible to achieve evaluative rigour in
a process that is sensitive to the practical realities and pressures of project implementation. Embedding research and learning within practice – in the inherently
uncertain context of supporting a community to adapt to climate change – provided
new pathways for realising and sharing learnings to achieve better adaptation
outcomes.
J. Chong (*) • A. Gero
Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
e-mail: joanne.chong@uts.edu.au; Anna.Gero@uts.edu.au
P. Treichel
Plan International, Melbourne, Australia
e-mail: Pia.Treichel@plan.org.au
© The Author(s) 2017
J.I. Uitto et al. (eds.), Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable
Development, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-43702-6_16
289