A modular system can best meet the demands of the program as a whole and its
projects, as well as the wider CGIAR system (see below; Thornton et al. 2014d).
Some elements are prescribed by CGIAR governance bodies, including the carrying
out of baselines, independent impact assessments, and periodic external evaluations. Programmatic flexibility exists within the day-to-day operational MEL, as a
system is required that allows enough flexibility and adaptability to be applied to
the different types of projects and programs.
CCAFS has identified the following modules to guide its MEL system (Schuetz
et al. 2014g):
Harmonization of TOCs: the framework for this modular approach is set through
the TOC development across CCAFS thematic and regional operations, describing how CCAFS flagships, regions and projects anticipate changes in next-user
behavior and practices, and their role in it. Investment in the development,
harmonization and use of IPs and more elaborated TOC: (1) ensures that
CCAFS plan of work is targeted at achieving outcomes and requires that tasks
addressing the ‘use of outputs’ are built into each activity plan; (2) strategically
encourages communication and collaboration among colleagues within
research, regions and projects and guides exchanges across disciplines and
regions; and (3) revisits the trajectory of CCAFS contributions to change and
uses them as an ex-ante impact assessment.
Indicators & Baselines: In preparation for a harmonization process, as described
above, indicators and outcome target numbers to which the program and projects
will be held accountable were defined by the regional and research program
leaders. The regionally and thematically aggregated targets were then checked
against what individual projects proposed to contribute towards an agreed set of
target values. Additionally, a programmatic baseline at site level was conducted
at the beginning of the program to be able to compare achievements against
these later on, with respect to behavior and practice change of farmers. Furthermore, projects are responsible for conducting specific baselines to monitor
progress over time within their respective thematic and regional foci.
Reflexive spaces & activities: These need to be built in systematically to ensure that
the key elements of adaptive management are operationalized. Adaptive management provides for flexibility and corrective actions to strengthen predictive
capacity, which is essential when working in a constantly changing, complex
environment. In working with TOCs, we make assumptions as to how we
anticipate change will happen, but we know that change does not always happen
as predicted, and so reflexive spaces are critical for allowing us to make welldocumented and well-justified adjustments in response to the insights gained
through our work.
Planning and reporting support: First, an online planning and reporting platform
(P&R) collects project information at project inception, so that projects population the system once, and build on this for follow-up planning, reporting and
learning. Project teams are guided in their TOCs/IPs-building from the beginning and use this as basis for monitoring annual progress. Thematic and regional
4 Pathway to Impact: Supporting and Evaluating Enabling Environments for. . .
71
projects, as well as the wider CGIAR system (see below; Thornton et al. 2014d).
Some elements are prescribed by CGIAR governance bodies, including the carrying
out of baselines, independent impact assessments, and periodic external evaluations. Programmatic flexibility exists within the day-to-day operational MEL, as a
system is required that allows enough flexibility and adaptability to be applied to
the different types of projects and programs.
CCAFS has identified the following modules to guide its MEL system (Schuetz
et al. 2014g):
Harmonization of TOCs: the framework for this modular approach is set through
the TOC development across CCAFS thematic and regional operations, describing how CCAFS flagships, regions and projects anticipate changes in next-user
behavior and practices, and their role in it. Investment in the development,
harmonization and use of IPs and more elaborated TOC: (1) ensures that
CCAFS plan of work is targeted at achieving outcomes and requires that tasks
addressing the ‘use of outputs’ are built into each activity plan; (2) strategically
encourages communication and collaboration among colleagues within
research, regions and projects and guides exchanges across disciplines and
regions; and (3) revisits the trajectory of CCAFS contributions to change and
uses them as an ex-ante impact assessment.
Indicators & Baselines: In preparation for a harmonization process, as described
above, indicators and outcome target numbers to which the program and projects
will be held accountable were defined by the regional and research program
leaders. The regionally and thematically aggregated targets were then checked
against what individual projects proposed to contribute towards an agreed set of
target values. Additionally, a programmatic baseline at site level was conducted
at the beginning of the program to be able to compare achievements against
these later on, with respect to behavior and practice change of farmers. Furthermore, projects are responsible for conducting specific baselines to monitor
progress over time within their respective thematic and regional foci.
Reflexive spaces & activities: These need to be built in systematically to ensure that
the key elements of adaptive management are operationalized. Adaptive management provides for flexibility and corrective actions to strengthen predictive
capacity, which is essential when working in a constantly changing, complex
environment. In working with TOCs, we make assumptions as to how we
anticipate change will happen, but we know that change does not always happen
as predicted, and so reflexive spaces are critical for allowing us to make welldocumented and well-justified adjustments in response to the insights gained
through our work.
Planning and reporting support: First, an online planning and reporting platform
(P&R) collects project information at project inception, so that projects population the system once, and build on this for follow-up planning, reporting and
learning. Project teams are guided in their TOCs/IPs-building from the beginning and use this as basis for monitoring annual progress. Thematic and regional
4 Pathway to Impact: Supporting and Evaluating Enabling Environments for. . .
71