Hello, AEA365 community! Liz DiLuzio here, Lead Curator of the blog. This week is Individuals Week, which means we take a break from our themed weeks and spotlight the Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources and Lessons Learned from any evaluator interested in sharing. Would you like to contribute to future individuals weeks? Email me at AEA365@eval.org with an idea or a draft and we will make it happen.
Hi, my name is Soledad Muniz. I am the Director of Programmes at InsightShare, a
not-for-profit based in the UK championing the use of Participatory Video combined
with the Most Significant Change technique (PV MSC) for participatory monitoring and
evaluation. In 23 years, we have worked in over 70 countries on more than 500 projects worldwide.
Between 2019 and 2023, InsightShare and Opportunity International UK (OI) came
together to incorporate Participatory storytelling into OI’s internal MEL strategy. The
programmatic team wanted to better listen and understand lived experiences and
outcomes of two financial inclusion programmes. The local evaluation teams learned
PV MSC to support participatory storytelling in baseline and mid-term review for the
refugee programme, and in mid-term review and endline for the programme targeting
people living with disabilities and their careers.
The process of monitoring and evaluating generally serves two main purposes: to
improve the delivery and impact of programmes and to promote accountability by
learning from past successes and mistakes. Participatory monitoring and evaluation
recognizes that the people who have had first-hand experiences of the programme
must play a central role in the evaluation process, define their own measures of
success, and assess whether a programme responds appropriately to the real-life
aspirations of the community.
Using participatory methodologies can promote a positive cycle of sharing, learning,
reflecting, and transforming. Participatory Video (PV) is a set of techniques to involve a
group or community in shaping and creating their own film. The idea behind this is that
making a video is easy and accessible, bringing people together to explore issues,
voice concerns, or simply to be creative and tell stories. The process enables a group
or community to take action to solve their own problems and also to communicate their
needs and ideas to decision-makers and/or other groups and communities. Those best
placed to explore and convey these messages are the project participants themselves,
who can speak first-hand about it.
Lessons Learned
Here is what we learned along the way:
- The local evaluation teams (international and local staff, and community
members with an active role in the programmes) analyzed the data collectively
through participatory analysis exercises and design recommendations. That
promoted real-time uptake of learning and transparency. - Community screenings were crucial spaces to verify information in the stories,
promoting accountability to communities. The screenings are also a powerful
way for key stakeholders to understand the challenges being faced. - From an OI UK perspective, the exercise was vital to connecting with the
communities, gaining insights into their experiences and ensuring that they felt
heard. For Opportunity Bank Uganda, it helped emphasize the impact they are
having on the communities and identify opportunities to respond to their needs.
It really helps to contextualize the work that is being undertaken rather than
looking at projects and impacts in isolation. - In the refugee programme, having a baseline was an effective way of
understanding the challenges faced in the settlements, as refugees were a new
population for OI to work with. The midline demonstrated the real impact the
programme was having. - Not only did the process and the videos amplify the voice of the participating
community members, but the local evaluation team gained new skills to share
within the community and helped them grow their confidence. - This genuinely inclusive approach enabled everyone to participate regardless of
skill or ability due to the visual and aural nature of the method. It’s extremely
easy to adapt for people with learning difficulties, and hearing or visual
impairments, unlike traditional interview processes.
Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.