Monitoring and Evaluation: Designing for impact

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At GALVmed, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is not an afterthought. It is integrated from the very start of the development of new projects and programmes. This approach ensures that our projects are designed with a clear vision of impact. It also ensures that we, and our funders, have realistic expectations on what can be achieved within a project’s lifetime.

There are three key areas where we provide early input:

1. Modelling the prospective impact of an initiative: Whenever possible, we forecast the potential economic benefits of a project for small-scale livestock producers (SSPs) before it even starts using a prospective modelling approach. This forward-looking method provides insights into the potential economic returns, in terms of animal lives saved and productivity regained, for SSPs purchasing critical livestock vaccines and other animal health products. Before a project begins, stakeholders and funders can understand the investment potential, and this helps decision making on where to allocate resources.
2. Creating a Theory of Change: The Theory of Change is an important part of our process. It clearly outline the changes we want to see, how the project will lead to those changes, the expected timelines for impact, and the key assumptions we are working with. This clarity ensures that everyone involved in the project has a common understanding. The Theory of Change also helps us identify potential risks and challenges early on so we can course correct to keep our initiatives on track.
3. Developing an evaluation framework: A framework that clearly defines the OECD DAC evaluation criteria we will use, along with the associated evaluation questions, indicators, data sources, sampling methods, timing, and data analysis approaches, ensures that we establish a clear plan from the beginning on how we will assess and measure the impact of our initiatives. This framework facilitates a shared understanding of our evaluation process.

By integrating M&E from the early stages of project design and implementation, our initiatives are strategically designed to maximise impact for the small-scale livestock producers we serve.

This blog was written by Katharine Tjasink, Senior Manager, Impact, Evaluation & Learning, as part of the campaign ”M&E: Designing for Impact”.