Post Program Monitoring: An Entry Point for Localization by Kim Norris

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.

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Hi, I’m Kim Norris, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director for American Institutes for Research (AIR)’s International Development Division. Part of my role is to lead a MEL practice. As part of our initial strategy, our practice team determined to focus on localizing our work. For us this means we seek out ways to increase local partnering and leadership in and around MEL efforts – from business development to MEL direction and execution. This involves local team leadership, capacity strengthening and engagement on local terms.

In our practice, we conduct numerous short and long term program monitoring projects in labor rights, human rights, food security, livelihoods and resilience to help organizations identify and address progress toward objectives, as well as challenges or gaps in programs. These projects are led and conducted by local staff in various parts of the world. We have learned through our work that as development initiatives have life cycles and limited funding, one of the ways to improve program sustainability while also providing an entry point for localization is through locally led post-program monitoring.

Benefits of Locally Led Post-Program Monitoring:

• Post-program monitoring — collecting data and feedback from targeted populations or landscapes – allows for evidence-based continuous improvement after external funding, personnel and operational supports have ended.
• Local community involvement in monitoring activities deepens local understanding of program objectives and increases their investment in its success. This increased buy-in enhances the likelihood of continued support and resource allocation, leading to sustained positive outcomes.
• Local leadership strengthens local capacity in monitoring practices and decision-making – more people develop skills in data collection, analysis, and evidence-based decision-making. This capacity-building process is transferable to other initiatives, creating a ripple effect of improved monitoring practices and continuous improvement in the development sector.

Hot Tips

• Lay the Groundwork: Implementing locally-led post-program monitoring has challenges which can be addressed during program implementation. For example, rather than creating an issue with a sudden transfer of data ownership and data management roles, programs can establish and orient monitoring staff during the program to systems for data collection, analysis, data visualization, sharing approaches, and evidence-based decision-making practices.
• Create platforms and networks where stakeholders can collaborate, share their experiences, and exchange tools and best practices. They can provide training programs and resources while the program is underway to prepare and empower communities to build their monitoring capabilities.
• Build trust and collaboration between post-program monitors and local communities. Programs can establish transparent and inclusive processes, involve local stakeholders in monitoring decision-making, and foster open communication between the implementing organization, monitors, and relevant stakeholders.
• Relinquish control over the monitoring process well before program completion to offer opportunities for testing post-program processes and tools. Organizations can embrace the shift in power dynamics over the course of program implementation and provide support and guidance while allowing local stakeholders to drive the monitoring process as the program progresses.

Rad Resources

The Millenium Challenge Corporation provides information regarding indicators and measurement for post-program monitoring.

This 2023 article, Participatory monitoring drives biodiversity knowledge in global protected areas in Communications, Earth and Environment describes how participatory and locally led citizen and community led monitoring improves biodiversity knowledge in protected areas.

Using a cooperative online platform (Spyglass), Ecotrust Canada is helping to empower fishermen to monitor and collect data for their own fisheries, and providing them with the tools they can use to be “stewards of the sea” by making data-informed decisions to rebuild fisheries for future generations.

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