ILRI Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Team: 2013 highlights and 2014 plans

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Team

2013 highlights and 2014 plans

Keith Child, Nils Teufel and Harrison Rware

Livelihoods, Gender, Impact and Innovations Annual Retreat, Nairobi, 21 November 2013

Presentation outline

• Staffing highlights

• Evolving vision of MEL

• Upcoming MEL meeting

• Different contributing areas/ CRPs and projects• 2013 highlights, progress and publications• 2014 plans• challenges

Staffing

• The unit is tasked with significant responsibilities, but is composed of only a small number of staff

• Yet to fill Humid Tropics M&E practitioner position

Vision• The unit does not have an existing mission statement or strategy document

• Currently the Impact component of LGI, though we engage in a wide spectrum of M&E related activates, including monitoring, evaluation, learning and impact

• Also torn between research activities and service provision

• We are actually the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Unit

• Our aspirational Mission: To support ILRI’s overall vision by becoming a comprehensive in-house M&E unit that has the capacity to provide a complete suite of M&E services (including impact assessments /evaluations)

L&F MEL Planning Meeting Nov. 27 and 28

Objectives:• Review the draft Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework for the

L&F CGIAR program and finalise a Working Document

• Review and finalize the L&F IDO indicator matrix as well as a plan for finalising intermediate indicators

• Formulate a plan for operationalizing the MEL Framework

• Populate the POWB (2014 and 2015) with identified program monitoring evaluation and learning activities

Major areas of contribution

Livestock and Fish (CRP 3.7)

Humidtropics (CRP 1.2)

Crops and Goats Project (CGP)

Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa (BecA)

Livestock and Fish 2013 highlights

• January, 2013: Theory of Change workshop, Nairobi Kenya

Report posted on Cgspace • March, 2013: IDOs working group meeting, Cali Columbia

• Results Strategy Framework developed

• IDOs selected and accepted • Impact Pathway Validation Workshops: • May, 2013: Tanzania workshop• June, 2013: Egypt workshop • June, 2013: Uganda workshop • July, 2013: Nicaragua workshop • September, 2013: Vietnam Workshop

• Draft program IDOs indicator manual and indicator targets set

• MEL Framework

Publications and workshop presentations:• Creating gendered MEL Indicators for the Livestock and fish Program: Kidoido, M;

Kruijseen, F and Galie A

• Adapting the Livestock and Fish (L&F) program Impact Pathway(s) to the Ethiopia Small Ruminant Value chains; Kidoido, M.

• Validating the Uganda Pig Value Chain Impact Pathway(s); Kidoido, M.

• Reviewing and refining the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish theory of change: Report of a workshop, Nairobi, 15-16 January 2013; Kidoido, M.

• Report of the Tanzania Dairy Value Chain Impact Pathways Workshop, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, 7-8 May 2013; Kidoido, M., Korir, L.

• Report of the Egypt aquaculture value chain theory of change meeting, Sharkia, Egypt, 24-25 June 2013; Dickson, M., Child, K., Dalsgaard, J.P.T.

Relevant workshops attended:

• Independent Evaluation Arrangement (IEA) Workshop in Rome on behalf of 3.7; Keith child

• Responsible Scaling Workshop (SRT3) in Amsterdam on behalf of 1.2; Keith child

• Gender Working Group workshop Meeting, Addis Ababa, 1th -18th 2013; Michael kidoido

Publications in Progress:1. December, 2013: Draft paper analyzing Tanzania LSMS data to evaluate

the contribution of dairy products to rural poor households incomes, consumption, and health and nutrition outcomes.

2. December, 2013: Draft paper -Evaluating value chain interventions: A review of recent evidence.

3. Do Tanzanian households in the low income strata derive nutrition and income benefits from dairy production and dairy innovation? Advanced draft by Michael Kidoido and Luke Korir

4. Evaluating value chain interventions a review of recent evidence; being reviewed by a professional editor and reviewer by Michael Kidoido, Nancy Johnson and Keith Child.

Livestock and Fish, way forward 2014

• Develop more explicit ToCs for 3 value chains (Vietnam, Uganda and Tanzania)

• Begin work on 2 impact evaluations

• Finalize Best Bet selection criteria

Challenges 2013

•Budgets!!!! •Balance between service provision and research• Staff capacity•Project management tracking •Growing pains

2013 Award for Most Valuable Player Michael Kidoido

CGP project in Tanzania• Together with the RMG group we have developed and are

testing a web based M & E system that enable project implementers to measure and track indicators online

• The system links Project level M &E, Community Based M & E

• Lessons from this pilot phase will inform future development of web based M & E system that incorporates hand held devices such as mobile phones

Publications• Integrating Dairy Goat and Root Crop Production for Increasing Food, Nutrition and

Income Security of Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania Results from Baseline Household Survey, ILRI Nairobi: Pali P, Sharma U, Rware H, Korir L, Shayo D, Zigah G, Omore A & Johnson N, 2013.

• Enhancing livelihoods through livestock knowledge systems (ELKS) in Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Nagaland: Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) Baseline Report: Pali P, Rware H, Poole J, Jarial S and Padmakumar v 2013.

• The potential influence of social networks on the adoption of breeding strategies. Livestock Research for Rural Development 25(5),Pali, P.N., Zaibet, L., Mburu, S.K., Ndiwa, N. and Rware, H.I. 2013:

• Assessing the potential to change partners’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on Sustainable Livestock Husbandry in India; Jarial S, Rware H, Pali P, Poole J and Padmakumar V, 2012.

Relevant workshops attended• 5th to 12th September 2013: Agrifood chain Tool kit

Conference Agrifood chain toolkit conference: Livestock and fish value chains in East Africa, Africana Hotel, Kampala, Uganda

• 1st to 5th July 2013: Value chain analysis training for agricultural development in Africa: ILRI Kenya, 2013

2014 plans for CGP Tanzania• Take lead in the Impact assessment study for the CGP Tanzania 2013 through to 2014

• Take lead in KAP3 study in 2014 June

• MEL to contribute in the development of Scaling up of CGP Tanzania 2014

Publications: 1. Development and implementation of a Community Based Monitoring and Evaluation

System for the CGP Tanzania Project: Challenges and Lessons (In the pipeline); Rware H, Teufel N, Quiros C, Karanja T, Pool J: 2014.

2. Linking Project level and Community level Monitoring and Evaluation through a web based Monitoring and Evaluation system (In the pipeline): Rware H, Teufel N, Child K, Shayo D, Poole J, Karanja T, Quiros C and Parkins J; 2014:

CRP HumidTropics – 2013 – Overview• ILRI leads component 1 (of 3) within Humid Tropics: Systems Analysis & synthesis

(Tim Robinson)

• MEL leads (out of 4 sub-components)• Sub-component (SRT) 1.2: Base-lines & typologies (Nils Teufel)• Sub-component (SRT) 1.4: Global synthesis (Keith Child)

• Action Areas and Action Sites (by level of progress, from MEL’s view)• Central & Eastern Africa: Western Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ruanda, Burundi, DRC• South-East Asia (Mekong): Development (Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao),

Green (Vietnam, PRC, Lao), Golden (Lao, Tlnd, Mnmr) • Central America & Caribbean: Nicaragua, Trifinio (Guatemala, Honduras, El

Salvador), Haiti/DomRep• West Africa

CRP HumidTropics – 2013 – Highlights• SRT 1.2 Base-lines & typologies

• Participatory typology development• Base-line household surveys at action site level – starting in Western Kenya!

Using ImpactLite survey tool with intensive RMG contributions (ODK)• Rapid assessment of context (value chains, institutions, environment, policy)• Field site selection (together with Situation Analysis - and other partners?)• Household typologies (with Mark van Wijk)

• SRT 1.4 Global synthesis

• M&E strategy: Development of an M&E framework & indicator manual• Learning Hub• Spatial tool for estimating scaling-up impact (Livestock Geo-Wiki)

Proposals under development• Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA):• “Beyond Consumption: Developing an Agricultural Value Chain Impact Assessment

Methodology”• Applicants: IAM (Montpellier), WUR (Wageningn), Emory Uni (Atlanta)• CG collaborators: ILRI, WorldFish, IFPRI, Bioversity• Concept note approved, full proposal due 25/11/2013

• IDRC:• “Scaling-up of CropGoatProject results”• Alberta Uni (Edmonton), SUA (Morogoro), ILRI• Call expected in December, interest declared by IDRC

• BMZ (CG grants 2014):• “The contribution of smallholder information management to learning and behaviour change”• ILRI, DITSL (Kassel)• Idea under discussion

• Up scaling CGP

CRP HumidTropics – Going forward 2014• SRT 1.2 Base-lines and typologies

• Establish Field Site selection procedure• Implement 4 base-line surveys in CEA and SEAs• Initiate context assessment• Develop initial typologies

• SRT 1.4 Global synthesis

• Develop M&E framework & initiate operationalization• Establish Learning Hub (linked to R4D platforms• Build team for spatial impact estimation tool