Oxfam's "Six Step Approach" to campaign monitoring, evaluation and learning.

1. MEL in Campaigns &
Influencing
Gabrielle Watson & Claire Hutchings February 19, 2015

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Climate Change Campaign
We Can Campaign - Bangladesh
Grow Campaign
Control Arms Campaign
Robin Hood Tax
Campaign

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How is Influencing different?
1. Aim is to shift power –
how to measure?
2. Unpredictable
dynamics – need
rapid response
3. Need to inform and
influence others
4. Many actors and
drivers – Oxfam just
one player
1. Focus on reach,
access & influence
2. Real-time learning tools
3. Invest in credible
evidence/ research
4. Context & contribution
analysis (not attribution)

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Why is MEL important?
 Figure out what works (and doesn’t) to get stronger
and sharper - helping you to learn what strategies or
activities are working well, and where midcourse
corrections many be needed
 Build stronger teams & alliances
 Have more impact
 Communicate successes & lessons learned

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6 step approach to Influencing MEL
Build
Learning
Loops
Set the
Strategy

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MEL Plan – the Building Blocks

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MEL Plan – the Building Blocks
1. Theory of Change
2. Measures of Success & Collect
Data
• who will collect what data when
(frequency & timing), why and how
1. Analysis & Sensemaking
• Team meetings
• After-action reviews
• Strategy reviews
• External reviews
1. Report Out & Use
• Internal – driving decisions
• External stakeholders – donors,
allies, partners

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Influencing MEL Approach (example)

9. Set the Strategy
Steps 1 - 3

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1. Theory of Change
Develop an influencing theory of
change
1.Define desired impact
2.Outline the outcomes (key changes)
that need to happen to bring about the
impact
3. Do a Power Analysis to identify levers of change. Who are the
allies, blockers, ‘swingers’ etc. and how can they be influenced?
4. Based on this, determine effective strategies to achieve the
change and any ‘intermediate outcomes’ along the way.
5. Pull together a ‘theory of change’ or logic model diagram
illustrating the impact, outcomes, and strategies.
ALL MODELS ARE WRONG BUT SOME ARE USEFUL - George Box

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1. Theory of Change

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1. Theory of Change

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13
Strategie
s
Outcome
s
Impact
Provide inputs for producers
Deliver training to cooperatives on:
• Management issues
• Marketing/ customer service
• Relationship with hotels
• Technical
• Gender
• Disaster Risk Reduction
Provide loans & working capital to
cooperatives
Advocate with policy-makers and
business leaders, based on
experiences from the programme
Improved technical capacity of
the Belle Vue Farmers
Cooperative
Improved liquidity and ability to
operate under hotels’ 90 day
terms, whilst providing cash
payment to farmers within 3
days of grading produce
Governments and hotels
change their perception of
Caribbean farmers
Increases in the
income of 1000
farmers and their
families
Benefits to
smallholders
across the
Caribbean
Evidence for advocacy
Measuring Change Baseline Report: Linking farmers to the hotel industry - St. Lucia
1. Theory of Change

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2. Measures of Success (Examples)
Measures of Success
“What will we achieve?”
Indicators
“How will we know it?”
Reach Public mobilization
& support
• # page views, tweets, Facebook comments, etc.
• # actions taken
• # participate in events
• Actions by champions & spokespeople
• # new constituents and donors
Alliance building • # of allies
• Power of allies
• Actions by & with allies
Access Shaping terms of
debate (issue
reframing)
• # Media hits
• Citations of Oxfam/allies spokespeople &
reports by media, policymakers & influentials
• Oxfam & allies in key agenda-setting spaces
Influence Policy maker
support
• Public statements & actions
• Private statements & actions
Policy & practice
change
• Policy proposed, enacted, funded, defended or
implemented
• Bad policy blocked

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2. Build your Measures of Success
Influencing
Objectives
What would “success” look like?
CS actors work
together to advance
common goal
Collaborative actions taken among organizations (e.g.,
joint meetings, aligning of messages)
Public aware & cares
about issue
Key decision-maker
support

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3. Data Collection Tips
 Where possible, should be a mix of qualitative and quantitative
 Collect the minimum amount of information needed
 Document information on activities and outcomes
 Can you automate your data collection? For example:
• Adding important data to regular meeting minutes.
• Free electronic data-collection tools (email accounts, RSS feed collectors, etc.)
where you can easily forward monitoring information.
 Are you already collecting this data? For example, does your advocacy
lead keep records of correspondence with policy contacts?
 Which different perspectives are important to include?
 Make sure to collect only as much data as you can review and
reflect upon in the team!

17. Build Learning Loops
Steps 4 - 6

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Analysing and reviewing the data being collected in order to:
• Assess progress towards results;
• Understand the factors that are contributing to or impeding
achievement of outcomes;
• Check strategies, including partnership strategies,(re-)consider
whether the right things are being done, in the right way;
• Use this to inform decisions that may increase the likelihood of
achieving results
• Strengthen accountability and learning.
4. Analysis & Review

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4. Analysis & Review

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5. External Evaluations
Evaluations = strategic learning opportunities
• Set the TOR. What do we want to know/learn? What
decisions should the evaluation drive? How will we use
& share it? With who?
• Process matters. Involve & interview key stakeholders;
review early findings together, share final results.
• Make it user-friendly to drive decisions. Present
findings and recommendations (if not the whole report!)
in accessible language. Consider multiple formats – live
discussions, webinar, pamphlet, YouTube, etc.

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5. External Evaluations
• Mid-course and final evaluations = objective view of
effectiveness, outcomes and Oxfam’s added value
• OI Evaluation Policy:
• Required for all major investment over $250,000
• Executive summary and management response
posted to Oxfam website (full report if appropriate)
• Put in budget & allocate staff time for commissioning
manager

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6. Using & Communicating Learning
• Use MEL “findings” to
shape team planning &
drive decisions
• Share with allies and
other teams – replicate
successes & learn from
“losses”
• Share with donors and
supporters to celebrate
wins, build confidence &
boost engagement

23. WHAT’S FEELS FAMILIARANDWHAT’S
NEW?
WHAT’S YOURNEXT STEPTOGET
STARTED?